Reader_June4_2015

compiled by Susan Drinkard

DEAR READERS, (wo)MAN on the street

What is your favorite new business in the greater Sandpoint area?

“I love Winter Ridge because the employees are helpful and the owner is so knowledgeable about health concerns.”

Jessica Brown Homemaker/Carpet Binder Kootenai

“We like Baxter’s. They have good food and a nice atmosphere.”

Wayne Klemm Retired/Construction Sagle

“I like how the new owners of the bowling alley have improved it and made it a more enjoyable place to go.”

Marcia Krebs Homemaker Priest River

When I interviewed a handful of 2015 graduates around Sandpoint this week and asked what their big plans were in the fall, it reminded me of that time in life when there was so much hope and optimism toward the future.

I still remember that day in late August 1999, when I drove across the Long Bridge headed for college in Colorado, my car packed with all my meager possessions. I thought that life would never be the same, that I was on the cusp of all these grand adventures, and who knew when I’d return to this little town again.

There were adventures, there were successes, there were lots of failures, there were heartbreaking moments when I didn’t think I’d ever reach the bottom. But I envy those graduates in a strange way. The world hasn’t turned them hard yet. They still retain a hopeful twinkle in their eye. Maybe, just maybe, they’ll grab onto something big and not let it go. Maybe they’ll chase down a dream.

Congratulations, graduates. My advice? Take risks, put yourselves out there, experience as much as you can while you’re young. Don’t settle for anything. There is plenty of time for that in the future. Good luck!

-Ben Olson, Publisher

“I would have a favorite new business if we got a strip club in Ponderay. Sandpoint’s too nice for one.”

Matt Rohrich Pipe Fitter Sandpoint

“The Pour Authority knows their stuff and it’s always fun to try something new. And I like their support of nonprofits.”

Meredith Evensen-Lynch Occupational Therapist Sandpoint

“I’d say Sweet Lou’s because of the food, atmosphere and service.”

Angie Lauber Restaurant Manager Sandpoint

READER

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

www.sandpointreader.com

Publisher: Ben Olson ben@sandpointreader.com

Editor: Cameron Rasmusson cameron@sandpointreader.com

Zach Hagadone (emeritus)

Contributing Artists: Michael Williams (cover), Ben Olson, Susan Drinkard, Angela Euliarte, Chris Bessler

Contributing Writers: Cameron Rasmusson, Ben Olson, Nick Gier, Scarlette Quille, Ted Bowers, Dan Eskelson, Jennifer Passaro

Submit stories to: stories@sandpointreader.com

Printed weekly at: Griffin Publishing Spokane, Wash.

Subscription Price: $75 per year

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

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.

SandpointReader letter policy: The Sandpoint Reader welcomes letters to the editor on all topics. Requirements:

–No more than 500 words –Letters may not contain excessive profanity or libelous material. Please elevate the discussion. Letters will be edited to comply with the above requirements. Opinions expressed in these pages are those of the writers, not necessarily the publishers.

Email letters to: letters@sandpointreader.com

Check us out on the web at: www.sandpointreader.com

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About the Cover

Michael Williams is the cover artist this week. He works in colored pencil and ballpoint pen, and was gracious enough to bring in his latest piece of artwork for us, which we thought fit great for these warm first days of the pre-summer season. Nice work Michael!

COMMENTARY

Burmese Buddhists Drive the Rohingyas out to Sea

By Nick Gier For SPR

Violence and poverty have forced thousands of people to flee their homes in Central America, Africa, and the Middle East, and they are now seeking refuge in the U. S. and Europe. The most recent crisis involves Muslims fleeing persecution in Myanmar, which I still prefer to call Burma.

Burmese monk Ashin Wirathu, abbot of the 2,500-strong Ma Soeyein Monastery, has been preaching incendiary sermons against Muslims. He is calling for a boycott of Muslim businesses, a ban on interfaith marriages to preserve “racial purity,” and the prosecution of “forced” conversions to Islam.

Wirathu accuses Muslims of being “crude and savage” and having raped Buddhist women and girls. He claims that “Muslims are like African carp. They breed quickly, they are very violent, and they eat their own kind.”

Even though the government issued a report condemning “ethnic hatred” against Mus-

LETTERS

Dear Editor,

I would like to offer a different perspective on last issue’s article on “The truth about eggs.” Besides the risk posed by dietary cholesterol leading to heart disease, consumption of eggs has also been indicted in colon, prostate, rectal, and bladder cancer, diabetes, and kidney disease. In addition, eggs are also a significant source of salmonella—the leading cause of food poisoning in the United States.

From the perspective of chickens, the human appetite for eggs is perhaps (next to dairy cows) the single-most egregious cause of suffering inflicted on farmed animals—all for

lims and promulgating a “zero tolerance” policy against violence, Burmese President Thein Sein has praised Wirathu as “a son of Lord Buddha.”

Wirathu’s sermons have inspired armed Buddhists to kill Muslims and burn their businesses and mosques. The current round of sectarian violence has claimed the lives of at least 1,000 and left 140,000 Muslims homeless.

Hardest hit have been 1.3 million Rohingyas, Muslims who live in Rakhine state adjacent to Muslim Bangladesh. The Burmese government has denied citizenship to the Rohingyas, even though some have lived in the country for 1,000 years. Three weeks ago, about 8,000 Rohingyas (along with a fewer number of Bangladeshis), lured by Thai traffickers, were stranded on rickety ships with little food or water.

After intense pressure from the international community, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia have now agreed to receive the “boat people” on the condition that they be repatriated within a year. An estimated

something that nobody needs to eat and probably shouldn’t eat. More than 95 percent of all eggs come from factory farms where laying hens are crowded five or six to a cage with not more than the space of an iPad for their entire miserable two or three years of life. These hens endure dark, suffocating conditions living in an environment where the reek of ammonia burns their eyes and they have to share space with the corpses of their dead and decaying cage mates while they are continually coated in the feces from birds above them. Modern hens have been bred to lay up to 320 eggs per year. There is nothing “natural” about this. The jungle fowl, from which all chickens originate, lay up to two clutches of about 12 eggs per year. Laying a single egg is a very stressful, painful, and hard on a hen’s

5,500 of them have now landed safely in the three countries.

The problem is that Burmese officials have refused to recognize that they are, in any way, responsible for the crisis. On May 22, the Burmese Navy seized a boat with 208 people on board. Claiming that the Rohingyas among them were “Bengalis,” Burmese officials said that they will return them to Bangladesh.

Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi—Nobel Peace Laureate, devout Buddhist, student of Gandhi, and presidential candidate—has written about the relative peace between Buddhists and Muslims in her country over the centuries. During the late 19th century the British replaced efficient Burmese civil servants with their own Indian officials, and they brought in thousands of Indian (mostly Muslim) field and dock workers.

Understandably, resentment among the native Burmese grew, and pogroms against Muslims became a regular occurrence in the 20th Century. Burmese Buddhists also em-

body. Imagine giving birth to a child who is 3 percent of your body weight every day!

I realize that in our area some people get eggs from a small operation where the hens are truly free range and treated reasonably well. However, that does not alleviate the problem inherent in having bred chickens to lay about 12 times as many eggs as their ancestors did. In addition, almost all the chicks purchased from farm or feed stores come from large hatcheries. In most of these hatcheries almost all the male chicks are killed within hours of being born. This happens either by grinding them up alive, suffocating them, or simply dumping them alive in large trash bins until they die by the weight of chicks on top of them. It is estimated that upwards of 250 million male chicks are killed

braced the idea of a “pure religion” from Christian missionaries, and fundamentalist monks led campaigns for a strict Buddhist theocracy, which had never existed in Burma.

Ms. Suu Kyi has disappointed her international supporters by refusing to take a position on the crisis. Her most recent declarations referred to the importance of the rule of law. She must be referring to the law that formally denied the Rohingyas citizenship. Suu Kyi has also rejected the charge, made by Human Rights Watch, that the attacks on the Rohingyas are ethnic cleansing.

A Burmese student leader Ko Nawng states that Suu Kyi “should be a leader for all the ethnic nationalities and be the moral icon and human rights defender she is.” In her earlier protests against the military dictatorship, Suu Kyi referred to the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights, which stands for “the basic rights and freedoms to which all human beings regardless of race, nationality or religion are entitled.”

Burma expert Maung Zarni submits that Suu Kyi “is no longer a political dissident trying to stick to her principles. She’s a politician and her eyes are fixed on the prize, which is the 2015 majority Buddhist vote” in the presidential election.

A reporter from The Economist quotes one critic saying that she “has lost touch with the suffering of the people.” Fellow Nobel Peace Laureates Desmond Tutu, who spoke of the “slow genocide” of the Rohingyas, and the Dalai Lama have beseeched Suu Kyi to speak out. They know full well that only she has the moral authority to bring the Burmese government to its senses.

Nick Gier of Moscow is author of “The Origins of Religious Violence: An Asian Perspective” (Lexington Books, 2014), and parts of this column were drawn from chapter 4 of this book.

The International Crisis Group issued a statement in which it expected “her to break through partisanship and speak much more strongly and clearly against extremist rhetoric and violence.”

this way every year in the United States alone.

There are many healthy, cruelty-free alternatives to eggs and numerous resources online—http://chefinyou.com/ egg-substitutes-cooking/ is one such example.

Stephen Augustine Sandpoint, ID

Dear Editor,

Just hoping to hear more for the ancient tree that now graces the senior center.

A grant has been acquired for a new parking lot, with drawings of the new surface in the Daily Bee, it has somehow been ignored that in order to follow this particular plan, one of our greatest “senior citizens” will be removed, done away with, KILLED, and somehow,

not mentioned in this move to correct the undulating surface of the lot. Wonder what the seniors feel about doing away with the old, because it was inconvenient, and has now gotten in the way?

If anything, I hope its story can be told. This tree has seen a lot of history pass below its graceful limbs. Before it is silently missing from our landscape, let’s at least honor it as best we can, or look at the situation differently, with a better plan for our seniors, and for the rest of our community that honors the other old ones, THE TREES!

We must hurry, as the grant has been accepted.

Thank you Reader,

Gail Lyster Sandpoint, ID

PERSPECTIVES

Never Grow Up. Many people say that they move here because “Sandpoint is a great place to grow up.” I am not going to say that I disagree with that. I was raised here and I moved away after graduation. I spent 11 years in a city, enjoying all the perks of city life. I wasn’t profoundly unhappy. The anonymity of city life provides its own strange comforts.

But there was always something missing.

When I decided to move back to “the point,” I initially told myself it was because I wanted my kids to grow up around trees, lakes, family and mountains. The best part of being young is being able to go outdoors and marvel at the world and look at all the beauty around you, with no explanation for why or how it exists. Childhood should be full of adventure, chances to get dirty, going to bed exhausted at night and wondering what kind of weather will greet you when you wake up. Living here teaches a person how to deal with whatever nature might throw at you:

Dear Editor,

Before taking off to Alaska, I wanted to send a big pat-onthe-back for the way you guys have revived the Reader. I eagerly await each issue now: interesting, eclectic and creative. Terrific efforts, and results!

Chris White Sandpoint

Dear Editor,

Thanks again for reviving the Reader. We appreciate the range of topics and the writing (and the calendar), and read cover to cover. It is great, also, to see such wide distribution. I realize that comes at a cost (time,

snow, rain, a deer … whatever.

Living in a place surrounded by asphalt, breathing in climate-controlled air, and playing in man-made terrariums just isn’t the same.

It took me 11 years to figure that out?

I’ve been back in town almost 10 years now. The reason I decided to head back to the homeland wasn’t entirely for the kids. I had an underlying selfish reason. An unexplainable need for empty roads and space. My friends in the city couldn’t fathom that there were no major shopping malls or airports in an hour’s drive. They wondered how they would ever see me again. What would I do for a social life? The general consensus was that I had lost my mind at the age of 27 and given in to the ever-looming temptation of becoming a cat lady. Surely I could find a manufactured experience safe within the city that provided some of the same life lessons for my children. Synthetic experiences and adventures are comforting, if this is all you have ever known. I want my kids to know the difference before they make a choice on which is better for them.

Kids grow up in cities all the

gas...) but it sure is nice to know that the Reader will be at hand somewhere I go on Thursday.

Finally, it was a kick to see the ‘Then and Now’ of the poorhouse show up on the 21st. I drive Gooby fairly frequently, and for ten days or so before that appeared had been thinking, “I need to e-mail Ben to hit that one.” Guess the hint came through!

Howard Child Sandpoint

Dear Editor,

As I read Jen Jackson Quintano’s article about her house on Rapid Lightning Road I realized

time, and they are just fine. My boss told me this when I put my two weeks in. She warned me that there wouldn’t be a lot of opportunities for me in a small town.

That’s the problem. I don’t want them to just grow up. I want them to learn how to never grow up. Growing up sucks. A person’s opportunities are only as limited as they make them. There are so many ways to enjoy life for free; living in a city means that you will likely have to pay for your family to do the many things we do in rural areas for free. I want them to skinny dip with their friends, know how to start a bonfire and spontaneously hop on their bikes and ride around aimlessly. I hope that when they are my age, they will join their 60-yearold mother who will still be doing those things—at least until I break a hip or something. At that point, I hope my kids put me in a wheelbarrow and take me to the party.

In Sandpoint, one doesn’t have to flee to a suburb and resign themselves to a life of pruning the hedges and complaining about the neighbors lawn. Here, hedges are somewhat of a mystery, and you can pretty much

that I had been there—about 33 years ago. I remember a neighborhood party there, complete with babies, toddlers, and older kids running around. The owner/builder was a very nice guy and well-liked. The house was cute and perfect for it’s patch of woods.

Back then the pavement ended at the Pack River Store, fewer people lived on the road and it seemed like everyone knew everyone. We formed a nonprofit to develop a community center. A group of residents held a fundraising dinner with the raffle of a bentwood chair made by the Longdens and a quilt crafted by neighborhood women and finished at a quilting bee. We weren’t successful in completing a building but

choose to have neighbors or not. Your lawn will be defiled, often, sometimes by a moose, sometimes wandering livestock—who knows? You will see men and women well into their 80s and beyond hanging out at the same bars as 20-somethings. People with families and jobs live in yurts (which I was told is NOT a tent, but more of a semi-permanent foundationless small house). Adults are best friends with their cousins and live down the street from their grandparents. At times your children will come home late from their friend’s house because they had to “feed the steers” before they could leave. In North Idaho, a person is free to choose a way of life and live it. Most people around here really don’t give a shit how it is done elsewhere.

People do talk. Small communities are notorious for gossip. If you move up here to escape your demons, beware. The demons will follow you. They will become even more obvious in fact. Strangers will know your business. Your REAL business, not just what you post on Facebook. You will be spotted by someone you know pretty much every time you go into public. You can tell yourself that people are talking about you because they are unnaturally obsessed with you and actually are out to ruin your life, or you

the community spirit continued with Earth Day road clean-ups, baseball games at Northside School and frequent get-togethers. Parents transported their children past Jen’s driveway to “play group” meetings. Those kids have grown up and mostly moved away.

We gathered in the early 2000s for a community project with “old” and “new” residents to pull weeds along the road and we forestalled the spraying of pesticides for a few years. The Pack River Store continues to be a gathering place and has promoted fundraising events for residents with medical bills or other misfortunes.

I no longer know everyone on Rapid Lightning Road but I know that now, much as then,

can conclude that your defensiveness is a side effect of the shame you feel for making bad choices. Either way, the smaller the population, the easier it is to spot a “fake.”

There isn’t a place on earth that you can live where no one is going to talk about you. Even if you don’t talk to anyone, ever, they will talk about your seclusion. Every small town in America has its folklore about strangers, hermits, secret celebrity residents and uptight city slickers. Some of the best stories I have ever heard are about the people who live up “Gold Creek, and only come down every few months for propane.”

One way to stop worrying about it is to be so busy minding your own business that you don’t notice. Take a walk into the forest that surrounds you, and enjoy that on any given day, you don’t have to see other people at all. There is a freedom in being able to have earth under your feet and endless sky above your head. Children need to experience this. Adults need to appreciate it.

Walt Disney said “Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional.”

He must have been from a small town.

‘Til next time! My demons are beckoning me to take them skinny dipping.

Scarlette Quille

there are lots of of good and interesting people: writers, artists, business owners, retired people, government employees, mechanics, construction workers, retail clerks, unemployed people, all just like on other rural roads in North Idaho. I sort of miss seeing the railroad ties work to the surface during the mud season and wish I knew more about the logging railroad, the loggers and the early families who moved here in the first half of the twentieth century. I don’t think we will see mud holes open through the soon-tocome pavement.

So, welcome to the neighborhood!

Gloria Ray Rapid Lightning Road

Sand Creek turbine project brings Sandpoint savings

By Cameron Rasmusson For SPR

It only took about five minutes Wednesday for the Sandpoint City Council to approve the installation of a hydroelectric turbine system at the water treatment plant. But for Public Works Director Kody Van Dyk, it’s a project that’s been in the making for five years.

Thanks to new federal bill, the new renewable energy generator is approved and ready to be installed at the water treatment plant along Sand Creek. The new generation system, which uses the normal flow of water to generate energy, is set to be installed in July. As a 75-kilowatt generator, it produces more than enough electricity to power the water treatment plant—any extra juice should flow right back into the energy grid, Van Dyk said.

“The water is flowing anyway, so we might as well utilize it,” he added.

Council members awarded the $83,000 contract to Earthworks NW, a sum that will come out of the city water fund. Van Dyk said calculating the exact level of savings from the generated electricity is difficult. However, he estimates the hydroelectric generator should pay for itself within three to five years. Furthermore, he doesn’t anticipate any particular environmental impacts resulting from the new equipment.

Van Dyk initiated the project five years ago. Due to a complicated regulation and approval process, however, the project slogged along without progress for years. The roadblocks weren’t cleared until helpful associates of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission pushed a bill through Congress streamlining the approval process. Within three weeks, the project was authorized and

Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice and Men’ survives censorship attempt in Coeur d’ Alene

By Cameron Rasmusson For SPR

Congratulations, John Steinbeck. You still have literary merit, according to the Coeur d’Alene School Board.

Trustees logged a 4-1 vote Monday to keep the seminal American author’s novella “Of Mice and Men” on the reading list for ninth graders, the Spokesman-Review reports. That means Coeur d’Alene students can expect a little slice of Depression-era desperation in their freshman experience for the foreseeable future.

School officials challenged the book on the basis of occasional profanity and generally negative themes (the Great Depression not being regarded as an especially sunshiny period of American history). Member Mary Jo Finney characterized it

ready to develop.

The hydroelectric technology is nothing new, utilizing a design that’s generations old. However, Van Dyk said modern circumstances made the generator far more feasible for a town like Sandpoint. Rising electricity costs make energy savings more important than ever, while modern advancements in electronics make the equipment far more affordable and easy to operate.

“They’re smaller and much cheaper,” Van Dyk said. “That more than anything made the difference.”

Earthworks NW should start work in July. According to Van Dyk, the delay will make time to bring an out-of-service reservoir back in working order.

For Van Dyk, it’s a project that makes basic financial sense. However, it’s also a step in the direction defined by Sandpoint’s comprehensive plan. A roadmap for 20 years

BRIEFS

Severe fire season projected for North Idaho

as “neither a quality story nor a page-turner.” Finney, at least, isn’t alone in her beef with Steinbeck. The American Library Association counts “Of Mice and Men” among the most challenged books of the 21st Century.

of city development, the comprehensive plan calls for more power generation within or close to Sandpoint’s city limits.

The turbine generator follows in the footsteps of a methane generator installed at the wastewater treatment plant installed a few years ago. Just like

Anti-abortionists win small victory at Boise State U.

the hydroelectric improvement, the methane generator uses previously wasted heat energy to break down microorganisms, removing the need for hugely expensive electrical heating systems.

Memorial Field ospreys hatch their first chick

Get ready to play it smart with your campfires—North Idaho is projected to have a particularly severe fire season this summer.

According to an National Interagency Fire Center report, most of Idaho will experience a relatively normal fire season. Not so for North Idaho, where weather, fuel and precipitation predictions align for a pretty nasty combination.

As with other fire seasons, residents should make sure to be careful with any activities that could result in fire igniting, especially when in the woods. And if air quality is affected by smoke from wildfires, be sure to check in with the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality for health recommendations.

[CR]

Anti-abortion protesters brandishing extremely graphic signs are becoming an increasingly common sight in Sandpoint, much to the delight of parents who have to comfort their distraught children. It appears that Boise is experiencing similar troubles, with Boise State University revising its policies over anti-abortion protests to end a lawsuit.

According to Reuters, the university required anti-abortion group Abolitionists4Life to utilize warning signs for the controversial protest. They also were restricted to operating within the university’s eight speech zones.

Conservative Christian legal organization Alliance Defending Freedom then sued the univer sity for not enacting similar re strictions on other groups.

Graphic anti-abortion pro tests have always been a con troversial and legally dicey sub ject. Based on recent activity, however, it’s likely to only heat up in the coming months. [CR]

The biggest celebrities of Memorial Field outside the Festival at Sandpoint are welcoming a few new additions to the fold. That’s right: the Sandpoint ospreys nesting at the public park just hatched their first chick. The ospreys laid the first of their three eggs on May 1, but it was only Wednesday that the first of the newcomers poked its way out of the shell. Expect a lot of activity on Sandpoint Online and the city of Sandpoint’s osprey cam as the town watches the young raptors grow up.

Speaking of the osprey cam, you can find it at www.sandpointonline.com/ospreys. [CR]

NEWS FEATURE

Senior Center weighing the fate of old tree in parking lot development

By Ben Olson For SPR

There is a big decision ahead for the newly accepted block grant for the Sandpoint Senior Center’s parking lot development; a 140-year-old, 53-inch diameter decision, to be precise.

According to the development’s plans, a landmark ponderosa pine tree may have to be removed unless a fiscally appropriate alternative can be found. In addition to the big ponderosa, a western larch and smaller ponderosa will probably be removed.

When Stephen Drinkard, board member at Sandpoint Area Seniors, Inc. (SASi), applied for the grant from the Idaho Department of Commerce, he saw there was a major safety problem with the parking lot that needed to be addressed.

“This is not a story about two sides,” said Drinkard, “wherein one side wants to cut down the beautiful tree just to remodel a parking lot and another side wants to preserve a 140-yearold tree for its beauty and historicity ... this is the story of a group of people who are trying to find a way to remodel a space for public safety’s sake so that people will not be hurt anymore in the future by the bad conditions in the lot.”

According to Drinkard and Ellen Weissman, executive director of SASi, the uneven parking lot has caused people to trip and fall on numerous occasions.

“It’s a hazard zone,” said Weissman. “There are hills and valleys because the roots are uplifting the asphalt. It’s just not safe.”

The grant has awarded over $113,000 to be used in a new development designed by Joshua Tripp of Stone Creek Land Development. The development will not just focus on a new parking lot area, aesthetic landscaping and sidewalk repairs; it will also feature new lighting to eliminate the darkness in the lot at night.

“To have more lighting

would then allow the center to increase the programming [in the evenings and] therefore get more revenue,” said Drinkard.

“The boomers are coming,” said Weissman. “We’re going to have more people wanting to use the facility, which is a good thing.”

Currently the center receives more than 600 visitors per month, serving over 2,000 meals monthly both in the center and via the meal delivery program. Activities include line dances, educational classes on health, fitness and dietary needs. There is a pool table and card playing, weekly bingo and a host of other weekly activities.

“Socialization is critical,” said Weissman. “People are very isolated when they are older. Once people retire, there’s a thought of, ‘What do I do with my life?’ Just meeting and talking with people can shift that.”

Another program that SASi provides is the Daybreak Center, aimed at providing a safe adult day care service.

“The Daybreak Center provides care for people with Alzheimer’s and memory issues while giving caregivers time for personal errands or work,” said Weissman. “It’s so valuable. We’re the only day drop-in type service like that in North Idaho.”

While most can agree that increasing safety in the parking lot is a priority, residents are divided on the fate of the ponderosa.

Proponents for removing the tree state that the parking lot damage was caused by expanding roots, which will likely happen again. They also claim pitch damages the cars that park underneath it, while fallen needles become a tripping hazard when they become wet.

Gail Lyster, a Sandpoint artist and member of the Sandpoint Tree Committee, is of the opinion that the tree was here first and deserves the right of way. She was dismayed when she heard the ponderosa was scheduled to be removed.

“That tree has been here so long,” she said. “It was here before us, and it belongs here.

For us to build something that is really just temporary, it doesn’t make sense. This tree is permanent and he deserves first choice. I think with all of our minds, somebody can come up with something to fit within the budget, keep the tree and fix the parking lot.”

John Elsa, former board member at SASi, also believes the tree should be spared.

“It’s frustrating to me,” said Elsa. “I don’t want to see that tree go away. It can be done without the removal of it ... sure[the tree] has some issues. So does every one of those seniors. Should we get rid of them, too?”

“I was the city of Sandpoint’s urban forestor for 12 years,” said Drinkard. “My good friend Bill Love ... reminded me of one of the mantras of urban forestry: ‘Plant the Right Tree in the Right Place.’ This beautiful tree was for most of its life the right tree in the right place.

“It was the right tree in the right place when Ms. Ella Farmin would travel up Main Street from Fifth Avenue to the trolley depot at the end of Main Street,” continued Drinkard. “And she would pass by the tree when it was only six or eight inches in diameter ... now, it is no longer the right tree at the right place.”

Money will decide whether the tree is retained or removed. According to Drinkard, if the tree is retained, asphalt would have to be replaced with permeable pavers to allow oxygen and water to the roots.

Drinkard met with Bill Love of the Sandpoint Tree Committee, and Bill Friedmann, a consulting arborist for 25 years in San Jose, saying that both men believed the tree to be in good health, but signs of demonstrable decline were evident.

“Mr. Friedmann, like I do, assumes that we should save this tree,” said Drinkard. “For many reasons, the cost of installing pavers skyrockets past our budget. It could be an additional $20,000 or more to keep

the tree. It will come down to asking the community if it can raise and quickly that additional amount of money.”

Another factor to take into account is the average lifespan of a ponderosa pine, which is around 180 years, though some have lived longer than 300 years. The tree also has western gall rust, which in itself is not a mortal disease, but may eventually cause some branches to fall.

Ponderosas have deep tap roots, which allow for a great stability. But, as we noticed in last year’s blowdown, if a tap root cannot penetrate a strong layer of clay, the roots spread out wider and make the tree more susceptible to wind fall.

If the tree ends up being removed, there are plans to honor it with a ceremony involving the Kalispel Tribe. Plans will be to utilize the wood for firewood and building, hopefully dedicated back into the center. There

are even ideas in the works to use the bottom 15 feet of the big ponderosa for a totem or sculpture in the future.

“This is a tree that may or may not be dangerous in a few years,” said Drinkard. “It has lived close to 75 to 80 percent of its projected life span. Further, these people know very well that this tree caused the safety problems in the first place because the tree was simply trying to get oxygen and water, like any organism ... it is a very, very difficult choice.”

“I don’t like that things get decided by so few which affects so many,” said Elsa. “Most people hear from it after the fact. Sometimes you’ve got to spark a little controversy to get people listening.”

Have an opinion whether the tree should stay or go? Write us at letters@sandpointreader. com.

2015 Graduates: Where are they headed next?

By Ben Olson For SPR

Caleb BrenemanForrest Bird M. Bird High School

Caleb Breneman of Bonners Ferry has had his next step after high school planned out for some time.

“My plans are to go into the U.S. Army,” said Breneman. “I’ll go to basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia.”

Earlier this year, Breneman visited with a recruiter and began the process of joining the military. He took the ASVAB and scored in the 88th percentile, and finalized all the paperwork in preparation for an August departure to basic. He hopes to eventually join the Army Rangers, an elite special forces unit.

“There’s not a lot of able-bodied young men who are willing to go and fight for their country, so if I’m not going to do it, who is?” said Breneman. “I’m a Christian, and part of it is that I believe this is God’s will for my life. That has a lot to do with why I decided to join.”

Galen May - Sandpoint High School

Galen May moved to Sandpoint from Truckee 10 years ago, and has been an avid skier and outdoorswoman. She has worked as a ski instructor at Schweitzer for four years, joined the swim team, worked on Cedar Post, and enjoys mountain biking and camping.

With graduation just around the corner, I tracked down a few graduating seniors to see what their big plans were after graduation. We at the Reader are happy to offer our congratulations to all graduates and wish them luck with their varied endeavors.

“It’s important for me to be near the outdoors,” she said. “I’ll most likely come back next winter and be an instructor again at Schweitzer.”

Kenny KovalchukSandpoint High School

Kenny Kovalchuk intends to pursue his interest in finance and the business side of engineering after graduation.

Kovalchuk enjoyed several classes that led up to his decision to enter finance and engineering.

set a mile high. In the fall, she’ll attend University of Denver in Colorado.

In her four years at SHS, Sleyster has gravitated mostly toward maths and sciences.

“The Professional Technical Education programs were extremely helpful,” said Kovalchuk. “Things like C.A.D. and A+ certification, or computer science were helpful, because you get to take the raw skills of dealing with the technology, but also get to work with people, too.”

In the fall, Kovalchuk will attend Montana State University in Bozeman, where he will either major in business finance or financial engineering.

After graduating, May plans to attend North Idaho College.

“I’ll go to N.I.C. for a year and either transfer to University of Idaho or attend film school,” said May.

When she was little, May used to watch ski films and wanted to take part in them.

“Then I realized I was afraid of heights,” she said. “So I realized a better way to become involved was to work in film and follow them that way.”

May said she wants to work in film because she enjoys being able to tell a story through the lens of a camera.

“I get to control what it looks like,” she said. “I’ll get to meet new people, and hopefully travel.”

For the summer, May will work as a camp counselor at Schweitzer.

“My dream job is to run my own business,” he said. “What exactly I do with that business, I’m not sure yet. I know I want to help people.”

At SHS, Kovalchuk was a member of cross country and track.

“Running has been the thing that has really changed how I perceive how I live,” he said. “There is a lot of mental toughness and dedication to it that has taught me it’s the daily things you do that help establish your big goals and dreams.”

Asked if he’ll miss Sandpoint, Kovalchuk said, “I’ll always miss Sandpoint. It’s one of the best places in the world. But I think I’ll have a lot of fun in Bozeman. It has a lot to offer academically, and is close to a lot of great outdoors, too.”

Madison Sleyster - Sandpoint High School

Born and raised in Sandpoint, Madison Sleyster has her sights

“In figuring out how the world works, there’s usually a definitive answer with maths and sciences,” said Sleyster. “With English, things can be interpreted differently. With math and science, it’s like, ‘This is how it is, we can prove it.’”

Sleyster kept busy at SHS. She was on the SHS Dance Team, photo editor on the Cedar Post, sergeant of arms with the Interact Club, a member of National Honor Society and the Math Club.

At University of Denver, Sleyster will study engineering with a pre-med focus.

“They don’t have a biomedical engineering program there,” she said. “But they’re willing to work with me to create my own major, which is cool.”

Sleyster hopes to work in the medical community to help create technologies for doctors and patients to make treatments and surgeries easier.

“I really like medicine, but I didn’t want to go to school for another twelve years,” she said. “I found something that combined engineering and medicine.”

When asked how she’ll adjust to Denver, Sleyster said, “It’s a cool place. There’s skiing there. I think it’ll be a good transition place for me moving out into the world.”

Alex O’Shea - Sandpoint High School

Alex O’Shea has taken honors math classes every year he attended Sandpoint High School, and has always had an interest in elec tronics. Being an avid wrestler, he was looking for a challenge, and found it two months ago when he signed on with the U.S. Navy.

help my country. On top of that, they’ll pay for my college.”

Serving in the military is a family affair with the O’Sheas.

“My brother went in the Navy, my dad and grandpa were in the Army,” he said.

O’Shea hopes to join the elite Navy SEALs if he’s able to qualify for the training. He’ll do fire control, which is everything that involves circuit boards and any electronics on a ship.

“They’ll send me to school to do all of that stuff,” he said. “So I’ll be able to take a computer apart and put it back together again.”

For his summer plans, O’Shea will work framing houses, then take the last month off to spend time with his friends and family.

“I’ll just see everyone until I go,” he said. “It’ll be a long time until I get back.”

Sarah Almeida - Sandpoint High School

For Sarah Almeida, gradua tion means the next step toward an ex citing new future.

“I’m so excit ed,” she said. “I’m ready to move on.”

In the fall, Almeida will attend Port land State University in Oregon and hopefully major in film.

“I found that I really flourished in journalism and film,” she said. “I’ve always liked learning how things work and puzzles ... I really enjoy putting things together. You do a lot of that in both of those fields; making videos and trying to find the best way to put things together, or writing a story and trying to put as much information in as small a space as possible.”

“I wanted a challenge,” he said. “I want to

Almeida was copy editor with the Ce, a manager for cross country, and has played with the Spokane Youth Symphony since she moved to Sandpoint from Bremerton, Wash. three years ago.

“This summer, I’m going to work as much as I can and save up for school,” she said. “I want to spend a lot of time outside, hiking, I love camping. If I could camp everyday, I would.”

2015 GRADS (continued)

Shelby Leoni - Sandpoint High School

Shelby Leoni is no strang er to change. Before her sev enth-grade year, she moved to Sandpoint from a very small desert town in Southern Cali fornia. After graudation, she’s planning another big jump by moving to Nashville, Tenn.

“I’ve really liked English and Spanish over the years,” said Leoni. “I wasn’t that great at math, but I really enjoy science.”

Leoni has expressed interest in the field of psychology.

“I love analyzing things and knowing that there is going to be more than one answer and not just black and white for everything,” she said. “I love learning and discovering new things, and learning why people think the way they think.”

In the fall, Leoni plans to attend Lipscome University in Nashville.

“I love country music!” she said. “I visited Nashville in Apri and I had this vision in my head that everybody was going to be singing and playing music in the street .... when you get off the plane and go downtown, you can’t walk five feet without people playing music. Everybody is playing and singing, it’s amazing.”

Leoni played the violin for a couple of years and switched it up to study singing classical opera, which she intends to continue.

“I’m excited for the new environment and new experiences,” she said. “Every time I change, I think it’s going to be really hard, and after awhile I realize that I can do it.”

Jessica ScottLake Pend Oreille High School

Jessica Scott is no stranger to picking up and moving. Before moving to Sandpoint in 2012, she’d lived in Post Falls, Bonners Ferry, Kettle Falls, Big Fork, Spokane and Seattle.

“My dad is just a nomadic person,” she said. “He likes to move.”

This fall, Scott will pack up and move again to Moscow to attend University of Idaho to study psychology.

“I can’t wait,” she said. “After I get my bachelor’s, I wand to get my master’s, and hopefully a doctorate. Eventually, I’d like to work my way into a private practice.”

Scott said she has been fascinated with psychology for some time. She even shadowed a Sandpoint psychologist and learned some valuable techniques for the future.

“I have a very strong interest in the way the human mind works,” she said. “I

Scott has been a part of choir for six years, and enjoys singing now in her spare time, along with painting and reading.

“Singing in choir was one of my favorite experiences in high school,” she said.

Dakota Tucker - Lake Pend Oreille High School

“I’m from a little bit of everywhere,” said Dakota Tucker. In 2013, he moved to Sandpoint from a larger town south of Salt Lake City. “It was a culture shock when I moved here.”

Tucker has gravitated toward fine arts and English, spending his time working on visual arts, painting, sketching and drawing mostly.

“I like to do things in charcoal and pastels,” he said. “You can blend colors. Charcoal makes things a lot darker. Edgar Allen Poe is a big influence of mine, so most of my stuff is pretty morbid and macabre.”

In the fall, Tucker plans to attend North Idaho College where he wants to study abnormal psychology.

“I like seeing how the human mind can go wrong,” he said. “And just how severe it can get. I have a weird fascination with it.”

Eventually, Tucker said he wants to research, interact with and study people with severe mental illnesses, and maybe run an art therapy workshop on the side in Seattle.

“I like the atmosphere there,” he said. “Plus, I’m kind of a die-hard Nirvana fan, so I’m a little biased.”

This summer, Tucker will spend some time traveling and visiting friends and family be fore attend ing school.

“Per sonally, I didn’t think I’d live to see senior year,” he said, “let alone grad uate and move onto college.”

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

John Roskelley: Paddling the Columbia

6:30pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall

Lake Pend Oreille Waterkeepers and MickDuff’s host a presentation with John Roskelley. dling all 1,200 miles of the Columbia River from source to sea, Roskelley published “Paddling lumbia,” an informative guidebook that opens up the fascinating world of the mighty Columbia. ley will share stories from his excursions, plus provide a slide show and presentation. Free LPOW members; plus, MickDuff’s will donate $2.50 to LPOW from every pint sold during Dollar Beer Night @ Eichardt’s

Live Music w/ Neighbor John and Robert Crader

5pm - 8:30pm @ Ice House Pizzeria (Hope)

Great setting to host these two excellent musicians

Live Music w/ Flying Mammals

9pm @ 219 Lounge

Three piece band from CD’A, always favorites

“Far From the Maddening Crowd” film

7:30pm @ Panida Theater

Sandpoint Farmers’ Market

9am - 1pm @ Farmin Park

Featuring live music by Truck Mills

Live Music w/ Harold’s IGA

9pm - 12am @ 219 Lounge

Local favorites with a distinctive Pac NW sound

Live Music w/ Ron Criscione

7pm - 9pm @ La Rosa Club

Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail Fun Run

9am @ Pend d’Oreille Bay Trailhead

Live Music w/

5:30pm @ Pend

Ron

is a

ful, rock mix that will have you ping your toes and up on your

Pre-Registration Party for POB Trail

4pm - 8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority

Come support the Friends of the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail by signing up for the Fun Run!

Sandpoint Arbor Day 9am - 1pm @ Lakeview Park (by museum)

The event includes an Arbor Day ceremony, native plants sale and bake sale. Free to

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

Always a great event and fundraiser for the Friends of Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail and Idaho Conservation League. Race day registration for 5k and 10k begins at 7am. Call 208-946-7586 for more information. Awards presentation at 11am

Monday Night Blues Jam w/ Truck Mills

7:30pm @ Eichardt’s Pub

Weekly infusion of blues and rock from the Man

Live Music w/ Scars on 45 5:30pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery

Grand Lake Tour

12pm @ Kramer Marina (Hope)

A KPND featured band playing Indie pop out of the United Kingdom. You don’t want to miss this show, they’re amazing!

Have you ever been curious about the submarines in Lake Pend Oreille? Call 208-2555253 for more info

Rocky Horror Picture Show Open Auditions (JUNE 8th & 9th)

6:30pm @ the Warehouse (at the Granary)

American Laboratory Theatre is bringing The Rocky Horror Show to Sandpoint this fall, and is looking for local talent. Bring your monologue (less than one minute) and a song with special meaning to The Rocky Horror Show auditions

Bingo Night

6:30pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall

Don’t be a sissy. Real men play bingo

Hope Islands History Cruise

4:30pm @ Kramer Marina (Hope) Fare is $23 general, $21 seniors 60-plus

The Conversation

6pm - 8pm @ Ivano’s Ristorante

Sandpoint Farmers’ Market

3pm - 5:30pm @ Farmin Park

Featuring live music with Ken Rokicki and Larry Goldberg

This month’s guest is local artist and author Lisa V. Maus. All artists are welcome to attend this free monthly event. For more info, contact Mary Maio at maryLPmaio@gmail.com

Clark Fork Delta 1pm @ Kramer

Enjoy this unique cruise up the Delta aboard

Live Music w/ Gleewood 5:30pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery

The acoustic rock songwriting style of Jhett Western and folk tradition of New Mexican cals) to bring an unlikely, and at once recognizable,

ful

John Roskelley. After padpublished “Paddling the Comighty Columbia. Roskelpresentation. Free admission for sold during the event @ Eichardt’s (8pm)

GRE3N d’Oreille Winery

a groovy, soulwill have you tapup on your feet

POB Trail Run

June 4 - 11, 2015

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

Open Mic with Scott Reid

6pm - 9pm @ Monarch Mountain Coffee

All are welcome to attend; Open Mic Night is held every first and third Thursday of each month

“Far From the Maddening Crowd” film

7:30pm @ Panida Theater

Live Music w/ Marty Perron & Doug Bond

5pm - 7pm @ Idaho Pour Authority

Marty and Doug, the good time favorites of IPA. Come on down and try a new beer or three

Free First Saturday

Reader recommended

Live Music w/ Rob Smith

9pm @ 219 Lounge

Acoustic covers and originals

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

Live Music w/ Chris Lynch

6pm - 9pm @ Arlo’s Ristorante

The piano man appeareth every Friday and Saturday night at Arlo’s

Green Monarchs Cruise

(by museum) Day ceremony, sale. Free to all

Authority the Pend d’Oreille Fun Run! Trail

10am - 2pm @ Bonner County History Museum

All are welcome to visit the museum free of charge, sponsored this month by Dr. and Mrs. Kenneth R. Conger. While visiting, stop by the Native Plant Society’s annual Native Plant Sale in Lakeview Park Farmpup Dog Show

11am - 4pm @ Priest River Park

Come join us for a day of fun with your best friend— your dog! Dog show categories include best costume, cutest puppy and more! Also enjoy demonstrations, activities, pet grooming and pet photos. This fundraiser is especially important to help raise money and awareness for three local animal shelters.

Live Music the Wagoner Band

5:30pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery

Marina (Hope) been curious

submarines in Lake Call 208-255Sandpoint one auditions

Mike and Sadie Wagoner are a father-daughter duo that sing and play acoustic versions of many classic tunes and also churn out some interesting original songs

Live Music w/ Anna Fritz

7pm @ Sandpoint Meeting House (1025 Alder)

Cellist folk singer from Portland, Ore.

Sip and Shop Fundraiser

4pm - 9pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery

Proceeds benefit the Bonner County Garden Association. Come out and enjoy a great evening!

Clark Fork Delta Cruise

@ Kramer Marina (Hope)

Enjoy this unique opportunity to cruise up the spectacular Clark Fork Delta aboard the Shawnodese

Winery

1pm @ Kramer Marina (Hope)

Bask in the unparalleled beauty of the towering Green Monarchs aboard the Shawnodese. History and geology commentary is included. Fare is $39 general, $37 seniors 60-plus

Summer Sounds

4pm - 6pm @ Park Place Stage (near First and Cedar)

Featuring live music by Patrice Webb and Doug Bond

Hope Islands History Cruise

4:30pm @ Kramer Marina (Hope)

A scenic tour around the four islands of Hope aboard the Shawnodese

A Celestial Afternoon with Govinda 2pm - 4pm @ Inquire Within (516 Oak)

Astrologer Govinda Miller will be presenting “Increasing Personal Power & Influence through Astrology”

Karaoke Night

9pm - Midnight @ 219 Lounge

Trivia Night

7pm - 9pm @ MickDuff’s

Finally, a place to showcase how much useless stuff you know. Finally, a purpose!

Jazz n’ Java Open Mic Night

6pm - 8pm @ Monarch Mountain Coffee House

All players welcome! Sit in with a rhythm section or play solo if you like ... or just come to listen! The event features some of the area’s best players. Hosted by Larry Mooney, jazz vocalist and guitarist; amps and PA provided

Dollar Beer Night @ Eichardt’s (8pm)

style of Jhett Schiavone (guitar and vocals) meets New Mexican cowgirl Callie Sioux (bass and voat once recognizable, sound to the folk/rock scene

Live Music w/ Ruff Shod

6pm - 8pm @ Monarch Mountain Coffee

Come on down and see Fiddlin’ Red on fiddle, mandolin and guitar, playing with Desiree on banjo, guitar, ukulele and percussion. Old time, celtic, vintage blues and folk

We’ve gotten a great response to our call for your pet photographs. Instead of putting them in just one issue, we’ve decided to feature one or two every issue as long as we have the space. To submit your own pet photos, please send a photograph and a little bit of information about your special friend to ben@sandpointreader.com. Please put PET PHOTOS in the subject line.

This is Pork ‘n’ Beans. Two of the best butlers around. Beans fetches our socks, licks our dishes clean and Porky warms up our sweaters. Pork ‘n’ Beans are free-range ferrets, which means no cage, no restrictions, nothing. They are rebels!

In the winter they enjoy a good hop or two in the snow! And in the summer they sit in the bike basket and go with us to swim at the lake. Porky enjoys cooking shows, whittling wax sculptures, and his favorite book is the novelization of “Die Hard.” Beans is an interior decorator, and is currently working on writing a script for a romantic comedy. On the side she hoards iPhone chargers. They are the best ferrriends we could ask for!

Cora Murray Sandpoint

Celebrate National Trails Day with the Third Annual Bay Trail Fun Run

Lace up those running shoes—it’s time for one of the most scenic fun run opportunities the community has to offer. The third annual Bay Trail Fun Run offers beautiful sights and a congenial atmosphere in an event that stands to make the great Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail even better.

Located along the shores of Lake Pend Oreille and Sand Creek in Sandpoint, The Bay Trail Fun Run takes place at 9 a.m. on Sunday, June 7, offering both competitive, timed runs and a family friendly run or walk. All races—both 5K and 10K—begin and end in front of the Edgewater Resort at City Beach. The event is hosted by the Friends of the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail, the Idaho Conservation League and Trinity at City Beach Restaurant and is sponsored by the Kalispel Tribe of Indians and a host of other local businesses and individuals.

The fun run is an undeniably colorful event, that much is certain. Participants show up excited for the festivities, and according to Susan Drumheller of Friends of the Pend

d’Oreille Bay Trail, one individual even completed the run on construction stilts.

“People are just giddy with excitement,” she said.

This year’s race again features professional chip timing, a professionally measured course and awards and prizes for top finishers in each age group. Be sure to check out auction and raffle items as well, which include vacation packages, boat rentals, Festival at Sandpoint season passes and more.

Proceeds from the race will support efforts to protect, extend and steward the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail—a public, non-motorized trail, connecting the communities of Sandpoint and Ponderay. Work continues on the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail project. A planning process is underway that will create a master trail plan and an interpretive plan for the trail that will identify improvement and expansion opportunities.

New this year is a Packet Pick-up Party on the eve of the event at the Idaho Pour Authority. From 4-7 p.m., Sat-

urday, June 6 participants can pick up their t-shirt, race bib and goodies at the Idaho Pour Authority, 203 Cedar St. Online registration for the

Bay Trail Fun Run is available at www.pobtrail.org until June 5. Registration is $25 until June 5 or $30 through race day.

To learn more or donate, go to www.pobtrail.org, call (208) 265-9565 or email friends@ pobtrail.org

‘Take a Seat At the Table’ puts a little more fun in fundraising

NAMI Far North invites the community to take a seat at the table when it comes to promoting mental health in North Idaho.

Appropriate, then, that many community members have turned out to offer up a seat or two of their own in service of the cause. As with previous years, artists and other local partners have teamed up with the local affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness to make this year’s Take a Seat at the Table banquet another success. The annual dinner and auction is one of the biggest fundraising opportunities of the year for the organization, which provides resources and services for families affected by mental illness.

Take a Seat at the Table is defined by a one-of-a-kind auction of more than 50 chairs

repurposed into art by local artists. This year, contributors like Dianna Schuppel, Kally Thurman and Zabrielle Dillon’s Sandpoint High School senior art students worked to turn the chairs into unique artistic showcases. One, a garden bench made out of a tree root ball created by Jacob Riggins of Clark Fork, is too big to even fit into the event venue.

“It will be delivered to the event and to the lucky bidder by a loader truck by the artist,” said NAMI Far North board president Amber Snoddy.

Proceeds from the fundraiser will support conduit of care services through State Hospital North in Orofino, the region’s closest psychiatric hospital. It will also fund transportation to the new crisis center in Coeur d’Alene and a 12-month pilot project for an after-hours crisis phone line.

The banquet will take place 6 p.m. June 12 at the Columbia Bank atrium. Tickets cost $45 or $800 for a premiere table seating eight. For reservations

and more details, visit Take-aSeat.Eventbrite.com or by mail: NAMI Far North, P.O. Box 2415, Sandpoint, ID 83864, 208-597-2047

New Business Spotlight: Bernd Barrel opening in hisoric W.A. Bernd building downtown

By Cameron Rasmusson For SPR

There are once again smudges on the windows of the historic Bernd building at 311 First Ave., and Heather Petersen and Denise Alveari couldn’t be more excited.

Over the past month, the building that once housed the Coldwater Creek downtown retail store and wine bar has attracted new attention from passersby, who have stopped to gawk at the renovation work taking place. Like many of the other casualties left in the wake of the Coldwater Creek bankruptcy, the building is soon to enjoy a second life, and that new life begins with the opening of The Bernd Barrel in mid-June.

“Our focus is on making this a really comfortable place for locals,” said Petersen.

The new venture looks to the past just as much as it anticipates the future. For one thing, The Bernd Barrel is located in the historic Bernd building built by W.A. Bernd. The business partners decided to acknowledge the historic legacy right in the new business’ name. They also want to add historical tidbits into other areas of the business and invite local history buffs to contribute any stories or facts about the building’s past.

Of course, The Bernd Barrel also has

a predecessor in the Coldwater Creek Wine Bar. As a former Coldwater Creek employee, Petersen is very familiar with that business’ operation. The former business provides a partial blueprint for the future—at the very least, Petersen hopes The Bernd Barrel becomes a favorite location for wine and beer lovers.

However, the separation from the Coldwater Creek brand is also a freeing experience in a way, Petersen said. For example, the old Coldwater Creek Wine Bar could only play brand-appropriate music, whereas this new venture will allow for a much greater range of appeal. Indeed, Petersen and Alveari aim to open The Bernd Barrel to a wider audience. Those previously unimpressed by the wine bar may find a more welcoming environment in The Bernd Barrel’s more affordable price range, curated wine list and much wider selection of beers—Petersen anticipates more than 40 varieties will be available to sample.

“We want to keep it really organic and easy-going,” said Petersen. “We want to bring in items people have never tried before.”

That’s where Alveari comes in. Her goal is to put together a list of wines that is both accessible and palette-expanding. Good thing she’s built plenty of experi-

ence honing her own tastes in her previous work with Pend d’Oreille Winery. “That’s really my goal—to expand people’s wine knowledge,” she said. “We want to do things differently, not just from a taste perspective but also from a price perspective.”

Petersen and Alveari struck upon the business opportunity after connecting up with Chris Galle, the building owner. The idea is to put the entire Bernd building back into use, with the ground floor

eventually being used for retail space, the upper floor occupied by The Bernd Barrel and a handful of residential apartments being used for vacation rentals.

It won’t be long before locals are enjoying drinks at The Bernd Barrel. Petersen said the business will be open at the latest by June 12, meaning a little slice of Sandpoint history should be the setting for new memories very shortly.

Cone and Coffee offers homemade ice cream served with a smile

By Jennifer Passaro For SPR

There is only one person in this town more passionate than Jason Dillon about homemade ice cream, and that’s the customer who walks through the gleaming doors of his Panhandle Cone & Coffee Company.

Open since March, the Panhandle offers a rotating selection of Dillon-invented ice cream flavors, Evans Brothers coffee, baked goods and stories on the house.

Dillon leans on the counter made from the wooden fence of his old home in southern Oregon. He is reminiscent of a small town bartender, an old time soda jerk—gregarious, meticulous, and always ready with the perfect pour or scoop. Dillon likes it when customers want to sample every ice cream flavor before deciding. He likes even more the opportunity to explain the process and the contents of each flavor.

That enthusiasm for high quality ice cream is contagious.

“Have you ever noticed that a lot of strawberry ice creams are icy around the berries?” Dillon says. “We roast our straw-

berries—it pulls out that excess water.”

We can expect roasted strawberry on this summer’s menu, along with a delightful slew of flavor pairings, including wildflower honey and lavender, sweet basil and pine nut praline, Marion berry, and even sweet corn ice cream.

“The corn sits in the dairy overnight and then we strain it in the morning,” Dillon explains, that way the texture is smooth, while the flavor is full.

Dillon, his wife Stephanie, and their three children believe in bringing people together to share meals, stories, and of course dessert.

“We have our family, but we also have the Panhandle Cone & Coffee family,” Dillon says, gesturing to the tables waiting to fill with couples, 20-somethings, families, tourists, and locals.

“The kids helped paint the walls. They wash dishes, sweep, mop, and sometimes run the cash register,” Dillon says. “We want them to learn what it is to work, but we also want them to have a life other than here.”

Just last week, Dillon took his daughter on a moonlit kayak on Gamlin Lake—tough if you’re up at dawn mak-

ing cinnamon rolls.

“I love creating atmosphere and good food,” Dillon says. “We have a silly saying in our house: ‘Good food tastes better than bad food.’”

And the Cone & Coffee serves up only the good.

The Dillons moved from Grants Pass, Ore., after searching for a smaller community and a career change. They looked all over the west, but kept coming back to Sandpoint. It just felt like home.

“We used to have patio parties,” Dillon remembers. “I would make four or five flavors of ice cream.”

In that way, the Cone & Coffee feels like sitting down at your friend’s house, enjoying a soft scoop of ice cream in the dwindling summer evening. Stephanie’s cow bell collection shines along one long wall. Old timers shuffle in, kids run out. The place is immaculate and cozy at the same time.

It is the perfect place to top off a sweltering summer day. After all, there are few things better than the sweet tang of raspberry nutella ice cream spun that very morning by an expert hand.

To find your flavor, visit The Panhandle Cone & Coffee Company at 216 North First Ave. The business is open every day with summer hours starting June 8: Sunday through Friday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Find them on Facebook or call (208)265-8996.

STAGE & SCREEN

AUDITIONS

By Reader Staff

It doesn’t get much more wild or raucous than “The Rocky Horror Show.” The 1973 stage production and 1975 film adaptation have ingrained themselves as staples in musical history thanks to classic rock ‘n’ roll tunes, eccentric characters and outrageous production values. Sandpoint will get its own taste of “Rocky Horror” later this year with an American Laboratory Theatre production directed by Jesús Quintero set for Oct. 29-31.

Auditions for the production will take place 6:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, June 8 and 9, at The Warehouse at the Granary, 513 Oak St. Those auditioning should come prepared with a one-minute-or-less monologue and a song that has special meaning.

With the cast soon to be chosen for what will no doubt be a crazy ride this October, we asked Quintero to give us a sneak peek at what he has in store.

What drew you to doing “Rocky Horror?”

So many different things. It’s the 40th anniversary of this cult classic, and with the way the community embraced our production of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” last year, we wanted to go even bigger, because the community deserves this kind of top-notch theatre. Sandpoint holds one of the most talented groups of people we’ve ever seen in such a small area. What better way to bring us all together than a huge cult classic show that’s nothing but fun?

What are some of the things that stand out about the play to you?

“The Rocky Horror Show” has captured a following that continues to gain strength and popularity, partly because of the level of audience participation. It’s a unique show by design, in that, the audience doesn’t just sit and watch the show, they are one of the most important parts of the show. This show also offers

a chance for older adults to experience this classic all over again, as well as a chance to share it with younger audiences. It’s a perfect Halloween show. People can dress up in costume, let loose, be someone else, and just have fun!

Are there any specific ways you want to put a new spin on the story or style of the show?

Yes! We have some really cool surprises in store, but my producer has sworn me to secrecy. What I can tell you is, to be true to the ruby anniversary of this cult classic, it’s going to be the biggest Halloween show the Sandpoint stage has ever seen.

“Rocky Horror” stage shows are usually high energy with a lot of audience participation. Any specific ways you’ll be playing this up?

We will have audience participation prop bags for sale at the show, and we’ll be encouraging shadow dancing at the front of the stage. But of course, producing a show is like growing a garden. We plant the seeds, we water them, we make sure they have plenty of light and they begin to sprout. From there, many changes happen through the growth process, some organic and some planned, but every person involved always plays a part in growing the vision of the show. As Dr. Frank-N-Furter says, “We’re shivering with antici… PATION” to see what kind of new twists we create as a group.

What are some of the traits you are looking for in the lead actors?

Of course, no previous acting experience is required. We’re really looking for people of all ages and backgrounds; anyone who wants to have fun and be a part of this incredible show. It’s a wonderful way to build relationships that last a lifetime, to be part of a team, part of a family, and part of a creation.

Tell me about the creative team as-

sembled for this show. I’m sure there is a lot of opportunity for highly creative set design, costumes, etc.

One of American Laboratory Theatre’s core values is building relationships in the community. There are so many opportunities to be creative and to give of yourself. We welcome anyone and everyone who wants to help build or paint sets, create costumes, work behind the scenes, or get involved somehow. We love when people contact us about getting involved. Just send us an email at americanlabtheatre@gmail.com.

Anything else you feel is noteworthy or important about this show?

Tradition is an important and common thread for this show. Not only is it the 40th anniversary of this cult classic, but American Laboratory Theatre continues its tradition of producing a Halloween-themed show in October, and we’ll be performing in the historic Panida Theater, with its tradition of performing arts excellence for nearly a century. Theatre, itself, is a tradition. And one we will continue to share and pass on to future generations.

Please also note that content is not suitable for all auditionees and audiences. Parental and/or viewer discretion is advised.

A (green) builder’s Fijian adventures: Part 3

By Ted Bowers For SPR

Editor’s note: This week, Ted Bowers wraps up a three-part series of recollections on construction projects in Fiji.

During my first “tour of duty” on the island of Gau, an outer island in the Fiji chain, I was in charge of initiating the building phase for four guest cabins on the resort. My crew was to be local folk from the fishing village of SomoSomo. These men were hardworking fisherfolk who had some building skills, mostly related to building with concrete block (homes) and thatched roofs. Since my training is in western style carpentry, I decided to train my crew with half-hour sessions every morning before starting work. These sessions consisted of lessons in using our tools and techniques. Since our first projects were to lay out and build foundations for the cabins, I began with laying out

techniques, leveling and plumbing. Since we were not building simple rectangles, but rather six-sided structures, layout was more complex and involved some geometry. We used batter boards at all six corners. These consist of three stakes and two cross pieces set up outside the building corners, upon which string lines were strung from each corner to the next and adjusted back and forth until we had six even sides of the desired

length. To make accurate the final calculations of the heights of the pillars we were to build, we leveled all the cross pieces on the each batter board with all the rest so that our string lines were perfectly level.

We used a water level for this task—another morning lesson. Our water level consisted of a one gallon sun tea jar with a 25-foot long clear plastic tube attached to the spigot at the bottom of the jar. We would fill

the jar with water and set it on a pedestal in the middle of the future foundation that was to be at the level of the batter boards. The level of the water in the tube was the same as the level in the jar, so that wherever the end of the tube was held, it established a standard height to measure from. One person would carry a “story pole” around to each batter board location and mark with a pencil a level line on the pole with the water level, therefore giving us the level of each batter board in relation to the jar and all the other corners. By establishing this standard, we could then measure up from it and set our concrete forms at any desired level.

Once my crew got the hang of building with batter boards and the water level, they were excited to be able to use this technology for the other buildings that we laid out. They became increasingly effective with each new foundation. My goal was to eventually make them independent, so that when

I left for home, they would be able to continue on with the project, which they did. The use of batter board and water level technique, while taking a while to grasp, is fairly simple and requires inexpensive and easily maintained tools, a necessity in remote areas of the world. I was able to introduce them to the plumb bob as well, so now they had the tools they needed to create level, square and plumb structures. What followed in our training sessions was the safe use of power saws, drills, sanders and so on. By the way, we at Bowers Construction still have the water level in our trailer and use it regularly to level our foundations. It is not only inexpensive and effective, it never goes out of adjustment, since gravity is a constant.

Note: Here’s a good article on building and using a water level: http://www.factsfacts. com/MyHomeRepair/WaterLevel.htm

Following up on my previous article about creating a healthy and productive soil environment for your landscape, let’s discuss how to establish the grade of your soil in proximity to walks, drives and planting beds.

In your planting beds, you will most likely be using some type of mulch, so when raking out to final grade within the bed, keep the soil several inches below the top of the bed border. This will keep the mulch in the bed, even when animals and humans take shortcuts across the planting area. Bark mulches are often top dressed with a thin layer every few years to keep a

Making the grade in your lawn and garden

fresh look, so keep this in mind when establishing grade.

On the lawn side of your border, take great care leveling and compacting soil along the edge of the border. Your lawn rolling process most likely missed this edge, so use your foot to pack the soil along the border, raking back and forth as you establish grade.

What’s the proper lawn grade along this edge? Consider that your lawn gradually “thickens” over the years. Hopefully, your lawn maintenance practices work to limit the development of thatch, so let’s assume that the mature thickness of the sod will be one and one-half inch. If you grade your soil one and one-half inch below the border, you will, after a few years, be able to mow right along the edge and eliminate trimming altogether. Unfortunately, you’ll have to trim this edge until your sod thickens to normal.

If you grade the lawn to near the top of the border, you can eliminate initial trimming altogether. But what happens in a few years? Your sod has “grown” to well above the border and this edge becomes unsightly. If the lawn adjoins a walk or drive, its height above the hardscape is not only unsightly but also dangerous, possibly causing you or your visitors to trip.

Soil grades under pavers and other hardscape surfaces take considerable planning. You’ll need to excavate native soil and replace with compacted crushed rock and a bedding of sand. The exact amount of excavation and backfill will depend on your soil type, minimum temperatures and proposed use of the hardscape area. Each installation is unique and should be engineered carefully. Here in North Idaho, hardscapers often remove six to twelve inches of native soil and replace with crushed rock to eliminate frost heaving.

a lawn or planting bed and a hardscape surface, substantial borders are required. Two by four lumber is not sufficient; two by six, eight or ten cedar or redwood works well for straight runs. For curved hardscape surfaces, special edging is available from several manufacturers.

The process of creating a smooth seedbed for lawns involves considerable time with a steel garden rake and a wide landscape rake. Use the former to remove sticks, rocks and oth-

er debris and to establish a rough grade. Finish with the landscape rake to create a smooth grade. Raking in several directions produces the best finish. Always ensure that rain and irrigation water drains away from your home by sloping the soil at least one inch per horizontal foot.

The processes of creating and grading your landscape areas involves considerable hard work and careful planning. Take care to get it right the first time! Questions? Visit http://clearwaterlandscapes.com/questions

Sandpoint Films presents a night of country with Troy Bullock

By Cameron Rasmusson For SPR

Troy Bullock is no stranger to North Idaho.

Born and raised in Sandpoint, the musician has since gone on to record with some of the biggest names in Nashville, building his own career as a singer and songwriter in the process. Despite success in the country music industry, he hasn’t lost touch with his Sandpoint roots. And next week, he returns to share his work with his hometown—not to mention support local filmmaking—with a show at the Panida Theater.

“We’re bringing back one of our own who has become quite successful,” said Janice Jarzabek, one of the event organizers.

For locals like Jarzabek who have watched Bullock grow as both an artist and individual over the years, the show isn’t just an opportunity to enjoy a night of entertainment. It’s also a good window into the kind of talent Sandpoint-grown artists can offer when given the right environment to flourish. That’s a big reason why Jarzabek selected Bullock when planning the event. After all, the show is a benefit for Sandpoint Film Festival, an organization that does much to support local artists.

Bullock has come a long way since his Sandpoint days. His journey led him to Nashville, where he forged a style he describes as “stone cold coun-

try.” Modern country influences blend with traditional mainstays like fiddle and steel. Jarzabek is particularly impressed by his multi-instrumental ability. Whether it’s guitar, piano or violin, Bullock often records the instruments himself and layers them to form his signature sound buoyed by a classic country voice.

“Just listening to him, his incredible voice really stands out,” said Jarzabek.

His lyrical content, meanwhile reflects the blue collar sensibility that remains a pillar of the music genre—one backed by his own experiences mining coal in the pits of Wyoming. Bullock believes the songs strike upon a country tradition that’s been abandoned by many modern artists.

“I just see an entire market of country music’s most loyal and loving fans being completely ignored and pushed to the wayside,” he explains on his website. “And I just can’t allow that to happen.”

His most recent project is the upcoming album “Paydirt,” a 10-track release that champions Bullock’s affinity for deep-rooted country. The album includes the Billboard single “Country-GoRound,” a work-weary take on a coal miner’s worldview informed by Bullock’s own experiences.

Catch Bullock’s music for yourself at the Panida Theater Friday, June 12 starting 8 p.m. Tickets cost $21 and can be

purchased at Eichardt’s, Sweet Lou’s or online at www.panida. org. Ticket purchases automatically enter you into a drawing for a four-night trip for two to Las Vegas, where winners will get to check out the sights and sounds of Sin City with Bullock himself.

Cellist, folk singer appearing at Meeting House

Folksters seeking a good show this weekend should check out a show at the Friends Meeting House with Anna Fritz.

Blending folk songwriting with themes of gender, justice and spirituality, Fritz performs a smattering of original songs for the cello and voice.

With disarmingly vulnerable performances with a direct connection to her audience, Fritz’s powerful, heart-centered songs and authentic presence often moves audiences to sing along, which she encourages greatly.

Although Fritz embraces her folksinger identity, her sound is informed by an eclectic musical career, from music con-

servatories to dive bars.

A trained classical cellist and founding member of Portland Cello Project, Fritz has recorded with such bands as the Decemberists, My Morning Jacket, Blue Cranes and Dirty Projectors.

Keeping one foot in the indie rock world, Fritz has devoted her solo career to carrying on the folk tradition in her own classically-bent way.

Check out Anna Fritz at the Sandpoint Friends Meeting House at 1025 Alder St. on Saturday, June 6 at 7 p.m. There is a suggested donation of $5 to $20, but no one will be turned away.

READ

I’ve been reading a book called “Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers” by Mary Roach I’m enjoying Roach’s dry humor and sharp wit, as well as her morbid curiosity. If you’re ever curious what fate meets a human body after it has been donated to science, this book is eye-opening. Covering everything to human heads on trays, corpses getting nose jobs, anal leakage, and the role that cadavers have played in making us live safer lives, “Stiff” is a very gross, entertaining and strange book.

LISTEN

When my band was on tour last week, we stayed at an empty apartment in Moscow after our John’s Alley show. One of the records that the apartment’s owner had on the shelf was Dawes “North Hills” album (2009).

There is a great balance between mellow, melodic riffs and sensible indie folk rock to this album, recorded with a nod to analog style in Laurel Canyon.

The show will benefit the Sandpoint Film Festival, which brings in short films and filmmakers from all over the world to the Panida Theater. And if you enjoy Bullock’s music, be sure to catch him again at the Festival at Sandpoint when he opens for Vince Gill.

WATCH

I haven’t seen the new “Mad Max” yet, but plan to soon. My girlfriend hasn’t seen any of the former films starring lunatic Mel Gibson in a great early role.

“Mad Max 2” (known as “The Road Warrior”) by George Miller is an entertaining, thoughtful treatise that gave birth to many post-apocalypitic genres that followed it. It features sparse dialogue, a great collection of costumes that were steam-punk before it was even a term and a believable plot about a world hungry for petroleum.

trilogy of Mad Max films, this is the only one that is worth a damn.

Then & Now

compiled by Ben Olson

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

Historical information provided and verified by Bonner County Museum staff and volunteers (special thanks to Olivia Morlean, Will Valentine, and Allen Robertson). If you have any scrapbooks or old photographs taken in Bonner County that you would like to see Then & Now’ed, please submit them to the Museum so they can digitize and return the photographs to you. The Museum is located at 611 S. Ella — (208) 263-2344.

The rear of the Eagles Lodge on First Avenue, taken looking west from Gun

Corrections: None this week. Instead, a haiku (by Ben Olson): Perfection is key But errors are fun when you’ve Got a big red pen

CROSSWORD

ACROSS

Doctrine

Tall woody plant

Deviate

Birdlike

Alert

Type of sword

Skin layer

Dwarf buffalo

Madly in love

Hostility

Historical periods

Carpet

In base 8

Cool guy in the 50’s

Stripes

Perpendicular to the keel

A practice session

Wander

Pierced

Ancient Peruvian

Followers

Scottish for “Child”

Pee

Leased

A shoulder firearm

It is (poetic)

Six-stringed instrument

Buxom

Greek letter

Wild goat

Foreword

Being

Obtains

Neighborhood

Early 20th-century art movement

Baking appliance

Encircle

Mother

A word with the same

of letters

Exaggerated nasality in speech

Hindu princess

God of love

Bewitched

Kingly

Not nays

Not in

Spy agency

Rabbit

Black, in poetry

Kind of moss

Disguise

Twilled fabric

You (archaic) 33. A soft sheepskin leather

Hissy fit

Unit of land

Territory

Mourning

Website address

Inhumane

Tear

Violent disturbances

Scintillas

Tuxedos

Workbench attachment

Double-reed woodwind

Past tense of Leap

Annul

Ear-related

Component of urine

Essence

Warning to all outer-space guys: You can capture me and put me in your “space zoo” if you like, but I will sit way in the back of my cage, where it’s hard to see me. And when I do come out, I won’t be wearing any pants.