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Fall 2016

oice

Of the Pend Oreille River Valley

Down The Barrel

A look into the local firearm & ammunition industry

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Area rich in gun culture This issue of Voice of the Pend Oreille River Valley focuses on guns.

It is no secret that the area has more than its share of firearm enthusiasts and we wanted to highlight some of the people and businesses involved in the gun industry.

There have been changes in firearms laws in both Washington and Idaho. Sophia Aldous gives an explanation of the changes and covers concealed weapons permits in both states. She also provides a look at one of the area’s biggest guns, the replica cannon that is used to celebrate Newport Grizzly touchdowns at Homecoming.

Lone Wolf Distributing, a company that makes and sells parts and accessories for Glock firearms, is the subject of a story in this issue. The company that was started in a home has grown into a $9 million a year business, providing some of the best jobs in the Priest River area.

Phil Flack is the subject of another story. Flack has been reloading ammunition since he was a boy. He learned the skill from his grandfather, Jesse Phillips, and continues to make his own ammunition for rifles, shotguns and pistols.

Jim Malone came to holster making in a roundabout way. He was raised on the Pacific Island country of Guam and spent much of his adult life as a commercial fisherman. These days he and his wife Jaz, live off the grid, where he builds holsters to supplement his retirement. Business is booming, he says.

Finally, the Priest River Gun Show is the topic of a story. The show is somewhat unusual in that it is held at the junior high, but it has been providing scholarships and much needed money for the school, as well as working towards the goal of building a new Kaniksu Masonic Lodge.

We hope you enjoy this edition of Voice of the Pend Oreille River Valley.

DG

INDEX Fisherman Turned Leatherworker PAGE 4

Reloading Ammunition “Like Baking a Cake” PAGE 10

Hot Rod Guns PAGE 18

The Bigger The Boom PAGE 24

Buying A Gun? Know the Laws.

PAGE 30 & 31

Voice Published: September 2016 Publisher: Michelle Nedved Writers & editors: Sophia Aldous and Don Gronning Design: Brad Thew Advertising: Lindsay Guscott, Cindy Boober and Micki Brass

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VOICE is published quarterly as a supplement to The Newport Miner and Gem State Miner, 421 S. Spokane, Newport WA 99156.

TELEPHONE: 509-447-2433 EMAIL: minernews@povn.com FAX: 509-447-9222 Reproduction of articles & photographs is prohibited without permission of the publisher. See all issues at The Miner Online: www. pendoreillerivervalley.com

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Fisherman turned leatherworker

Jim Malone makes custom holsters, business booming

By Don Gronning

Voice photo|Don Gronning

Jim Malone working in his shop.

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Voice photo|Don Gronning

The finished product after it is stained with neat’s-foot oil. Malone uses a wooden gun to make sure the holster fits right.

J

im Malone switches off the western video he was watching – “Last Stand at Saber River” – to attend to this interview. He takes a piece of Herman oak tanned tooling leather and spreads it out on a table in

his cluttered, solar powered shop.

“This is the best kind of leather,” Malone says. “Most saddle makers use it. Sometimes it’s not available.”

Malone continues working on the holster while telling of his

background. Malone was raised on the Pacific island of Guam in the 1950s and 60s.

“I was raised in an atmosphere of almost no prejudice,” Malone says. Now he’s cutting the leather into what he’ll turn into a holster.

“I was totally amazed when I got back to the States.”

He started learning leatherwork from his father.

“Dad bought the leather tools Continued On Page 6

Voice photo|Don Gronning

Some finished products. The holster on the left is Malone’s personal holster with his P38 revolver. The middle holster is a tooled one that sells for about $100 and on the end is the freshly made holster, complete with the wooden gun. Malone figures he sells about 100 holsters a year.

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From Page 5

and taught me a few things,” he says. “Most of the leather tools were hand made.”

He got distracted from leatherwork with what turned out to be his main career – commercial fishing – although he still did some leatherwork.

“I fished the Pacific Ocean,” he said, out of Hawaii. He did that for more than 20 years starting in 1971. “In the mid 90s, I decided I didn’t like the ocean,” he said.

So he moved to Priest Lake, where his parents lived and started being serious with his leatherwork.

“I enjoyed it and wanted to try to make some money off leather,” he said. The holster is now cut. He starts shaping it, folding and trimming. He makes sure the edges that aren’t going to be stitched are smooth. If he were to do any hand tooling of the holster, now is when he would do that. For the holster he’s making, though, he just smoothes the edges.

When he got to the Inland Empire, he started studying leatherwork with the late saddle maker Jesse Smith in Spokane.

“I learned a lot from Jesse,” he Voice photo|Don Gronning

Continued On Page 7

Malone taps a snap into the retaining strap.

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Holster maker Jim Malone starts work on a holster, cutting out a pattern in the leather.

and wood for heat.

Jaz works at the mile 11 transfer station on Highway 57. said. Still it takes some time to “She’s known as the Hat Lady,” learn how to make things from he says. “She’s worked at the dump leather. for 20 years. People started bring“It took me several years before ing her hats and she would decoI could make things I could sell,” rate them and wear them.” he says. He learned how to make About seven or eight years ago, saddles but eventually moved she entered the parade at Coolin away from that. dressed as a bag lady. She won the “I used to do saddle work but top award. now I mostly make holsters and “After winning the parade, belts,” he says.

He moved to the Priest River area someone said, why don’t you make calendars,” Malone says, so she about 20 years ago. He and his wife, Jaz, make their home in a so- did. “She decorates them and puts lar powered, off-the-grid trailer. He funning sayings on them.” has a shop and they use propane Continued On Page 9 From Page 6

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From Page 7

The calendars proved so popular she sells them as a fundraiser for local non-profits. This year’s calendars will benefit the Save The Thoroughfare project at Priest Lake.

Malone continues work on the holster, folding it over and attaching a retaining strap.

Now he is ready to take it to the leather sewing machine, a $4,000 piece of equipment. He lines it up and starts to sew the leather.

The market for holsters has steadily increased over the last few years, Malone says.

“It’s probably doubled in the last four or five years,” he says.

Malone is nearly 70 and retired, so he doesn’t depend on leatherwork to support himself. Still, he figures he sells 100 or so holsters a year.

“People hear about me from word of mouth,” he says. He had a booth at the Priest River Gun Show, something he’s done the last four or five years. “I did really good there this year,” he says.

The change in Idaho’s concealed weapon law made a huge difference in his business.

“Since the concealed weapon law changed, more people are buying concealed weapons,” he

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says. Many also buy a holster to go with it.

Malone says there is a difference between a holster meant for concealed carry and one just meant to hold a pistol.

“If you’re carrying a concealed weapon, you want the holster to be concealable, easily accessible and have good retention,” he says, meaning the pistol must stay in the holster until it is needed.

When carrying a pistol for hunting, the needs are a little different.

“You want coverage and retention,” he said.

His holsters range in price from $50-60 for a simple one like he’s making, to about $100 for a tooled holster. The gun belt he really enjoys making is a buscadero, a fancy double holster gun belt with tooling, something he would sell for $300.

“That’s sort of the kind Hollywood made famous in the westerns,” he says. He’s finishing the holster now, smoothing the edges that have been sewn and covering the leather with neat’s-foot oil for protection.

So, after so much time living around the ocean, does he miss it?

“No,” he says. “I like visiting the ocean, but I’m through living around it. I like it here.”

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‘You have to be very, very accurate. When you’re reloading high pressure rifles, if you have something go wrong, it could be deadly.’

Phil Flack

Reloading ammunition ‘like baking a cake’

By Michelle Nedved Voice photo|Michelle Nedved

Phil Flack works his progressive shotgun shell reloader. Once all stations are full, it becomes a sort of assembly line, where every pull of the lever results in a reloaded shell.

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Voice photo|Michelle Nedved

One way to save money on reloading ammunition is to mine gun clubs for shot. Newport Gun Club brought in a company a couple years ago to sift through the soil for spent shot, resulting in these 25-pound bags the club sold for $22.

P

hil Flack has been reloading ammunition since he was a boy. Inspired by his grandfather, he earned a badge in the Cub Scouts for the hobby before his teenage years.

He still does it today for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the satisfaction of a job well done.

“There is some enjoyment to be had from going out after a day of reloading, and you go put it on paper and it shoots exactly, it does what you want it to do.

It’s like baking a cake. It comes out and everyone raves about how great it is. That’s satisfying,” he said, in his shop in the Clagstone area north of Blanchard.

Flack’s fulltime job is construction manFall Voice

agement and he sells some real estate on the side.

But his life is full of hobbies: hunting, fishing, motorcycles and shooting, to name just a few.

“We moved to Priest River (from Newport) in 1998 or 1999, just because it’s a better place to hunt and fish,” he said.

Flack’s maternal grandfather, Jesse Phillips, was a wildcatter, in that he created custom cartridges.

“Everybody had a thirty-aught-six. And then they started stepping up bullet size… all these new cartridges came from the manufacturers, but they started from guys doing their own thing.”

He always had a reloading bench.

‘It’s like baking a cake. It comes out and everyone raves about how great it is. That’s satisfying.’

Phil Flack Flack reloads shotgun shells, and rifle and pistol cartridges.

He still has his first shotgun shell reloader, made in the 1950s, that he got from his granddad.

He keeps it in its original box in his shop, just in case he needs it.

But mounted on his countertop are a semiContinued On Page 13

11

Voice photo|Michelle Nedved

This is a shotgun shell reloading kit from the 1950s that Phil Flack got from his grandfather, Jesse Phillips.

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Phone 800-678-7733 Or 208-336-7733 Bryan Graham Becky Carlson - Health Ins. Fall Voice

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SPECIAL MOBILITY SERVICES Monday • Wednesday • Thursday • Friday Voice photo|Michelle Nedved

This is a semi-progressive shotgun shell re-loader, meaning while the steps are automated, only one shell is reloaded at a time.

From Page 11

The political stage affects costs, as any president deemed to be anti-gun draws enthu-

progressive and progressive reloader.

The semi-progressive is faster ‘Essentially, every pull than the 1950s version. It autoof the handle is another mates each step of reloading a hull – the empty shotgun shell shell. So I can load – but you’re still only reloading about 400 loads an hour one at a time.

He was able to reload about 75 with this if it’s really rounds an hour with the semigoing.’ progressive.

The progressive, however, is Phil Flack like its own miniature assembly line. siasts to the stores in droves.

Each station completes a step, and once all the stations are full, People will know when a shipment is coming to Cabela’s, each pull of the lever finishes a Flack explains. shell.

“You would think the Rolling “Essentially, every pull of the handle is another shell. So I can Stones were coming to town.”

November’s election will be load about 400 loads an hour interesting. with this if it’s really going,” “We’ll see it again with this Flack said.

Reloading shotgun shells start- election cycle, if things go in an unfriendly firearms fashion, ed out as a cost saving method people will stock up.” for Flack, but that’s changed It’s frustrating for him, who now as components have gotten reloads as a hobby. more and more expensive. When “Now because of all the hoardhe first started, a box of shells was $2.50, and he could reload Continued On Page 14 a box for $1.

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From Page 13

Voice photo|Michelle Nedved

ers, it’s like soup at Safeway. You can only get the first three,” he said.

So Flack does it for the customization capabilities.

“So let’s say you’re at the trap club and you’re shooting from the 27-yard line. You’d make a lot hotter load with a tighter pattern than if you were shooting from 16 yards,” he said. You can also tailor ammunition to the shooter.

Light loads with little kickback are good for youth shooters and some women.

“You can make cartridges that aren’t necessarily available to the public,” he said.

Hulls can be reloaded six to 10 times each.

You inspect them for cracks and deterioration, and the primer pockets get augered out, Flack said.

Shot can also be reused. The Newport Gun Club, of which Flack is a member, had the land mined a couple years ago.

A company came out and sifted through the soil, sorting out shot.

A 25-pound bag of shot new is $50. The gun club was selling

Reloading ammunition is much like baking a cake with a book full of recipes, depending on what kind of result you want.

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From Page 14

the used shot for about $22 per bag.

He loads 2,000 to 2,500 trap loads a year, four of five boxes of grouse loads, turkey loads and duck and geese loads.

“So depending on what you’re hunting, you change recipes,” literally.

Flack has a recipe book with virtually endless options for reloading ammunition.

“You have certain characteristics that you want, each one of those is a separate load, and each hull takes a different powder combination,” he said.

Flack also reloads metal cases for rifles and pistols, and this can actually be a cost savings, especially if you compete.

A box of 20 rounds can cost $30. Eight pounds of gunpowder is $120, “and that’ll last you years and years and years,” Flack said.

“And over here I have bags of used brass, and buckets and boxes full of used brass,” he said pointing to his stash of empty cases.

Flack competed in cowboy action shooting for a time, shooting 300 to 400 rounds a week.

It’s a game where participants

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dress up like cowboys and shoot at various targets. A timed course is set up to shoot rifles, pistols, sing-action six guns and shotguns.

“I did it a number of years ago and it was a kick in the butt.

You travel around and go to different matches, and they build old West towns, and all kinds of neat stuff.

And you’re dressed up in the cowboy garb,” he said.

His rifle/pistol reloader does one bullet at a time.

A set of dyes, like a machinists’, are screwed into a base one at a time, depending on the step you are completing.

There are progressive presses for rifles, but Flack says there’s better accuracy with a one timer.

Reloading ammunition is a quiet pastime.

It takes strong concentration and no interruptions. It can also be dangerous. After all, you are dealing with explosives.

Flack, however, has never had an accident, and he only reloads for himself.

“You have to be very, very accurate. When you’re reloading high pressure rifles, if you have something go wrong, it could be deadly,” he said.

17

Hot rod guns Lone Wolf taps custom Glock accessory market

By Don Gronning

Voice photo|Don Gronning

Here are four products Lone Wolf distributes. The top gun is a Timberwolf compact model and the two middle items are slides that fit on top of the frame. The bottom is a full sized Timberwolf.

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Voice photo|Don Gronning

Lone Wolf General Manager Rob Hansel shows some of the custom barrel engraving Lone Wolf can do. “I don’t call 911” is written on one of the barrels.

A

business that started in a bedroom in 1998 has grown into a business with $9 million in sales last year, 28 employees and a bright future, with the potential to put on a second shift later

next year, adding maybe 10 more employees.

Lone Wolf Distributing is located in the Priest River Industrial Park in a 13,000-square-foot building. It was started by Daniel “JR” Shepard and his wife Mary in their

Hoo Doo Loop home in Oldtown.

They make and sell parts and accessories for Glock firearms.

“I had a desk in my bedroom,” remembers JR. The couple would work during the day then have to put things away when the kids

came home from school.

“We had the product in the bathtub. It was definitely a home based business,” says Lone Wolf General Manager Rob Hansel. He says Continued On Page 21

Voice photo|Don Gronning

A laser engraved slide. In the past such engraving would have to be hand etched but now it is done with a laser.

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Voice photo|Don Gronning

Lone Wolf makes their own gun frame that is Glock compatible, the Timberwolf.

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Lone Wolf Distributing was started as a home business in Oldtown by JR and Mary Shepard.

JR says the company has grown to $9 million in annual sales.

From Page 19

the company started about the same time the internet was taking off.

He says they benefitted greatly and still sell a lot online at their website www.lonewolfdist.com.

Shepard got his start with a cable access show “Sportsmen of the Northwest,” that showcased shooting events in the northwest. He would produce, then drop the one-hour videos off at cable television stations around the country and they would broadcast them.

“The show got me noticed by people in the firearms industry,” Shepard said. He was also involved in competitive shooting for Glock, competing in the United States Practical Shooting Association. It’s a shoot and scoot type competition, with competitors making split second decisions on when and what to shoot.

Shepard had been working for Aro-Tek, a Kent, Wash., based company that was the first company to sell Glock accessories. But a series of tragedies struck Aro-Tek. Within a few weeks, they lost a couple key people who were deployed to Iraq, the owner’s wife came down with lupus and another key worker was killed in a motorcycle wreck.

“They were dealt a deathblow overnight,” Shepard says. The owner wanted to give him the company, but Shepard didn’t feel right about it.

So he started Lone Wolf Distributing and continued to sell some of the products for Aro-Tek as well.

For most companies, crossing the million-dollar mark in sales is a big deal. When Lone Wolf first sold a million dollars in products, it was time for a brief celebration.

“It phased us for about five minutes,” Shepard says. “But at the same time we knew we left $3 million on the table.”

The key to their success, he says, is offering high quality products at a reasonable price. The company sells parts and accessories for Glock firearms, as well as their own line of Timberwolf pistols that are interchangeable with Glock parts.

Shepard is an expert on all things Glock. He wrote the book on it. The Continued On Page 22

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21

Step back in time

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This is one of the colorful barrels made by Lone Wolf Distributing.

From Page 21

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Complete Glock Reference Guide is a 250-page manual that covers just about all things Glock, is in its fourth edition. The reference guide is considered one of the most comprehensive Glock books ever written, full of Glock history, specifications, drawings and photos.

One of the keys to Lone Wolf’s success is that Glock owners really like their guns.

“There are only a couple of things people will have an emotional connection with,” says Dave Biggers, Lone Wolf’s marketing manager. “Cars and guns are two of them.”

He says you can think of Lone Wolf like a car accessory business.

“Except our cars shoot,” he jokes.

People have all sorts of reasons to customize their guns.

“Some are functional and some are cosmetic,” Biggers says.

Functional changes can be things like making the sight easier to see, adjusting the trigger pull and changing the barrel to make the gun more accurate.

Cosmetic changes include things like engraving and custom colors.

When the company moved from the house to the industrial park in 2013, sales had grown to $6 million a year.

Shepard says the move was a big deal. The company invested some money making the 13,000-square-foot facility fit their needs, adding a wall here and there.

Shepard is proud of his business and his employees. He says the company doesn’t have much turnover. The average length of time for their current employees is 5.5 years.

“We don’t have employees, we have people who want to be here,” he says. The company pays a living wage, about $16 an hour, has a 401k with a company match and offers profit sharing.

Lone Wolf has a pretty specialized market.

“If you don’t own a Glock, you aren’t interested in us,” Shepard says.

“Our customers don’t have just one Glock, they have four or five.”

Shepard has a philosophy about customizing guns that has served him well.

“If it’s not illegal, immoral and nobody gets hurt, we’ll do it,” he says.

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The bigger the boom‌ Cannon provides loud tradition for homecoming game

By Sophia Aldous

Voice photo|Sophia Aldous

Newport School District Maintenance Manager Scott Armstrong lugs the replica Mountain Howitzer into storage Monday morning, Sept. 26, before returning it to Lone Wolf Distributor in Priest River.

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Fall Voice

Courtesy photo|Chris Demlow

Sadie Halstead Middle School Principal Tony Moser prepares the touchdown cannon for the homecoming football game at Ellersick Field Friday night, Sept. 23.

I

t’s the homecoming football game at Newport High School Friday evening, Sept.

23, and the Grizzlies are thoroughly trouncing the Medical Lake Cardinals in a shut out game that will end 50-0.

However, despite Newport’s aggressive lead in the game, something is missing. Suddenly, after Fall Voice

the Grizzlies score yet another touchdown, the announcer comes over the loudspeakers: “Here it is… wait for it…”

This is followed by a tremendous boom, emitted from the replica of a M1841 Mountain Howitzer cannon, stuffed with paper charges.

The audience in the stands gives a collective “Ah!” with accompany-

ing cheering and clapping.

“Sorry folks, we were a little late getting it started, but as you can see, we’re in business,” says the announcer.

The cannon, which is loaned to the school district from Lone Wolf Distributors in Priest River (see story by Don Gronning in this issue of Voice), has been a homecom-

ing game tradition in Newport for five years. Every time the Grizzlies score a touchdown, it’s resounding boom lets everyone in the town proper hear about it.

Usually, Newport School District Maintenance Manager Scott Armstrong loads and sets off the Continued on page 26

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From Page 25

12-pound cannon barrel, but since he was out of town during homecoming this year, Sadie Halstead Middle School Principal Tony Moser took over the task.

“If there’s a remote amount of testosterone in someone, you like to hear things go boom,” says Armstrong.

The replica is based on a mountain gun used by the U.S. Army during the mid-nineteenth century in the Mexican– American War, the American Indian Wars, and the American Civil War.

For the purposes of the homecoming game, it is loaded with three-and-a-half ounces of black powder, tightly packed wads of newsprint and paper towels, and set off with a fuse that is six to eight inches long.

Though Armstrong didn’t know how much the cannon costs, the barrels themselves range in price from about $800 for the cast iron tubes all the way up to $8,000 for cast bronze on the internet.

“It’s just a fun, exciting tradition, and it’s great that Lone Wolf lets us use it,” Armstrong says. “It’s great that they support our kids at the game.”

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According to the website www.militaryfactory.com, Howitzers are generally categorized by their shorter barrels.

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Buying a gun and getting a pistol license?

Here’s what you need to know

By Sophia Aldous Of The Miner

NEWPORT – Buying a firearm brings up some questions regarding how it should be done.

In Washington State, the passage of Initiative 594 in 2014 requires criminal and public safety background checks by licensed dealers to all firearm sales and transfers, including gun show and online sales. There are exceptions, most notably that background checks would not be required to transfer a firearm by gift between family members.

The background check requirement also would not apply to the sale or transfer of antique firearms, or to certain temporary transfers of a firearm when needed to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm.

“It is a rather hard law to enforce, because if someone purchased their firearms before the law was passed in 2014, how do you know?” says Pend Oreille County Sheriff Alan Botzheim.

“However, if you’re purchasing a firearm in Washington State after 2014, the deal must be brokered through a licensed dealer.”

However, background checks aren’t required for certain temporary transfers of a firearm including temporary transfers between spouses, and temporary transfers for use at a shooting range, in a competition, or for performances. A temporary transfer to a person under the age of 18 for hunting, sporting, or education would not require a background check. Other temporary transfers for lawful hunting also would not require a background check.

The law certainly hasn’t hindered applications for concealed pistol licenses (CPL) at the Pend Oreille County Sheriff’s office.

According to Pend Oreille County Civil Deputy Ciara Williamson, the department was receiving an average of 40 applications per week between Nov. 2015 and Feb. 2016. She says it’s gone down to about 15 to 20 applica-

tions per week.

By state law, a person must have a CPL when carrying a pistol concealed on their person or carrying or placing a loaded pistol in a vehicle.

Those applying for a CPL in Washington State must apply in the county where they legally reside. This rule does not apply to an out of state resident who wants to purchase a Washington State CPL. Applicants must be 21 years of age or older and have a photo ID such as a valid state driver license or state ID card. A CPL application must be filled out regardless if the applicant is applying for an original license or renewing their current one.

However, fingerprints are only taken for original applications.

If approved, the process can take 30 to 60 days.

The cost for an original license is $48, which includes $12 for fingerprinting and $36 for the license. Renewals are $32 and late renewals are $42. Replacements

can be issued for a lost license or change of address for $10.

The license is good for five years and can be renewed within 90 days before the expiration date or 90 days after. If the expiration date is missed and is still within the 90 days, the application will be considered a late renewal and will come with a $10 late fee.

To download the concealed pistol license application, go to www.dol.wa.gov. Do not sign or date the application until in the presence of the Pend Oreille County Civil Deputy at the Sheriff’s Office.

To find out whether or not a CPL is recognized in other states, visit the Washington State Attorney General’s website at www. atg.wa.gov/concealed-weapons.

Williamson reminds readers that the sheriff’s office is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. for walk-in traffic, and not open on the weekends.

The department only accepts cash or checks for payment of fees.

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Fall Voice

What does concealed carry mean in Idaho?

By Sophia Aldous Of The Miner

PRIEST RIVER – It’s no secret that the State of Idaho is a strong supporter of the second amendment. Case in point, the law passed by state legislators in 2015 that allows most gun owners over age 21 to be armed in public places without a permit. The law took effect in July of this year. Up until then, Idaho residents had to apply for a special permit and have their fingerprints taken, and be able to pass a state police background check that showed they had not been treated for mental illness or charged with domestic violence.

“It’s clear in our state constitution that you have a right to bear arms,” Priest River Police Chief McLain says. “It’s not a murky issue.”

Now, the law allows Idahoans to take their pistols in most government buildings and even in bars, though business owners are within their rights to ask customers to leave their firearms in their vehicles, according to McLain.

However, there are stipulations that coincide with the law. People who are disqualified include those with a criminal record or protection order, drug users and those who were dishonorably discharged from the military. It is illegal to carry a concealed weapon while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. People may also carry a concealed weapon without a permit outside city limits. Idaho’s law also allows a Washington resident who has a Washington state concealed carry permit to carry a con-

cealed gun within an Idaho city, provided they have the Washington permit on them. Outside of city limits in Idaho, Washington residents 18 or older who aren’t disqualified persons may carry concealed weapons without a permit.

There is a second option, which is the Enhanced License to Carry Concealed Weapons.

“This allows for greater reciprocity when taking a concealed pistol into another state,” explains McLain. “There are over 30 states that recognize it.”

The enhanced license also allows concealed carry on public college and university campuses, with the exception of dorms and venues or

‘It’s clear in our state constitution that you have a right to bear arms. It’s not a murky issue.’

iff’s Office in Sandpoint. Applicants must have a fingerprint card that was completed by a law enforcement agency within Bonner County.

Fingerprinting is available in the jail on Tuesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. There is a $15 fee and cash must be used in the exact amount, as the department is not able to provide change.

Applicants must have proof of NRA firearms training/military training/law enforcement training, and/or a hunter safety course.

The fee for the background check is $39.75 and will be collected at the time the application is turned in. The license is $22.70 and will be collected by the Driver’s License Office when a permit is issued.

For more information, go to www.bonnerso. org/concealed-weapons-permit.php.

Drew McLain

Priest River Chief of Police

stadiums that seat 1,000 or more people.

“It (enhanced license) does require eight hours of firearms training and shooting 98 rounds,” says McLain. “Those who apply for an enhanced license also have to take a class from a certified expert on the legal liabilities that pertain to using your pistol in a defense situation.”

Those interested in obtaining an enhanced permit must do so at the Bonner County Sher-

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Priest River Gun Show benefits Masons, junior high

By Don Gronning

There has been a gun show held at Priest River Junior High School twice a year for the last 10 years.

It is sort of unusual to have a gun show in a school, but organizer Gary Lammers of Kaniksu Masonic Lodge No. 97 in Priest River says it has worked out well.

“We have a letter from the Attorney General that says we can be here,” Lammers says. The gun

show has been around since 1998.

Before being held in the junior high, it was held at the Priest River Industrial Park.

The gun show is held during spring break in the spring and just before school starts in the fall.

Lammers says a guard is stationed at the school overnight.

Venders at this year’s show took up 80 tables, selling everything from firearms and ammunition to west-

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ern memorabilia to rare coins.

The show has drawn as many as 1,300 spectators. The last couple years it has drawn about 750.

The show was started to raise money for a new lodge building.

“Our members are getting older, so we wanted a lodge with just one floor,” Lammers said. The lodge is currently located on the second floor of the Odd Fellows building in Priest River. But with interest rates so low, constructing a new building may be a ways off, Lammers says.

“But that’s still the goal,” he says.

In the meantime, the gun shows raise money to support Kaniksu’s scholarship program. Each year the lodge donates two $750 scholarships. The scholarships aren’t limited to West Bonner County School District students, they’re available to people throughout the West Bonner County, including students attending other schools, as well as veterans. The lodge also makes a donation directly to Priest River Junior High School, something principal Leoni Johnson didn’t know about when she got a call from Lammers her first year

being principal.

“Gary called me and said ‘I have some money for you,’” she said. “I said, you do?” He gave her $1,200, the results of a raffle drawing held to benefit the school. The lodge donates a minimum of $1,000 to the school, even if raffle sales don’t get to the $1,000 level.

Johnson says there have been few worries about the gun show being held in a school.

“They’re safe,” she says. She says the lodge handles setup and cleanup. “You’d never know they were there.” Johnson says the money is used for a variety of things.

“We use it for the Community Support Fund,” she says. That fund goes to help students who need things like gym shoes, yearbooks and other items they may not have money for. It also pays for supplies for after school tutoring three days a week. Johnson says the money is spent each year.

“We appreciate it greatly because it helps a lot of student who would have gone without,” she says.

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