Reader_July6_2017

compiled by Susan Drinkard

DEAR READERS, (wo)MAN on the street

Is the GOP health care repeal plan a step forward or backward?

“I don’t know anyone who will benefit from the proposed plan.”

James Rowland Ski guy Sandpoint

“Trump is going to take care of his own — the privileged one percent.”

Caren Reiner Musician Sandpoint

“I am in favor of health care for everyone — a single payer system. It should be a human right. There is no reason to have insurance companies and bankers standing between the people and their doctors. Health care should be free for all.”

Jim Brown Self-employed Hope

“I think the current healthcare proposal is a step back. We currently, in Idaho alone, have 70,000 people who fall within the gap and don’t have insurance, and I think this healthcare plan will widen that gap even further.”

Kate McAlister President and CEO of Chamber of Commerce Sandpoint

“It’s a dramatic step backward. Its intent appears to be simply to negate any progress made during the previous administration as opposed to staking a claim on creating meaningful health care.”

Dave Gunter

Itinerant musician Sandpoint

Greetings information seekers, people waiting for their laundry to finish the spin cycle, dedicated politicos, doctor’s office waiting room readers and all other manner of people who pick up our weekly offering.

A couple weeks ago we started a Patreon account to help us bring in a little extra revenue, and the community’s response has been wonderful. At press time, we have 24 patrons who have donated a combined $102 per month. That’s so great, Sandpoint! We really appreciate everything you do to keep this weekly newspaper printing.

In case you’re new to the idea of Patreon, it’s a different spin on crowdfunding engineered to help those who create regular content. If you believe in the project, patrons can donate as little as $1 per month to help generate funds and keep the creative juices flowing.

So far, here are the kind souls who have signed up to help support the Reader, including how much they have pledged each month:

•Karen and Allen Millar - $10/mo.

•Simon Levin - $10/mo.

•Valerie Olson - $10/mo.

•Connie Burkhart - $10/mo.

•Carrie and Dan Logan - $10/mo.

•Marilyn Haddad - $5/mo.

•Zachardy Taylor - $5/mo.

•D.R. Douglas Technologies - $5/mo.

•Phil Hough - $5/mo.

•Jeff Bohnhof - $5/mo.

•Morgan and Crosby Tajan - $5/mo.

•Charlene Godec - $5/mo.

•Taylor Long - $5/mo.

•Carol Robinson - $5/mo.

•Talache Construction - $5/mo.

•Krissy Cameron - $2/mo.

•Cameron Murray - $2/mo.

•Rachel Seitz - $2/mo.

•Joanne Cottrell - $2/mo.

•Warren Santoro - $2/mo.

•Meggan Gunter - $2/mo.

•Kim Staunton - $1/mo.

•Jenaye James - $1/mo.

•Miriam Robinson - $1/mo.

•Laura Nicholson-Paulk - $1/mo.

We’re so thankful for your continued support of the Reader. If you want to help and wouldn’t mind donating a buck or more per month, check out our Patreon page here: www.patreon.com/sandpointreader.

-Ben Olson, Publisher

READER

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

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Publisher: Ben Olson ben@sandpointreader.com

Editor: Cameron Rasmusson cameron@sandpointreader.com

Zach Hagadone (emeritus) John Reuter (emeritus)

Advertising: Jodi Taylor Jodi@sandpointreader.com

Contributing Artists: Jodi Rawson (cover), Ben Olson, Henry Worobec, Jen Heller, Susan Drinkard, Cort Gifford.

Contributing Writers: Cameron Rasmusson, Ben Olson, Lyndsie Kiebert, McCalee Cain, Zach Hagadone, Jen Heller, Jim Mitsui, Brenden Bobby, Terry Owens, Heather McElwain, Tom Woodward, Marcia Pilgeram, Laurie Brown.

Submit stories to: stories@sandpointreader.com

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Web Content: Keokee

The Sandpoint Reader is a weekly publication owned and operated by Ben Olson and Keokee. It is devoted to the arts, entertainment, politics and lifestyle in and around Sandpoint, Idaho. We hope to provide a quality alternative by offering honest, in-depth reporting that reflects the intelligence and interests of our diverse and growing community. The Reader is printed on recycled paper using soy-based ink. Leftover copies are collected and recycled weekly, or burned in massive bonfires to appease the gods of journalism. Free to all, limit two copies per person.

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About the Cover

This week’s cover was painted by Jodi Rawson, who donated the painting to our office where it hangs proudly. Thanks Jodi.

Moral Poverty:

By Zach Hagadone Reader Contributor

The Trump health care plan has been condemned as “immoral” by onlookers ranging from former presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) to the National Catholic Review. Former President Barack Obama on June 22 made a rare public policy statement, saying the Senate version of the proposal expressed a “fundamental meanness.” Rather than a health care bill, Obama wrote on Facebook, “It’s a massive transfer of wealth from middle-class families to the richest people in America.” The New York Times on June 30 carried an op-ed by Paul Krugman titled “Understanding Republican Cruelty,” in which the Nobel Prize-winning economist distilled the “morally indefensible agenda” into a simple equation: gut federal health care spending and plow the “savings” into supporting tax cuts for the wealthy. According to Krugman, more than 40 percent of the tax cuts in the Senate bill would benefit

Global Warming Hoax...

Dear Editor,

I defy those in the Reader audience to describe exactly how global warming/climate change has impacted their lives here in Bonner County. This does not include tales of a snowless Christmas, 80-degree heat the first week of April, or snow on the ground at City Beach on the Fourth of July.

As a 40-year resident, I have witnessed all of the above. The only effect this mother-of-all fake news has had is angst and emotional distress for the easily influenced and ill-educated who have been scammed by this cruel hoax. Make no mistake, this farce is designed for one thing: to separate you from your hard-earned money in the form of a global tax. Wise up.

Cort Gifford

Sandpoint

Street Change Blues...

Dear Reader, Does anyone like the newly implemented street/traffic design? I have not talked to a single person who is

Trump’s health plan and Republican refusal to expand Medicaid is part of America’s founding war against the poor

Americans whose annual income tops $1 million. In exchange, he wrote, would be about 200,000 preventable deaths.

For pundits like Krugman, the sacrifice of poor Americans for the financial benefit of rich Americans is a moral atrocity, but it’s nothing new. Rather, the war on the poor is much more in line with traditional “American values” than the War on Poverty.

In her 2016 work “White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America,” Louisiana State University American History Professor Nancy Isenberg deftly reframes the development of the U.S. from Colonial times to the present as a running battle between fundamentally illiberal, anti-democratic elites and the despised poor folk who, as foundational Western thinker John Locke wrote, were “idle” and had a “loose way of breeding up.” In his “Fundamental Constitutions,” written in 1650 to manage the then-British colony of Carolina, Locke not only endorsed slavery but sought to establish a quasi-feudal society

pleased by the recent changes. I suppose the folks that came up with this absurd plan think that it is just great and are very proud of themselves.

Driving on Second Avenue going north, trying to turn left on Cedar St. safely is very difficult because you can’t see oncoming traffic without being halfway out into the street. Diagonally parked vehicles block the view. Trying to back out of a diagonal parking spot can be a problem if you have a large vehicle next to you. You can’t see oncoming traffic till you are halfway into the street.

Pine Street is one-way for a block and two-way for four blocks. You can’t turn left onto Pine Street from Fifth. What? Who came up with that brilliant idea?

With all of the “extra” parking as a result of the diagonal spaces there seem to be fewer handicapped spaces. Would the diagonal spaces even be appropriate and usable for handicapped folks? Maybe people with handicaps are not welcome downtown.

I won’t even go into the issues of changing one-way streets into twoway streets and removing stoplights

in North American consisting of perpetually indentured workers lorded over by landed elites with old European titles like “landgrave,” which he held himself as absentee owner of 48,000 acres in the colony.

As Isenberg describes it, Locke’s “Fundamental Constitutions” “was really a declaration of war against poor settlers.”

Obsessed with the idea of “idleness,” Benjamin Franklin took a decidedly Lockeian view of the moral degeneracy of the poor, drawing on grotesque comparisons between human nature and the behaviors of ants and pigeons. For Franklin, even in the pre-Revolutionary period, encouraging the breeding of the “right” kind of Americans meant expelling the poor from the cities by opening new land, which would presumably encourage “industry, frugality and fertility.” In other words, Franklin saw Westward expansion as a kind of proto-eugenic slum clearance that would, in Darwinian fashion, separate the wheat from the chaff by encouraging the dying off of weaker human speci-

to put in stop signs or yield signs and putting stoplights where there were none previously.

I would guess that the changes to the streets were meant to improve traffic flow, but it seems to me that the street changes only produce chaos.

I was puzzled for a long time as to how such a thing could happen. Then, one day I remembered what some of the “hippie-type” people would do to their friends as a joke in the ‘60s (the practice of which I did not approve), and then I knew how we likely ended up with such an insane street plan: “Somebody slipped something into the Kool-Aid”!

Allan Bopp Sandpoint

Respect Paddlers...

Dear Editor,

There are so few primitive beaches on Lake Pend Oreille for kayakers or canoeists to paddle to for the day or to camp overnight on either the east side of the lake from Johnson Creek landing towards the Monarchs

mens on the harsh frontier.

Only in the past 100 years has this attitude undergone much change. From the nascent social progressivism of President Woodrow Wilson to the Great Society reforms of President Lyndon Johnson (which brought us Medicaid and Medicare) to the ACA of President Obama. Dismally, the “Republican cruelty” that Krugman condemned in The Times is less an expression of present-day conservative radicalism than a bubbling up of the inhumane beliefs that animated 18th and 19th century belief structures that enabled the near-genocide of the Native Americans, Western imperialism and slavery. The refusal to expand Medicaid fits neatly into this survival-of-the-fittest tradition, so distant from the meritocratic qualities we celebrate as intrinsic to the so-called “American Dream.”

Trump’s isolationist, nationalist and elite-centric philosophy would have looked commonplace in the planter-dominated society of South Carolina in the

or from Talache Landing south to Maiden Rock. But now since BC Waterways Dept has put mooring buoys in front of every one of these beaches for power boats, including sailboats, to tie up to, you can forget ever getting to enjoy these special places because you will be outcompeted.

Last week, a powerboat beat me by a few minutes after paddling for an hour to get to what I call Loon Beach. Yesterday on the other side of the lake every primitive beach except one was taken by the same. Bummer! Unfair to paddlers!

Power boaters can go anywhere on the lake, paddlers have fewer options, but there are hundreds of us. As the author of the guidebook on LPO, we paddlers need to speak out against all these new mooring buoys! Please join me in calling the County Commissioners and the Marine Division of the BC Sheriff’s Department and complain and ask that some of these buoys be removed or moved away from paddler friendly beaches. Then tell your paddler friends to do the same.

Several years ago I and a few

late 1700s, which may answer for some what he means by making America “great again.” For the rest of us — those making less than $1 million a year — the question of whether to expand Medicaid becomes as much about policy as it is the degree to which we inhabit the promises we tell ourselves we’ve made to the least of us. Ultimately, if we want to be “great again” as we supposedly were when 72 percent of the population of South Carolina labored in slavery to support a tiny owner class, or great as we tell ourselves we are, guaranteeing (as we transmute from Locke’s famous aphorism through the words of another slave-owner, Thomas Jefferson) the right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” The latter, of course, must begin with good health and access to care. For Republicans like Trump, that’s simply not on the agenda because American greatness is reserved only for them.

An expanded version of this piece will be published online.

other paddlers attended Waterways meetings to get the one in front of what I call Loon Beach to be removed or moved. They wouldn’t, but fortunately the Lady of the Lake took care of it. It vanished. Until now.

Loon Beach is Woods Wheatcroft’s favorite Beach to photograph for Sandpoint Magazine and the Reader including cover photos. It’s a sacred place as well, important to the Kalispel women. Many women call it Sacred Women’s Beach.

The County has no respect for paddlers. We’re a hassle and we don’t pay the state license fees. That has to change! We deserve to enjoy these primitive spots! They learned nothing from my and others involvement several years ago. We all have to resist and speak out against these stupid and ugly buoys. Power boaters, I’m sorry, but you have lots of choices. We have so few.

Please join me! Thanks.

Jane Fritz Sandpoint

Celebrating Independence

It was another great Fourth of July in Sandpoint. Great weather, fun oats and good times had all the way around. Here are a few photos from the Kids Parade and the Grand Parade, both put on by the

All

Bouquets:

•Cynthia Mason deserves a bouquet this week for her unflagging determination to protect the turtles of North Idaho. Cynthia successfully lobbied the Idaho Transportation Department to install signs warning motorists on Highway 200 that turtles often crossed the roadway near the Pack River. After some douchebags stole the first two signs, Cynthia again patiently worked with ITD, who re-installed the signs just last week. Way to keep your head up and protect our native species, Cynthia.

Do For Your Country...

Dear Editor,

An acquaintance, a conservative Republican, has asked me how I could be an Air Force fighter pilot and also a Democrat (I pointed out that there are several of us in the area).

I explained that I started voting Democratic in 1960 when John Kennedy, a war hero, was running for president. JFK said something earlier about how Republicans were only interested in themselves and their money while Democrats were actually concerned about helping those less fortunate in our society. (So true with the current health care bill).

I have also wondered why, in addition to Donald Trump (medical deferments), an inordinate number of conservative leaders have never served in our armed forces. In our Idaho state legislature, there are no veterans -- George Eskridge, of Dover, apparently was the last one.

Over the Fourth of July, I was thinking that today, in this divided country, there is a message from that young president (who also founded the Peace Corps) in 1961 that may resonate with the ‘America First’ and ‘Let’s Make America Great Again’ people and that is: “Don’t ask what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”

Jim Ramsey Sandpoint

Task Force scholarship winners

Library announces groundbreaking on expansion

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

Library supporters, dignitaries and local media partners are invited to witness the official groundbreaking ceremony of Your Library Transformation, the remodel and expansion of the East Bonner County Library Sandpoint Branch, at 4 p.m. on Monday, July 10. A neighborhood focus group will take place Wednesday, July 12 at 5:30 p.m. in the room 104 of The Rude Girls Room. People living nearby the library are invited to discuss the impact of the project on neighboring residences with the general contractor.

“Northcon, Inc. is grateful to have this opportunity to help expand the library community here in Sandpoint,” said Brandon Spry, Northcon Inc. Regional Manager.

The project will result in larger, more accessible community meeting rooms, an expanded Children’s Area, increased young adult and large print book collections, designated quiet and social areas, a teen room and maker space, among other additions. The decision to remodel and expand the library is based on public comment, usage data and community focus groups and surveys performed over the past three years.

“While we will all be doing our best to mitigate inconveniences to patrons, we know that noise, dust and other disruptions are expected,” said Marcy Timblin, Public Relations Specialist for The Library.

For project details, donor information and real-time updates visit www.eBonnerLibrary.org.

Reminder: Jacey’s Race this weekend

By Jen Heller Reader Contributor

Here’s your friendly reminder, folks: Jacey’s Race is this Saturday, July 9, at the Sandpoint High School. You don’t want to miss it! Why? Because it’s going to be a blast! And, because every registration fee supports local kids living with severe, long-term illnesses. Register online at www. jaceys-race.com, or on-site Saturday before 8:00am.

This year’s beneficiaries are Jared Kluesner (15), Oliver Bond (3), Catalina Guthrie (14), and Clara Falconer (11). We don’t have room here to feature all of them, so here’s Catalina’s story, in brief. Cat spends 10-14 hours each night on an eight-foot leash, attached to a lifesaving dialysis

machine. When she was six years old, she was diagnosed with MPGN type II -- a rare disease in which the body’s immune system attacks otherwise healthy kidneys.

In over half of all MPGN type II cases, the illness progresses to end-stage renal disease within the first 10 years. Cat hit end-stage condition within two weeks of diagnosis. And dialysis is her only option -- even if she were matched with a kidney transplant, her body would likely kill her new kidneys within four months.

Needless to say, Catalina’s diagnosis has affected her whole family. The Guthries have relocated multiple times to keep her close to the best medical care they can find. Their basement is stacked with cardboard boxes full of the

life-saving medical equipment she uses every night.

“She’s almost never complained about any of it,” her mom, Cheryl, says. “But now, as she’s becoming a teenager, she’s realizing all the things kids her age are starting to do -- have a boyfriend, get a driver’s license. (Last week), when

we drove to Seattle to see her doctor, she said to me, ‘Mom, I’m just so tired.’” Cheryl shakes her head.

Come help Sandpoint celebrate Catalina and the gang on Saturday!

FEATURE

Opposition mounts in Idaho to voter information request

By Cameron Rasmusson Reader Staff

Idahoans are among those speaking out against a White House commission request for sensitive voter information.

Initiated by President Donald Trump, the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity is positioned as a body to investigate the prevalence of voter fraud in the U.S. However, its recent request for voter information — which includes full first and last names, birth dates, political party, addresses, gender, age, telephone numbers, the last four digits of their social security number, voter history from 2006 onward, felony convictions and more — has provoked a backlash across the country, and Idaho is no exception.

According to Idaho Chief Deputy Secretary of State Tim Hurst, dealing with the opposition to the commission’s request, which was filed Friday, has occupied much of the holiday week. On Wednesday morning alone, the office took 50 calls and received more than 300 emails.

“Nobody is in favor of it,” Hurst said.

Responding on Monday to the controversy, Idaho Secretary of State Lawrence Denney announced Monday that he will treat the White House commission’s inquiry like a standard public records request.

“I will look to fulfill the requirements of the law under Idaho statute while continuing to protect both the Idaho voter, their non-public, personal information, and their right to an absolutely private ballot under Article VI, section 1 of the Idaho Constitution,” Denney said in a press release.

That means some informa-

tion will be freely available as it would to any member of the public, while more sensitive information will be withheld.

For example, basic voter roll information, including name, age, addresses and political party, will be included. However, date of birth, felony convictions, the last digits of social security numbers and the actual ballot information listing vote records are all protected information.

“If they want more information, they can go to court for it,” Hurst said.

According to Hurst, this is a matter that the Secretary of State’s Office takes seriously. Given many Idahoans’ wariness about any interference into their privacy — especially from the federal government — he isn’t surprised by the heated response.

“Secretary Denney has the same concerns as well,” Hurst said. “He’s an advocate of privacy.”

In Hurst’s experience, the only instance that matches the vociferousness of the response is the switch to a closed primary system several years ago. In 2011, the Idaho Republican Party won a lawsuit to close its primary, arguing that party members alone should influence the selection of its candidates. That change went into effect prior to the 2012 primary election and outraged many who wanted to vote without declaring party affiliation.

The commission’s request provoked political pushback as well, particularly from the Idaho Democratic Party. On Monday, Idaho Democratic Party leadership hand-delivered a letter to Denney’s office, decrying the request and pointing out the lack of an explanation

on how the information will be used. They also claimed that voter fraud has been “virtually nonexistent” in Idaho for years and that Idaho taxpayers’ money will be wasted fulfilling the request.

“We find it unimaginable that the State of Idaho would willingly succumb to such a blatant Federal intrusion into our state’s right to control our own elections, protect our citizens’ voting rights and, most importantly, protect our citizens’ privacy from Federal investigators,” the party leadership, including Sens. Michelle Stennett, Cherie Buckner-Webb and Maryanne Jordan and Reps. Mat Erpelding, Ilana Rubel and Elaine Smith, wrote in the letter.

The request for voter information yielded widespread resistance across the country, with 44 states refusing all or part of the commission’s request. Some secretaries of state were more aggressive in their

response than others.

“My reply would be: They can go jump in the Gulf of Mexico, and Mississippi is a great state to launch from,” Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, a Republican, said in a statement Friday. “Mississippi residents should celebrate Independence Day and our state’s right to protect the privacy of our citizens by conducting our own electoral processes.”

According to CNN, by Tuesday afternoon Florida and Nebraska were still reviewing the request, while three states — Colorado, Missouri and Tennessee — supported the investigation into voter fraud.

Trump himself weighed in on states’ refusal to comply on Saturday. Taking to Twitter, he wrote, “Numerous states are refusing to give information to the very distinguished VOTER FRAUD PANEL. What are they trying to hide?”

Many political commenta-

tors and politicians have called the Election Integrity Commission a thinly-veiled justification for Trump’s claim, to date unsupported by evidence, that widespread voter fraud cost him the 2016 presidential election popular vote. Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, vice chairman of the commission, pushed back against that accusation on CNN, saying the Pew Center estimates that 1.8 million deceased people are still on voter rolls. He also emphasized the commission is not working to justify Trump’s claims.

“First of all, the commission is not to prove or disprove what the president speculated about in January,” Kobach told CNN. “The purpose of the commission is to find facts and put them on the table. Importantly, it’s a bipartisan commission.”

Council talks pay increases for o cials

By Cameron Rasmusson Reader Staff

When the Sandpoint City Council tackles its budgeting process next month, members will decide whether or not to authorize pay increases for the next round of civil servants.

Following a presentation by City Administrator Jennifer Stapleton, council members opted to include the pay raises in the proposed budget for consideration. They also requested more information to better compare Sandpoint’s compensation policies against similarly-sized cities.

According to Stapleton, council members have no plans as yet to authorize pay raises for elected officials, and no action has been taken on the matter. However, staff members in the city’s financial department need a maximum allowable budget figure to present to the City Council during upcoming budgeting workshops. While city staff pay raises to market averages are already in the proposed budget, Stapleton wanted an official directive before including pay increases for elected officials.

“That’s why were seeking staff direction … so we know which direction to go in the budget this year,” Stapleton told council members at the meeting.

Stapleton asked council members to consider the matter after noting that Sandpoint’s monthly salaries — $400 for council members and $1,200 for the mayor — were well below average benchmarks when

compared to other District 1 Idaho cities. On average, council members in regional cities like Post Falls, Rathdrum or Coeur d’Alene make $667 per month, while the average mayoral salary is $1,600. Stapleton also noted that these cities use a comparable city structure with a full-time city administrator and a part-time elected mayor.

Before they made any decisions regarding elected official pay in the upcoming budget workshops, council members wanted more information on where Sandpoint ranks compared to similar cities. Councilwoman Deb Ruehle said that while a comparison among District 1 cities was useful, it would be better to compare Sandpoint against cities with a similar population and tax base.

“I would feel more comfortable making decisions based on (that measurement),” she said.

Councilman Tom Eddy agreed with Ruehle’s assessment, saying he wasn’t sure the District 1 numbers painted an entirely clear picture.

The concern was that a larger city’s compensation policies could throw off the averages and make Sandpoint appear further below the benchmark than it truly is. Council members also wanted to know more about the workload expected of elected officials versus the compensation received. In Sandpoint, council members are expected to sit on committees in addition to time spent preparing for and serving in council meetings. Likewise, the Sandpoint

mayor represents the city at local events and attends workshops in addition to overseeing council meetings and authorizing bill payments.

“It would be fair to generalize that (work expectations are) similar to what we have here,” Stapleton said.

Ultimately, council members decided to leave their options open in anticipation of budget work this August.

The last time elected officials received a pay increase was in 2014, when the mayor’s monthly salary was increased from $1,000 to $1,200 and council pay increased from $275 to $400. At the time, Sandpoint’s compensation for elected officials was well below the district average. However, the driving force behind the increase was the fact that $275 was not sufficient to cover the benefits package council members received from the city, and they were instead paying out-of-pocket for it. In addition, Planning and Zoning Commission members received a stipend of $30 per meeting, where before they received no compensation.

“What was particularly noted in 2014 ... was that most of our council members were in a position that they had to pay for benefits,” Stapleton said.

Should council members approve any pay increases for elected officials this year, they will not go into effect until the next cycle of elections takes place in accordance with Idaho law.

Missile tests heat U.S.-North Korea relations

WASHINGTON, D.C. - President Donald Trump’s national security team agrees that North Korea is a serious threat following its latest missile tests.

Speaking with CBS News’ Face The Nation, Secretary of Defense James Mattis said North Korea’s recent tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles made the rogue state a “direct threat to the United States.”

The missile tests heighten fears that North Korea could eventually be capable of delivering a nuclear payload across vast distances.

“They have been very clear in their rhetoric,” Mattis told Face The Nation. “We don’t have to wait until they have an intercontinental ballistic missile with a nuclear weapon on it to say that now it has manifested completely.”

Mattis also gave Japan its assurances that the U.S. would provide “extended deterrences using the full range of U.S. capabilities,” according to a statement from the Pentagon.

Reuters reports that some experts believe the missile tested by the North Koreans has the capability of hitting Alaska, Hawaii and possibly even the Pacific Northwest.

Nikki Haley, U.S. ambassador to the United Nation, took a tough stance with the U.N. Security Council, saying that a diplomatic solution was becoming increasingly unlikely. She said that if Russia and China do not support proposed U.N. sanctions against the North Korea, “we will go our own path.”

“One of our capabilities lies with our considerable military forces,” Haley said. “We will use them if we must, but we prefer not to have to go in that direction.”

Trump, Putin to meet this Friday

HAMBURG, GERMANY.

-President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold their first formal meeting Friday at the G20 summit.

CNN reports that instead of an informal pull-aside meeting at the summit, the two world leaders will hold an official bilateral meeting.

“There’s no specific agenda,” National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster told reporters last Friday. “It’s really going to be whatever the president wants to talk about.”

Administration officials told CNN that Trump will likely focus on the Syrian and Ukraine conflicts, and it’s unlikely that Trump will broach the subject of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

The meeting will be watched closely by political analysts for any telling signs between the world leaders. With the Trump Administration still under scrutiny for possible campaign contacts with Russia throughout the 2016 election, the meeting is sure to attract significant attention, with everything from body language to word choice examined under a microscope.

Trump’s trip to the G20 summit will likely also have foreign relations implications. With the president’s first foreign trip serving to reinforce his “America First” agenda, policy experts believe he may face tougher and more unified opposition among world leaders, The Washington Post reports.

On Wednesday, Trump emphasized his willingness to pull the U.S. away from existing trade deals. Much like his stance on the Paris Climate Accord, he argued that the deals run counter to U.S. interests.

IMPRESSIVE!

Workshop set for Oak St. improvements

By Cameron Rasmusson Reader Staff

Local residents have a chance to weigh in on the future of Oak Street in the city’s downtown revitalization plans.

A public workshop hosted by the Sandpoint Public Works Department will take place in the Sandpoint City Council Chambers on Tuesday, July 11, 2017, from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. Throughout the workshop, city personnel will take public comments on ideas about proposed bike path design and curb, gutter and sidewalk upgrades on Oak between Boyer and Fourth.

AN AERIAL VIEW

’s o ce searching for missing boater

By Cameron Rasmusson Reader Staff

The Bonner County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a boater who went missing Sunday, July 2.

John Arthur Key, 67, was reported missing by his friends after boating in the Cape Horn area of Lake Pend Oreille, according to a sheriff’s office press release. The Newman

Lake, Wash., man had been with his friends during the day before leaving to return to Bayview. His empty boat was later found by his friends near the center of the lake.

A muli-agency search was conducted without finding any sign of Key. Despite complications from the 1,100-foot lake depth, the search continues.

Ospreys rescued from nest

By McCalee Cain Reader Intern

With the new downtown streets plan implemented and the city in control of downtown development, the Oak Street improvements are just another step toward larger-scale downtown improvements. A project envisioned in the 2012 Downtown Streets Plan and Design Guide, the downtown work will introduce several new amenities, infrastructure upgrades and aesthetic improvements throughout downtown Sandpoint.

According to Sandpoint City Administrator Jennifer Stapleton, the Oak Street improvements were first proposed in 2013 and are supported by both the Sandpoint Urban Renewal Agency and a grant from the Idaho Transportation Department. Following the public workshop, work will begin on the final design, with construction bids going out this autumn and work beginning next spring.

For more information, contact Stapleton at (208) 265-1483 or jstapleton@sandpointidaho.gov.

This Fourth of July, the great American bald eagle wasn’t the only bird getting buzz. While much of Sandpoint paraded downtown, a dedicated crew saved two orphaned osprey chicks from the Ontario Street nest (not the webcam-covered nest).

The parents of the chicks were killed July 3 in an accident in which they collided midair and fell to their deaths.

Birds of Prey Northwest Executive Director Janie Veltkamp assessed that the two may have been protecting their nest from a predator such as an eagle and miscalculated their flight paths, leading to the crash.

After receiving a report of the collision, a volunteer group was assembled to asses the situation. Ground observers found one nest unattended, and waited into nightfall to see if the parents would return. When they did not, it became clear that they must have died.

“When you have chicks in your nest, you’re highly invested in your youngsters, so that was our clue that it was the parents that had died,” Veltkamp said.

The next morning, to rescue the orphaned chicks from their 100-foot high nest, the volun-

teer crew enlisted the help of Bestway Tree Service’s tall bucket truck. Service owner Dennis McIntire navigated the bucket up to the nesting platform and found the chicks alive. The birds were carefully transferred to a cardboard box and the bucket maneuvered back to the ground.

At approximately three weeks old, the chicks are very young and vulnerable to cold night air as well as predators.

“They would have perished without parents,” Veltkamp asserted.

After the rescue, the chicks will live at the Birds of Prey Northwest facility in St. Maries, where they will be placed with a female osprey foster mother.

“We keep foster birds for one reason: when orphans come to us, they must be parented by other birds so to avoid imprinting on humans,” Veltkamp said.

Veltkamp explained that imprinting on people creates a complicated psychological situation that is irreversible for raptors. Thus, the chicks will be nurtured by parent birds until they are of appropriate age to handle more human contact.

Thanks to the dedication of Birds of Prey Northwest, the future of the osprey chicks is bright.

Science: Mad about

By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist

In the final installment of our aquatic monsters series, the weird name parade continues, but don’t be fooled. The Dunkle isn’t a clown, and is most definitely not your run-of-the-mill fish.

Here in North Idaho, we love to fish. Bass, pike, trout, you name it. One of the best sport fish we’ve had around here is probably the tiger muskie, and anyone that’s caught one knows that it’s one hell of a fighter and a biter.

Dunkleosteus puts them to shame. SHAAAAME!

You’ll find out why very soon.

Dunkleosteus lived as far back as 382 million years ago, putting its existence around the time of the first forests forming on Earth; not that such a thing matters to a fish, I just thought that was pretty cool factoid.

During this time, Earth was split into two major continents to the north and south, but was still mostly water, leaving lots of space for Dunkle to roam around. Dunkle needed a lot of space; after all, it was a fish that could get up to 33 feet long. You know we like to talk about giants!

Dunkleosteus was doubly cool in that it wasn’t just giant, but also heavily armored. Most of the fossils we have are of its head, which was a series of shell-like bony plates. Because of this, we’re guessing that it didn’t have a whole lot of natural predators, but that it wasn’t particularly fast, either.

This monster’s bony head was one of its most noticeable features, and the way it was constructed allowed for what will single-handedly be the coolest thing in this article: Its incredible bite force.

Based on computer simulations of Dunkleosteus’ skull, scientists project that its jaw could exert forces of up to 11,000 pounds. A crocodile, meanwhile, exerts about 3,500 pounds of

Dunkleosteus

bite force. The fish didn’t have teeth, per se. It had plated bones that acted like a beak. These bones were pointed in a way that allowed Dunkleosteus to multiply its bite force at least eight times over into a single point, which we believe it used to shear its prey completely in half.

In one bite.

You know the paper shredder at your office? Form it into a curved slope and a singular point, scale it up to about five feet, put a motor on one end of it and use it to guillotine your ham sandwich. Or, you know, a cinderblock, because Dunkleosteus had the bite force to turn a cinderblock into chunks and powder.

So, let’s say you’re an extreme sports fisherman with an affinity for adventure. Let’s also pretend that you have a time machine, because what extreme angler doesn’t travel through time to get the very best trophies?

You’ve targeted the massive Dunkle (you can tell I love saying that, right?) as your next big trophy. What are his stats? What are you going to need?

He’s an ocean dweller, so you’re going to need a boat big enough to land a 33 foot giant. Large commercial fishing rig, check.

He’s a fish that eats other fish (piscivorous), so you’ll want some sizeable fish as bait.

He has a very armored head, so the success of harpoons is questionable.

He also has a bite force that can mash concrete like a baked potato, so unless you plan on using a tungsten hook and cable, firing harpoons out of a cannon may be your best bet after all.

Oh, and he also weighs about four tons, so you’re probably going to want to get a winch. A really, really big winch. Man, you are one hardcore sports fisherman.

As I’m sure you’ve noticed, such a terrifying display of biological power isn’t floating about the seas today. What happened to good ol’ Dunk?

They had a good run of about 40 million years, but they met their end from what we believe may have been a changing climate. We don’t have all the answers to this for a few reasons: One: It was a REALLY long time ago. Two: This particular extinction event seemed to primarily affect oceanic life, as forests and insects were flourishing on the surface. One of several of things could have happened to cause the climate to change and become inhospitable for Dunk and his friends: A comet could have struck Earth (way more awesome than an asteroid because it’s ice) and altered the chemical makeup in the oceans. Volcanism could have increased and altered the atmosphere and/or the oceans. Life could have reached some kind of tipping point where it altered its own environment or any combination of the above. We’re not entirely sure, but it does have a name: The Late Devonian Extinction.

I know what you’re thinking, the Dunkleosteus must have whipped it, whipped it good.

If only.

Extinction is a pretty abysmal prospect. For every species that has gone extinct, there has, at one point, been one sole member of its species left standing upon the Earth, taking its last gasp without ever having successfully reproduced. I mean, that’s kind of the definition of extinction.

In some cases, this worked out in our favor: Do you really want a 4 ton, 33 foot long fish that could eat boats swimming around the oceans?

In others, it could be a chain reaction of events leading to the last member of our own species taking that final breath.

Luckily for us, we’re smarter

than that (hopefully). We have the intelligence and the tools at our disposal to stop that from ever happening, as long as we aren’t so dumb as to squander those assets on frivolous and petty things in the now.

Our immediate future on this planet is tenuous. In the long term, if we are going to stay on Earth we will go extinct. That’s not an if, that’s a when, and if we somehow defy all odds and beat every form of climate change, live underground, and figure out a way to live without water, we have

about 1 billion years before the Sun reaches a state where it will devour Earth.

Trust me, we don’t want to be around for that.

Unless we want to hang out with our good ol’ buddy Dunk in the great dark beyond, maybe we should start looking at some celestial real estate in our stellar back yard? Once we get that far, getting out of the solar system and into brave new worlds before the Earth becomes extra crispy is just a hop, skip and a Dunk away.

Random Corner

Don’t know much about jellyfish? We can help!

•There is a lake on the Pacific island of Palau filled with jellyfish, completely harmless due to lack of predators to defend against.

•In 1870 a Lion’s Man Jellyfish washed up onto Massachusetts Bay with tentacles measuring 120 feet (37 meters) making it larger than a blue whale.

•Since jellyfish are 98 percent water, they evaporate in the sun.

•There’s a species of jellyfish that cannot die of old age. It achieves this by aging backward after sexual maturity, going through reverse puberty so it can start the cycle again. It is called “the Immortal Jellyfish,” and it can repeat the cycle indefinitely.

•Box Jellyfish venom is so powerful, human victims have been known to go into shock and drown or die of heart failure before even reaching shore.

•In 2011, scientists successfully transplanted jellyfish genes into cats causing them to glow a fluorescent green from birth.

•Jellyfish have existed for over 500 million years, making them the oldest multi-organ animal.

•Cannonball jellyfish shoot sperm out of their mouths and onto the mouths of other jellyfish.

•An Israeli company is developing diapers and feminine pads made from processed jellyfish.

•A group of jellyfish is called a Smack.

Antique and Wooden Boat Show moors in Sandpoint this weekend

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff Writer

Classic watercraft lovers rejoice — this weekend marks Sandpoint’s 15th annual Antique and Classic Boat Show, hosted by the Inland Empire chapter of the Antique and Classic Boat Society.

The festivities begin Friday all day as participants launch their boats at the City Beach boat launch from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., followed by the Welcome Aboard Party and Dover Bay Resort. Boat viewing will be open to the public at Sandpoint Marina starting Saturday at 9 a.m. to 3 pm. and continuing into Sunday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Show chairman and self-proclaimed lover of antique and classic watercraft B.K. Powell said this year’s show will include around 50

boats both wooden and fiberglass, classic and antique.

“Most people think all old boats are made of wood, and they’re mostly right,” he said, adding 95 percent of the show’s boats this weekend are made of wood. Still, Powell said boats can be considered classic if they were made within the designated years, even if they’re made of fiberglass.

He said he looks forward to the show in Sandpoint, and while the last two years there was thunder and rain, this year’s weather is promising a sunny setting for the show.

“I just like the local atmosphere,” Powell, who resides in Spokane, said.

He said this year’s boat parade will be longer than

in year’s past, with the boats cruising in front of Trinity at City Beach while the Sandpoint Beerfest is held there Saturday.

Above all, Powell said he can’t wait to be with fellow

July 15 @ 7:30pm

July 21 @ 5:30pm | July 22 @ 3:30 & 7:30pm July 23 @ 3:30pm

July 29 - Part 1 @ 6pm, Part 2 @ 8pm JUly 30 - Part 1 @ 3:30pm, part 2 @ 5:30pm

boat-lovers for the weekend and to talk with people about the history of each unique boat that graces Lake Pend Oreille as part of the show.

“Every boat tells a story,” Powell said. “So come on down, take a walk through the past and let these boats tell their stories.”

Volunteers needed for Shakespeare in the Park

By Reader Staff

Volunteers are needed for the third annual Shakespeare in Sandpoint event featuring Montana Shakespeare in the Parks. The traveling troupe will perform this year’s play, “Macbeth” on Sunday, Aug. 20, at the Bonner County Fairgrounds. Volunteer tasks sought include homestays and meals for the ten visiting actors.

If you would like to provide overnight housing for actors, they prefer to stay at least two to a home, more if possible, and require separate beds and access to a bathroom. Actors may share a room, but they need individual beds and will need a ride to your home on Sunday evening and a ride back to fairgrounds in the morning (to arrive at fairgrounds by 10 a.m.). You will need to prepare breakfast for the actors before returning them to the Fairgrounds. This is a great opportunity to learn from professional actors what it’s like to spend an entire

summer traveling to remote rural towns to perform Shakespeare’s plays, especially for young people and students who are drawn to theater.

Or, you can volunteer to cook a dish for the actors’ lunch or dinner: For lunch we ask that the dish serve 12 to 15 hungry young people, and for dinner, please be sure that the dish will serve at least 20 people as we invite those who are hosting the actors overnight to attend the dinner as well. Please be aware that you will need to sign up for a particular category—salad, main dish, or dessert—so that organizers can ensure that the meals aren’t unbalanced. Prepared food can be dropped off any time on Sunday, Aug. 20, at the Fairgrounds kitchen/food court area.

If you’d like to help, please contact organizer Christine Holbert at Lost Horse Press: losthorsepress@mindspring.com or 208.255.4410.

Saturday, JULY 8 @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall 6 to 10 p.m.

Sunday, JULY 9 @ 219 Lounge

6:30 p.m. ‘til late night

Thursday, JULY 13 @ 219 Lounge 8:30 p.m. ’til late night

6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Dollar Beers!

8pm @ Eichardt’s Pub

‘Sense the Wind’ docu film

7pm @ Panida Theater

An intriguing documentary film about the world of blind sailing. Must see!

Live Music w/ Spencer

9pm @ 219 Lounge

Join Spencer, one of Sandpoint’s budding solo musicians

Live Music w/ Jake Robin 6-8pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall

Live Music w/ Bright Moments Jazz

7-10pm @ Eichardt’s Pub

Some of the best jazz in Sandpoint

Live Music w/ Tennis

8pm - 12am @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall

Sandpoint’s favorite dance band kicks off their Summer Blitzkrieg Tour. $5 cover. Dance, you fools!

Live Music w/ Bright Moments Jazz

5-7pm @ Idaho Pour Authority

Some of the best jazz in Sandpoint

Live Music w/ Flying Mammals

9pm-12am @ 219 Lounge

Sibling band playing funk, folk and symphonic rock influences

Sandpoint SummerFest (July 7-9) @ Eureka Institute

Live Music w/ Riff Hangers

6:30-9:30pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall

Free. Bluegrass/folk, country, blues, and swing. Food by Mandala Pizza

Sandpoint Chess Club

9am @ Evans Brothers Coffee Meets every Sunday at 9am

Live Music w/ Mama Doll 8-11pm @ 219 Lounge

One of Spokane’s top bands, Mama Doll also features Sandpoint’s own Jen Landis Live Music w/ Mostly Harmless 5-7pm @ Idaho Pour Authority

Live Music 4-8pm Sandpoint’s kicks Tour at

6:30pm

young $60 for

4th Annual Sandpoint BeerFest

12-5pm @ Trinity at City Beach lawn

Hang out on the lawn by Trinity at City Beach to sample more than 32 types of brew on tap from your favorite regional breweries. Tennis will play live music from 12 to 2 p.m. Also great food available!

Live Music w/ The Bob Evans Band

4pm @ Ol’ Red’s Pub

Enjoy some great music at Ol’ Red’s Pub

Basic Computer Class

8:15am @ Sandpoint Library

Computer Basics, Internet, Digital Library, Word and Microsoft Publisher. 263-6930

Game Night at the Niner 9pm @ 219 Lounge

Monday Night Blues Jam w/ Truck Mills 7:30pm @ Eichardt’s Pub

Night Out Karaoke

9pm-12am @ 219 Lounge

Join DJ Pat for this weekly karaoke event at the Niner

Jacey’s Race

8:30am @ Sandpoint High School

Registration is open for Jaceys competitive 5k race for runners fun run for kids. Proceeds benefit cancer or life-threatening illnesses. 8:30 a.m., and the 1k run/walk

Mother Goose Storytime at the Park 10:15am @ Travers Park

For children ages 0 to 3. By East Bonner County Library District and Sandpoint Parks and Recreation

The Conversation - Artists’ Annual Picnic 5:30-7:30pm @ City of Dover Park

Celebrating that “YOU are Fabulous” with Anna Largen. Open to the public. 263-1592

Dollar Beers!

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

Preschool Storytime 11am @ Travers Park

For children ages 2 to ner County Library District point Parks and Recreation

Sandpoint Farmers’ Market

3pm @ Farmin Park

The afternoon market on Wednesdays for all your produce needs!

Festival at Sandpoint Art Unveiling @ Dover Bay

Fine art poster for the Festival at Sandpoint is unveiled at Dover Bay. FestivalatSandpoint.com. 208-265-4554

Hiawatha 6:30-8pm @ A journey through to bring your (208) 304-9300

Open Mic w/ Kevin Dorin 6-9pm @ MickDuff’s Beer

Come out for a positive ment to share your passion just come take it all in! els of performers are welcome

ful

Live Music w/ Tennis

4-8pm @ Bottle Bay Resort

Sandpoint’s favorite dance band kicks off their Summer Blitzkrieg Tour at Bottle Bay Resort and Marina

Paint and Sip Party

6:30pm @ The Pottery Bug Paint a fun lake scene inspired by our own Lake Pend Oreille! BYOB, but young adults are welcome with a parent. $60 for two people. RSVP 263-0232

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

Antique and Classic Boat Show

July 6 - 13, 2017

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

Reader recommended

BGH Community Hospice Adult Grief Support Group

6pm @ Bonner General Health classroom

Share stories and feelings, and support one another in an understanding and caring environment. Contact Lissa at 208-2651185 for an application. Free to attend

Sandpoint SummerFest (July 7-9) @ Eureka Institute

Eureka Institute’s annual weekend festival of family music, arts and culture with a focus on sustainability. Tickets are on sale at Eureka-Institute.org

Pub Beach on tap Tennis p.m. Also

Library,

9am-3pm @ Sandpoint Marina on Sand Creek Stroll along the Sand Creek Boardwalk to check out a bunch of vintage wooden boats!

Sandpoint Farmers’ Market

9am @ Farmin Park

Head down to Farmin Park for fresh produce, garden starts as well as live music and fun for all!

Cedar St. Bridge Public Market

10am-2pm @ Cedar St. Bridge

Come enjoy indoor shopping on the bridge spanning Sand Creek

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

High School for Jaceys Race, which features a for runners and walkers, and a 1k Proceeds benefit local children with life-threatening illnesses. 5k race begins at run/walk begins at 9:15 a.m

Live Music w/ Josh Hedlund

6-8pm@ Cedar St. Bistro Wine Bar

Sip some great wine and listen to one of Sandpoint’s most prolific singer songwriters

Shangri La at the Lake 5:30-9:30pm @ Shangri La, 116 Bella Circle in Sagle Underground Kindess’s 5th annual fundraiser. Enjoy live music by Tennis, dinner and dancing on the shores of Lake Pend Oreille. 255-8082

Full Moon and Hors d’oeuvres Cruise @ Sandpoint City Beach

Enjoy a variety of hors d’oeuvres while cruising through eagle territory during a two-hour boat cruise aboard the Shawnodese Watch the full moon as it rises above the spectacular Cabinet Mountains before returning to port. $36 fare, reservations required. LakePendOreilleCruises.com. 208-255-5253

Antique and Classic Boat Show

10am-3pm @ Sandpoint Marina on Sand Creek Stroll along the Sand Creek Boardwalk to check out a bunch of vintage wooden boats!

Sandpoint SummerFest (July 7-9) @ Eureka Institute

Live Music w/ Tennis

Storytime at the Park Travers Park children ages 2 to 5. By East BonLibrary District and Sandand Recreation Make it at the Library 3pm @ Sandpoint Library

9pm - 12am @ 219 Lounge

The last stop on the Summer Blitzkrieg Tour. Don’t miss these guys!

Hiawatha Drum Circle! Unite the Tribes!

6:30-8pm @ Memorial Community Center (Hope) journey through the spirit world. Not a class! Try bring your own drum. For more info contact Jack (208) 304-9300 or memorialcommunitycenter.com

w/ Kevin Dorin

MickDuff’s Beer Hall a positive environshare your passion or take it all in! All levperformers are welcome

JJ Grey and Mofro

8pm @ The Hive

Open Mic Night 5-8pm @ SKåL Taproom

July 15-16

Northwest Wine Fest @ Scweitzer Mountain Resort

July 15

Bodacious BBQ @ Hope Memorial Community Center

July 19

KPND Pint Night @ 219 Lounge

KPND and Low Country Boil Productions present JJ Grey and Mofro, opening with the Kitchen Dwellers. JJ Grey and Mofro return to Sandpoint and make their debut performance at The Hive. . It’s going to be a rocking show! Doors open at 7 p.m., and the show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25 in advance, and $30 at the door

This open Window

edited by Jim mitsui

THIS WEEK’S PROMPT: One of the best motivators is to have a good reason to write something, like a birthday, Valentine’s Day, Christmas, or an anniversary. Here’s an example. Let the writing process take control. Focus on your “target” and follow your stream-of-consciousness. Trust the narrative that happens. Avoid being mauldlin, cliché or sugary sweet. Be sure to instill how you feel, and let the ending just happen on the page. Don’t end with something predictable or obvious. Show, don’t tell the reader. Like one of my English teachers used to tell us, avoid generic words like “beautiful;” use a concrete image instead. And don’t forget to have some fun.

the melancholy of traffic revision by

Heather McElwain

That old streetlight you’ve never given much mind, rarely drive Second or Cedar anyway. But now

it’s gone, like a friend just up and left, or died. Lattice of woven one-ways we learned to thread,

like that travel mug’s screw-on lid misaligned and particular to plot, roadways never again the same.

Never again the leftmost lane to farmers’ market, never again drag race a midnight main strip—

something I never, but the option now, dubious. I’m feeling nostalgia, don’t even know why.

New ways to move through, without the old friend, new barriers to plot, like an oncoming truck

on a one-way not yet converted, him obstructed by Gilead’s cotton and pollen painting false lines?

Everyone at critical intersections, looking both ways once, twice, once more for good measure, afraid to blink and miss the way things used to be.

-Heather McElwain

Heather is a writer, editor and book designer, who—when away from her desk—can be found out tracking animals and ideas. Here is her take on Sandpoint’s traffic changes.

does this growth make my heart look big by

Terry Owens

Out across the back yard past the swing set is our fence. My wife wants to tear it down and build a new one. It’s not a nice fence, more of a suggestion anymore. The ungulates walk right over it and so do the people when they want to.

Pretty soon there will be a lot of new houses out there. There goes the dogpark, or the canine litterbox or the largest field in town that’s not for sport.

I don’t want a fence that I can’t see thru cos I like watching people on their bikes or walking their dogs and hearing the funny stuff that comes out of teenagers’ mouths because despite what you see on facebook they don’t always have their faces in their phones. They are alive in their world and they’re brilliant because it’s new to them and believe it or not I used to be brilliant like that too.

birthday poem for lilly by

until the next heartbreak by

Tom Woodward

James Masao Mitsui

Sometimes we measure life by what it doesn’t contain. Sunrise. First light glosses a bare kitchen table. Four boiled eggs in a blue dish and a wicker basket filled with white peonies wait for something to happen.

After we first met, separately married, the 10-year-old memory of your green eyes drifted like a red sky at night into my world. Now after almost nine years of marriage I sometimes forget about the fragrance after a hard rain back home in Eastern Washington, and I forget to love you enough for filling in the empty picture of my old life.

-James Masao Mitsui, May 1995

The sky fell the other day. It was dark

No one noticed but me. I went over and picked it up dusted it off and hung it back up.

-Tom Woodward

Tom bought 10 acres outside of Sandpoint in 1987. He lives off the grid and enjoys tending to his fruit gardens and paddling his kayak in the Pack River.

So it’s not just about the money but also it is, because the fence that my wife thinks is trashy I think is rustic and it reminds me of a time when you could afford to be poor in this town.

Most of Terry’s writing is for rock & roll songs, but he decided to just pick up a pen and go for it. He looked back at the rules once, then pitched them out the window, and had some fun.

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

Seven years ago, I was managing a bar in Sandpoint called the Downtown Crossing. Kaylee Cole, a regular act I booked, recommended I check out a little-known Seattle band called The Head and the Heart. Always striving to bring new music to Sandpoint, I booked the promising band for a show in September 2010.

The six-piece indie folk rock band showed up with another little-known trio, The Lumineers, and proceeded to blow the roof off the Downtown Crossing. That was the beginning of Sandpoint’s love affair with The Head and the Heart; a relationship that seems to have reached a perfect nirvana with the announcement this spring that The Head and the Heart will play the Festival at Sandpoint.

In the seven years since, The Head and the Heart has made a

splash on the music scene, garnering national attention for their catchy melodies, lip-quivering four-part harmonies and infectiously feel-good aura to their original tunes. Recently, I had a phone conversation with frontman Jonathan Russell, who shared with me the surreal rise to fame, the essential nature of remembering your roots and the ever-evolving sound from one of the top indie folk rock groups in the game right now.

Ben Olson: How Jon, thanks for taking the time to talk. How are things going?

Jonathan Russell: Pretty good. Right now we’re in Winnepeg doing some Canadian shows, wrapping up a tour. A few more dates on this one, then a few days off before we go to Bonnaroo and start making our way around the country again.

Does it ever get old, touring?

Sometimes, you find yourself missing the really mundane domestic things you complain about before you go on tour. Like hey, I’m off work now, so I’m home in my space with my girlfriend. You’re never really off work when you’re on tour.

There were a lot of happy people when it was announced you were playing the Festival in August. I don’t know if you remember, but I actually booked you guys to play at the Downtown Crossing years and years ago.

I was wondering! I saw your name on the interview and I was like, “That sounds familiar. I wonder if we crossed paths in the day when we used to play out there?” That’s so cool.

It was the Head and the Heart and the Lumineers.

I remember that show.

People in town still talk about

it. Here we are eight or nine years later and you guys have taken off into something amazing.

Both bands! What are we on, man?

Do you ever look back at those old days and think you’d end up where you are?

We were all pretty jazzed how things were going, and I think we all were confident in some way, shape or form that it would amount to something. To know that it would turn into anything on this scale, I didn’t think it was possible. It seems like every few months we’re doing something that you’re like, “Well, never thought that would happen.”

Do you have any “pinch me” moments recently?

We just recently did an event with a lot of other artists for Tom Petty with MusiCares, and we

did a Tom Petty song, “You Got Lucky.” The Lumineers were there as well and did a song. That was cool. It was the first time we’ve seen them in awhile. Stevie Nicks was there. Don Henley was there. The list goes on and on. Tom Petty is one of my favorite songwriters of all times. He’s from Florida, I’m from Florida. It was a “Are you fucking kidding me?” moment. We’re going to be doing a show with him and The Lumineers and Stevie Nicks and a few other bands in Hyde Park in July. So playing shows with Tom Petty is one of those “never thought that would happen” moments.

Did you get one-on-one time? No, not yet. It would be cool < continued on next page >

if it ever happens, but I’m not sure it will. Honestly, it’s also one of those things, it’s not like I’m meeting Tom Petty who is my age and is just as young and hungry. I don’t know that I want to meet him – you kind of want your icons to live in this glorious statuesque light. I don’t know if I need to lift the veil necessarily. Playing some shows with him is cool enough.

That’s like why I don’t think I’d want to see Bob Dylan live. I don’t want to tarnish anything.

I know. I know. For me, it’s like, “I think I was born a little late to see Bob Dylan.”

Let’s talk about your latest album, “Signs of Life” that released last fall. It’s quite a departure from your folk foundation.

You’re hearing a record that came out three years after our record came out. These were songs that we were slowly collecting and slowly working on and hearing evolve. But throughout those years, I’ve been familiar with these songs and these sounds that we’re developing throughout this process, so it feels like less of a departure for the inside out, but I hear you. This is the first time we worked with a producer. The sound was bigger, it has a more polished quality to it, I guess.

Isn’t that sort of part of the artistic process, to stretch your wings and try something different?

Yeah, I just don’t know how I would make more records without evolving. It just seems like an oxymoron to me. Along the way with life, as a musician, your influences are changing. The sounds you’re drawn to are expanding. Yes, there is a little bit of a departure. I hope there always is a bit of a departure just so we continue to expand. I think we’re a lucky band in the way that we’re a democratic band. Everyone has a hand in every song, we’ve all shaped these songs, whether it be songs written by Josiah or myself, it usually comes out feeling very different, with a whole new attitude once the whole band has touched it.

That’s a unique thing about your band in particular, the fact that whether or not one person writes the lyrics or not, it doesn’t seem like your songs are written by one source, but through collaboration. That’s pretty rare these days.

I know, you realize that the more big festivals we play. It’s like, damn, bands are like dinosaurs. They’re just about extinct, man. You don’t really see too many band bands. It’s interesting, because what I’ve noticed is that it allows me to draw more and more influences from completely different genres. I think I’ve been most inspired by what hip hop artists are doing whether it’s with a stage setup or just production on a record. It’s almost like this lawlessness that they have that, for me, is really attractive to imagine.

Are you listening to a lot of hip hop?

Yeah, I’m always listening to a lot of different genres. It really depends on the day. Is the sun out? Am I hung over? Am I on a health kick? In one day I might go from Kendrick Lamar to Tim McGraw to Bonnie Raitt, and then go to Dope Lemons, this Australian band. I just love variety. Kendrick Lamar’s most recent record, “Damn.” I mean, Damn. His performance at Coachella was just mind blowing. I wish I had some under the radar names to throw out there, but I really don’t. My girlfriend is 29 and I’m 32, so I get a lot of alternative influences from her, but it seems like every time I throw a name out it’s apparently a really big artist, and I’m just behind.

I’m having that trouble too. I’ll get into a band and say, “Have you heard these guys?” and people will say, “Yeah, like seven years ago.”

Right. That’s how I am with music and Netflix. Like I just started watching “Game of Thrones” three months ago. I was like, “Damn, this show is amazing!” Everyone is like, “What? You’re worthless.”

Dude, you’re way behind.

I know, way behind.

So you seem to be constantly touring. How is that for you?

When you’re touring all the time, you start shaving off bits of your personality just to make touring go more smoothly. You become like a cog in the wheel. And that can dilute yourself, your personality, what you bring to the table as a musician. For us, it was good for us to say, out of respect for our music, our fans, we needed to hit the pause button and allow life to happen on its own, so we were lucky enough to do that and take almost a year off, then we came back together more refreshed. It felt like a fresh start.

Do you find that it’s quite different getting recognized on the street by your fans?

Well, I live in a town where that doesn’t really happen that often. I’ve never been that comfortable with it. I don’t know anybody who really is. I try to get better at it, and just not let my anxiety come across as me being an asshole, because it usually comes across that way. I’m just awkward. I’m learning to just embrace it because if you don’t, people will think you’re an asshole. You can’t fight it. It comes with it. You wanted to be in a band as a career, as your life and have people know you, just pony up. This is part of it. Don’t be a weirdo.

That’s a good point. Some of the time when people are being “assholes,” they’re probably just as nervous and anxious as their fans.

Yeah, I always think about the snake. The snake is more afraid of you than you are of it. Anxieties and insecurities come across in different ways. In those scenarios, people almost expect someone in my posi-

tion, that old cliché, “Yeah he’s an asshole, I met him,” and I think, “Was he though? Or were you both just really nervous and it was really weird?” I’m trying to get better than that. It’s like you were saying earlier, did we ever expect this to happen back in the day when we were playing shows in Idaho and the answer is, you don’t know what all comes with it. You live you learn.

We joke a lot when we’re loading gear about “I can’t wait until it gets easier when we have roadies and all these support people.” Does it ever get easier?

You know, I was thinking about that recently on this tour. At this point, we’re on a bus, which is incredible and we have just as many crewmembers as we have band members on the road with us, and the venues we’re playing have far more hands than smaller clubs do, so you don’t touch your gear until you walk in and it’s all shiny and cleaned up and plugged in. So yes, to a degree, it gets easier. But the area of difficulty sort of shifts to something else. One thing is easier, but this new dynamic that you’re now exposed to, you may not be very good at.

How’s Josiah doing? Does he have any plans to come back? (Josiah Johnson left the band recently to deal with an addiction issue.)

Josiah is doing great. Honestly, doing incredibly well. Whether or not he’s coming back or not is sort of an ongoing conversation between all of us. It’s only really just now getting to the place where the dust is starting to settle and we’re slowing down a bit so we can like look at everything and start talking again. It’s hard to give a definitive answer, but the relationship between the bandmates is strong and we love each other. We miss having him, honestly. At this point it’s, and I know this is hard for some to imagine, but it’s like, does he want to come back? Is this a lifestyle that he wants to jump back into? Because, when you have time away from it and you figure out how to balance your life in a healthy way, jumping back into this fast-moving car and going around the world and not having a life all of a sudden doesn’t look as glamorous. So it’s really just depending on what’s best for him. But most importantly, he’s doing great and he’s happy and he’s in a good spot again.

I didn’t realize that it was Charity’s husband, Matt, who is filling in for him.

Yeah, it’s been great. He’s probably the most talented person in the band. That’s kind of embarrassing sometimes. He’s one of the sweetest people and most talented musicians I know, period. We’ve all known him for years, we’re friends. When he signed up and came on tour with us, it’s changed the dynamic, which would have changed anyway without Josiah, and we’re happy to have him. Ideally, the lucky seven would be amazing. We used to dream about that before Josiah was even not playing with us. It would be nice to have

Matty in the band. As the records get bigger and I’m writing more and more stuff that I can’t play and sing at the same time, I can ask him, “Please play this solo so I can sing,” so it’s really great. Charity’s obviously happy –she gets to travel around with her husband. So yeah, for Christmas, I’m just going to ask for a seven-piece band.

After you played that one little bar show in Sandpoint which there may have been all of 30 or 40 people at, this town was hooked. You’d hear people driving down the road playing your album, you’d go into a bar and hear someone rocking it. People very much took The Head and the Heart to this personal level and said, you know, this is how we feel about everything right now. I just wanted to ask how that feels when people really connect with your music?

That’s a good question. It’s one of the things that I am maybe seeing in a different light and learning to embrace it and let it be a part of the whole identity of this band. When you’re on the road you’re relinquishing yourself and your life to not only this band, but this lifestyle and the fans on top of that. Sometimes that feels like you find yourself sacrificing that little piece of you. Hearing you say that immediately gives me chills and makes me proud and feel good, that this is all for something, it’s not just a pretty song that I like. It goes beyond that. You have people coming up to you saying, “This song got me through this,” or “This family member passed away, and all I listened to was your record.” It’s like, holy shit. You can’t really absorb the magnitude of what that person is trying to tell you. It’s a difficult thing. You find yourself saying thank you and smiling and giving a hug, but it’s hard to put into words.

I always try to differentiate between the empty compliments and the ones that mean a lot. But I got so many compliments from that show when you came through and everyone always said, “They’re going places.” And sure enough, here you are, embarking on this amazing career.

I can’t tell you enough how excited we are to get back to Sandpoint. That’s no lie. That show and those circuits... when we found out there was a festival going on in Sandpoint we said, “This has to happen.”

Thanks so much for taking the time to chat, Jon. Looking forward to seeing you in Sandpoint again.

Yeah! Take care and hope to see you again, soon.

The Head and the Heart play the Festival at Sandpoint Thursday, Aug. 10 at Memorial Field with opening band Matt Hopper & The Roman Candles. Tickets are $44.95 and worth every penny. Call the Festival at Sandpoint at 265-4554 for tickets.

FOOD The Sandpoint Eater

Food for thought

By Marcia Pilgeram Reader Food Columnist

I’ve been so hungry for summer, and last week’s Summer Sampler was a perfect kick off to the season of sun and fun. Seems like summertime is always too short around here; the events are plentiful, and time to enjoy them is way too short. But the Sampler is one of my favorites, filled with myriad friends who’ve either been holed up the other side of a snowdrift or newly returned on snowbird wings. In either case, it’s always fun to show up and catch up with friendly and familiar faces who’ve gathered for summertime’s winning combination: music, food and drink (and not necessarily in that order – the event’s longest line was snaked around the margarita tent).

It’s kind of bittersweet for me to attend these type of events. For more years than not, I was on the other side of those BBQs at a manic pace, tongs in one hand (beverage in the other), keeping beat with the music while turning endless rows of savory ribs or skewered veggies. I’ve also seen the other side of prep work, loading in and loading out, and the cleanup – none of which I miss!

But sometimes I find myself longing for the comradery I shared with fellow chefs. I miss the kibitzing and the personalities, which were as diverse as the culinary creations we all hawked. So, it was especially heartwarming to see this spirit still exists as I observed our local food community sharing laughs, drinks, supplies and even licensed kitchens to help each

other out.

I got my foot in the “food festival” door as an “Out To Lunch At Caras Park” food vendor in Missoula, Mont. This event was an idea conceived by my dear and departed friend Pat Simmons (mother of the fine actor J.K.), who was told by city officials that Missoula was not large enough to draw a sustainable summer crowd on a weekly basis. Nearly 30 years later, it’s still a wildly popular Missoula mainstay.

Food festivals date back thousands of years, when our ancestors, who toiled and tilled tirelessly, could finally gather in the fall to celebrate and share their harvest. From those humble-harvest beginnings, to events like the chichi Aspen Food and Wine Classic, food, beverage and music are a winning combination that never fail to draw a crowd.

Oldest daughter and sociology professor Ryanne (who teaches about culture and cuisine), agrees, saying, “Consuming food together strengthens social bonds because it creates trust among the people who share together. In short, on a fundamental level, you must trust that people aren’t going to poison you. And, historically, especially among Indigenous peoples, it was a way of redistributing and sharing resources—the group with excess resources could bring people together to share that wealth, and everyone left feeling enriched in some way.”

Youngest daughter Casey is a smart-as-a-whip psychologist (and great humanitarian), and says: “We enjoy the experience of food via our five senses, our thoughts and emotions interplaying reactively. We eat, taking in sustenance, and then our bodies intuitively transform this morsel

into strength and vitality. This symbolically rich act then mirrors, quite literally, how we survive, and how we seek to make meaning in our lives: we interact with our environment, assess sensorily, with an interplay of thought and emotion and sustain ourselves on this cycle. This psychological and soulful process is innate within us, and requires no intellectual understanding. Food is special because there is a simple physical rationale for the importance of food, but there is an equally compelling soulful psychological cycle that mirrors this physical understanding of food and its role. When it comes to nurturance, the presence of love in food makes a difference. You can taste it, derive strength from it, and most importantly, be inspired to seek it out again and again.”

That’s a lot of food for thought as you’re strolling

Festival Street next month. To be honest, with multi-generational progeny staying on-and -off all summer, at times I feel like I am prepping for my own food festival. Unfortunately, unlike Summer Sampler, mine won’t be underwritten by Litehouse. Still, I can’t complain. After the huge Litehouse salad dressing sale at Yokes last week, my ranch dressing-loving grandkids can eat it like they own it because everyone gets a personal jar (with initials scribed on the lid).

If your taste buds (like mine) have outgrown ranch dressing, try a bottle of my favorite, Litehouse Mango Habenero. A perfect balance of sweet and heat. I love it mixed with mayo and cilantro as a dipping sauce for shrimp. And I especially love it as a marinade for Spicy Roasted Sweet Potatoes. Give it a try as a side the next time you throw some ribs or chicken on the grill.

Spicy Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Pineapple

INGREDIENTS: DIRECTIONS:

•2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

•1 medium pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch pieces

•1 Walla Walla sweet onion, peeled and cut into thin wedges

•1 cup Litehouse Mango Habanero Dressing

•Coarse salt

Prepare vegetables and place in gallon size freezer bag or shallow dish with tight tting lid. Pour dressing on vegetables and mix well. Marinate, refrigerated for 4-6 hours, turning a couple of times.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Pour mixture onto a greased, rimmed baking sheet, or shallow casserole, Season with salt. Roast until tender and golden brown, about 35 to 45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

Gardening with Laurie:

Color for later in summer

By Laurie Brown Reader Columnist

The spikes of iris, billows of lupins, and even the glorious blooms of the peonies are done for the year — peonies done by the Fourth of July! — so it’s time to cut them back and make room for mid-summer flowers. So cut down the Oriental poppies, the lupins, and the iris (cut the dead flowers from the peonies; leave all the leaves) to make space.

There are actually lots of flowers that bloom as we move into summer. Daylilies are nearly effort free plants (you’ll find them blooming away in abandoned farmyards and even road ditches) that, while each flower only lasts a day, have lots of flowers so one plant blooms over at least a couple of weeks. There are also early-, mid-, and late-blooming varieties, so daylilies can give quite a long season of bloom if you plan right. They come in orange, yellow, pinks, reddish purples, and almost white. The basic ones are just one color, but fancier ones have as many as four colors in each flowers: the throat, the main petal area, a halo and an edge. Some come with sparkles! And you can usually find a gardening friend happy to give you divisions of theirs; most varieties multiply quickly.

Astilbes are nice color for shady areas. The flowers are fluffy, upright plumes in white, pinks, red, and purple. The exception is ‘Ostrich Plume’; its flowers are graceful, weeping, pink sweeps.

The Shasta daisies have buds on them now that are about to burst open; they are a true, white that really show up in the dark. Don’t put them right by a

TIP OF THE WEEK

seating area, though — just like field daisies, they smell bad.

Veronica spicata varieties come in white, light and dark pink, and light and dark purple, and have narrow, upright spikes for flowers. They bloom for a long time; if you cut them back after bloom, they’ll bloom again in late summer. They tend to stay small- to medium-sized; put them in the fronts of beds.

Liatris will be blooming by mid-summer; these plants are native to the eastern U.S. and can survive a lot. Each plant makes one spike of brilliant pink/purple (or white) that lasts a couple of weeks. It forms a corm (a bulb), which can multiply, giving the look of one plant with many blooms. It also spreads by seed, sometimes to quite a distance. They look marvelous in large clumps, and can take the heat of high summer.

The stars of mid-summer are the lilies. The Asiatic lilies bloom first; they come in bright oranges and yellows as well as pinks, whites, and reds. They have many flowers per plant.

BeerFest: Yet another excuse to enjoy beer

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff Writer

After they finish, the Oriental lilies go off. These are taller, have larger flowers with speckles and bands of color, and are magnificently fragrant.

‘Stargazer’ is the most common, and it’s still one of the very best. It’s white and bright pink, with flowers that aim upwards instead of out or down. Note: The deer love these. The other flowers mentioned above are fairly deer resistant.

Annuals like zinnias, petunias, sunflowers and snapdragons will be at their best mid-summer if you keep them deadheaded. All of these take heat well. And you still (barely) have time to start zinnia from seed right now!

Some shrubs are also good in summer; roses, of course; hydrangeas; the spireas that *aren’t* bridal wreath types; butterfly bush will come on later.

So while late spring may seem like the climax of the garden, there are still lots of blossoms to come.

Cut back and fertilize annuals that look tired after their first round of bloom; they’ll rebloom in a few weeks.

Few things beat a cold beer on a hot summer day, and lucky for those sticking around Sandpoint for what is predicted to be a hot weekend, there’s Sandpoint Beerfest on the lake to ease the 90-degree woes.

The Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce, MickDuff’s Brewing Co. and Laughing Dog Brewery have teamed up this year to bring Sandpoint its fourth Beerfest, and due to popular demand, this year’s event has the capacity to comfortably accommodate over 1,000 people. With nearly 40 beers and ciders on tap — and showcasing a dozen Idaho breweries — this Beerfest goes big in a way Sandpoint hasn’t previously seen.

Chamber President Kate McAlister said that with big events like Beerfest, non-profits like the chamber often decide during the event’s third year whether it is worth continuing to put effort into said event. She said last year was that point for Beerfest, and the chamber’s decision to continue the event is a testament to its unique nature and popularity.

Event Director Mack Deibel with MickDuff’s said what makes Sandpoint’s Beerfest

unique this year is the fact that it’s a “beer bash on the beach” at Trinity at City Beach, whereas most other beer festivals are held in convention centers or ball parks.

“Rarely are you in a spot this awesome,” he said. “Moving (Beerfest) to the water is taking it to the next level.”

There will be live music from Tennis and the Hophedz featuring Megan Turner, sponsored by Laughing Dog Brewery. Michelle Sivertson from Laughing Dog helped organize the music portion of the event, and as incoming chair of the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce she said she looks forward to continuing to be involved in Beerfest. This is Laughing Dog’s first year helping put on the event.

“I am amazingly proud of what (Deibel) has done, and Laughing Dog is so proud to be a part of it,” she said, adding Laughing Dog considers MickDuff’s a sister brewery. “Such great people make it happen.”

Beerfest happens Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. at Trinity at City Beach. Earlybird VIP tickets are available through the event’s Facebook page, and tickets at the event are $20. A full list of participating breweries is also available on the event’s Facebook page.

Sandpoint SummerFest: Thanks for all the memories

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff Writer

For over two decades, the Sandpoint Summerfest has been an intimate celebration of community and culture. This year marks the festival’s last, and the nostalgic end of a local tradition.

“Twenty-two years — there’s barely a festival in the whole West that’s as old as that. There’s a few, but there’s not many that are that old,” Eureka Institute Board President and SummerFest Principal Organizer John Edwards said. “So it’s a little bit sad to not have it keep going.”

Despite this sadness, one thing is certain: The SummerFest will be going out with a bang.

“It’s like going to a really good concert or house party, but in the woods with all of your best friends. And if you don’t know everybody, soon you will, and you’ll feel like it’s your family,” Edwards said.

Intimate indeed, the festival hosts only 400 people. This closely-knit environment provides the perfect place to enjoy nature and culture.

“SummerFest has a lot of advantages over a big festival with thousands of people, where it’s harder to connect,” Edwards said. “Here, you’ll meet your neighbors, and you’ll pretty much meet half the crowd!”

After two decades, the festival will celebrate music, art, and community for the last time, tentatively.

“SummerFest takes an incredible amount of energy, and it just hasn’t made very much money. It’s been somewhat of a break-even event. If we want it to become a real fundraiser, we’ve got to look at reorganizing it and maybe changing some things,” Edwards said. “If this year’s super successful, maybe it will continue. It’s hard to know.”

SummerFest benefits the Eureka Institute’s Construction Basics Initiative Program, which helps to “provide underserved and at-risk students with the necessary life skill set and confidence in their ability to become a valued and productive part of society,”

according to the program’s website.

This year’s lineup will feature a multitude of up-and-coming groups representing a wide array of genres, from funk to bluegrass. Edwards highlighted Ginstrings, an Americana Bluegrass band and winners of the Northwest String Summit Band Competition, and the Talbot Brothers, a recognized duo out of the Portland area known for their phenomenal harmonies. Groups from throughout the country will perform back-toback throughout the festival on the two stages at the venue.

“Basically, once the music starts, it goes nonstop into the wee hours of the morning,” Edwards said.

Star-studded musical lineup aside, Edwards emphasized the additional artistic displays and activities offered. The Gypsy Divas dancing troupe is also slated to grace the stage with a new performance.

“Saturday night is a really cool thing because besides the music, there’s art performance as well, so it’s quite a show,” Edwards said.

And the music and arts won’t stop there — Edwards described the late night campfire performances as a remarkable aspect of the festival.

“We have national talent that will be playing. That can be some of the coolest music, if you can stay up that late,” Edwards said with a laugh.

After two decades as principal organizer of the festival, Edwards looks forward to the unique festival one last time.

“It’s been an honor to put this on for so many years,” Edwards

said. “It’s really about everybody bringing their energy out. And hula hooping. Lots of hula hooping.”

The last SummerFest will be July 7-9, 2017. Tickets are available for purchase at Eichardt’s, Misty Mountain Furniture, and online at eureka-institute.org/

Catch the Tennis ‘Summer Blitzkrieg Tour’

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

You could say there are two types of people: Those who have seen the band Tennis perform and those who haven’t.

The infectious energy that comes from a Tennis show is hard to ignore. They play spot-on covers that most bands hide from. Their original songs are fun and self-deprecating. Their hair is perfect.

The magic that comes from front man Brian Hibbard at the piano is evident right away. Craig Baldwin’s fingers fly up and down the bass fretboard. Jeremy Kleinsmith’s smiling assault on his drum kit rounds out the trio that refuses to go gently into the good night.

Some of the best nights of my past have been spent dancing to Tennis. I suspect quite a few children have been brought into

the world after a Tennis show, but that’s complete heresay.

The trio will be invading Sandpoint with their Summer Blitzkrieg Tour this week, with five shows in four nights.

Thursday, July 6, they’ll be at Bottle Bay Resort and Marina from 4-8 p.m. Friday, July 7, they’ll play MickDuff’s Beer Hall from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. ($5 cover).

Saturday, July 8, they’ll start with the Sandpoint BeerFest at Trinity at City Beach from 12-2 p.m. and end with Shangri La at the Lake for an Underground Kindess fundraiser from 5:30-9:30 p.m. Finally, they’ll finish the assault at the 219 Lounge on Sunday, July 9 from 7 to 11 p.m. ($5 cover).

Tennis only comes around once or twice a year, so don’t miss them. And wear a sweat band, because you’ll be dancing like a fool all night.

As a youngster, one of my favorite topics in history class was the lost kingdoms — the vast empires around the world that disappeared into the mists of mystery. I always found the Mayans particularly intriguing — they built pyramids and invented chocolate!

Last year, William Carlsen published “Jungle of Stone,” the story of John Stevens’ and Frederick Catherwood’s “rediscovery” of the lost civilization in the mid-1800s. Their story, and the embedded story of Western biases towards the Yucatan peninsula, made me giddy again with that childlike sense of awe and exploration.

READ LISTEN

I’m always on the lookout for work-appropriate tunes. One of my “oldies-but-goodies,” tried-and-true, is the Penguin Cafe Orchestra. Lively, eclectic, creative: There’s not an easy way to describe this British ensemble, which performed primarily during the 1980s-1990s. They had rhythm, they had classy instrumentation, and they firmly avoided lyrics.

Try them out the next time you need a bit of wordless action that won’t put you to sleep.

WATCH

the sunset!

It’s summer. Take a week to be unplugged, ‘tis the season for it. Discover a lost kingdom in your unmowed backyard. Improvise an impromptu jam session using your BBQ implements. Take a walk and marvel at the evening, and at how many of your neighbors are sitting in their living rooms glued to their own TVs. Save screen time for mud season!

MCS o ers summer camps in theater and music

By Reader Staff

Is it drama or music? What appeals to your child? Does she want to learn to play a musical instrument or does he want to learn the ins and outs of theater arts? Maybe one of them would love to sing in a choir? Whichever it is, the Music Conservatory of Sandpoint has announced its summer camp line up that’s certain to appeal to the fledgling virtuoso in every family.

Starting on July 5 to July 14 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Conservatory (110 Main Street), instructor Keely Gray will lead the Theater Camp. Students eight years and up will explore theater techniques and scene work. With an emphasis on performance mastery, leadership and team building skills, these workshops will lead these campers to a final production.

Then on July 10 to July 15 and July 19 and 20 from 9 a.m.-noon the Choir Camp will be held for children nine years and older. This camp is perfect for the child who loves singing. Voice instructor, John Fitzgerald, along with the accompaniment of Melody Puller, will prepare the campers to perform with the Young Artist Exchange Program’s Orchestra at a performance to be held on July 21.

The Young Artist Exchange Program’s Orchestra Camp starts on July 17 and runs through July 21. This camp

combines efforts of local and regional musicians with exchange students and mentors from Mexico. This year’s guest conductor is Dr. Philip Baldwin, Spokane Youth Symphony’s Artistic Director.

“We are excited to have this link with him and the ability for our students to learn under his expertise,” MCS camp coordinator Ruth Klinginsmith said. “We are also super excited about our already established international connections and growing Spokane collaboration.”

The open Orchestra Camp is from 9 a.m.-noon and is recommended for students nine and over. Students must have at least one year of prior instrument instruction and be able to read music. This camp is held at North Summit Church (201 N. Division). For the more advanced student, please call the Conservatory to audition for the full day Chamber Ensemble (9 a.m.-2:30 p.m.).

Klinginsmith said that this is the fifth international exchange with the Redes 2025 Youth Orchestra and Centro de Artes Musicales from Mexico. “This year we will have three exchange students joining our camps as mentors,” she continued. These advanced players are Misael Antonio Zavala Lopez on clarinet, Santiago Rojo Acosta on bassoon and Josue Alejandro Armenta Sanchez on double bass. Music is the

key element to tie participants together.

“I want to encourage the public to attend our capstone concert on July 21 at North Summit Church starting at three o’clock. You won’t want to miss this opportunity to watch the connective power of music across cultures,” Klinginsmith added.

Last, but certainly not least, July 24 is the opening of Piano Camp which runs through the 28th from 9 a.m.noon. This is a premiere camp for MCS that will be facilitated by pianist Melody Puller and John Fitzgerald. This interactive keyboard experience will bring the skills of piano playing into a fun group setting, and campers will show off their skills at an in-house recital on July 28.

These camps are made possible through community giving and grant support. To keep these camps affordable and accessible, special recognition goes out to the Idaho Commission on the Arts. MCS is honored to have continued support for music at the State level.

Interested parents can to go to www. sandpointconservatory.org for more information, visit our studios at 110 Main Street between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., Monday through Thursday, or contact MCS at 265-4444 to sign up.

Instead of putting a quarter under a kid’s pillow, how about a pine cone? That way, he learns that “wishing” isn’t going to save our national forests.

Mediators Beyond Borders founder to speak

Ken Cloke to lead ‘A Conversation About Conflict’

By Reader Staff

In these polarized times – when politics and arguments divide the nation, communities and even families – how can we constructively deal with conflict?

That’s one of the ideas that will be explored on Thursday, July 13, when international mediator Kenneth Cloke gives a talk titled “A Conversation About Conflict,” 5:30-7 p.m. in the Columbia Bank Community Room in Sandpoint. His talk is free and open for all, sponsored by 88.5 KRFY Community Radio and Sandpoint Magazine.

Cloke, a part-year resident of Hope, is co-founder of Mediators Beyond Borders. He’s author of 10 books on conflict resolution and mediation, and his Center for Dispute Resolution has mediated disputes in countries and hotspots around the world, ranging from centuries-old sectarian conflicts between groups in the Middle East to more simple but often passionately held family conflicts.

“We all experience conflicts throughout our lives, but do not spend enough time figuring out what causes them, what they mean, and how to handle them better,” says Cloke. “Yet in recent years, much has been learned about conflict resolution, giving rise to new methods of communication, problem solving, mediation, collaborative negotiation, dialogue, restorative justice and similar techniques that can help us understand our conflicts better and become more skillful in the ways we handle them.”

His talk here will discuss mediation techniques that individuals and communities can apply to productively resolve

conflicts.

Cloke will also be featured interviewee on the Wednesday, July 12, Morning Show on 88.5 KRFY. The show airs at 8 a.m.; a recorded podcast will also be available on the KRFY website at www.krfy.org.

“Mediation works on many levels,” Cloke observes. “It stops people from fighting, de-escalates their aggressive behaviors, initiates deep listening and dialogue, acknowledges and helps explain negative emotions, facilitates informal problem solving and collaborative negotiation, settles issues in dispute, resolves underlying issues that gave rise to the dispute, promotes forgiveness, encourages reconciliation and helps design preventative conflict resolution systems.”

The Columbia Bank talk venue is at 414 Church Street in downtown Sandpoint.

Corrections: Nothing that we heard about last week. Have a great week, Sandpoint! sundog /SUHN-dawg/ [noun]

CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1. A black tea

6. Steals

10. Water chestnut

14. Something to shoot for 15. Type of sword

16. Dwarf bu alo 17. Foals

18. Extent

19. Mongrels

20. Semiaquatic

22. Strikes

23. Gestures of assent

24. Ribald

26. Overhang

30. Prompt

31. Wild blue yonder

32. Fiber source

33. An abandoned calf

35. Picture

39. Inhumane

41. An opera glass

43. Filled to excess

44. Cold-shoulder

46. Secure against leakage

47. Crimson

49. European peak

1. a bright circular spot on a solar halo; parhelion.

2. a small or incomplete rainbow. “Look, in the sky, a sundog!.”

50. Countercurrent 51. Pass by

Skid row 56. Close 57. Catastrophe 63. Indian dress 64. Doing nothing 65. Mix together

Flying saucers

Observed

Cooks

Feudal worker

DOWN

Printer’s unit

Anagram of “Dome”

Large brown seaweed

Pledge

Shoemaker’s awl

Remainders

Dissented

Boyfriend

9. Detects

Sorrowful 11. Eskimo 12. Not south 13. Bloated

21. Italian for “Mouth”

25. Analogous

26. Wanes

Region

Widespread

Kirk’s starship

Exuberant

Breezed through

Happy

Evasive

Midmonth date

Concoct

Follow as a result

Flips (through)

Moses’ brother

Arboreal snake

Bright thought

Orange pekoe

Bothers

Enter data 45. Bothers

Curved molding

Where a bird lives