Reader_November14_2019

compiled by Susan Drinkard

(wo)MAN on the street

‘What have you been binge watching lately?’

“I have been watching the British Baking Show. I’ve been keeping up with The Good Place on Hulu.”

Meggan Gunter File clerk Sandpoint

“Arrested Development. It’s very funny, but an acquired taste.”

Brad Sturgess Video gamer Sandpoint

“We are currently binge watching Jack Ryan on Prime.”

Wanda Shaw Registration clerk Bonner General Health Sagle

“Orange is the New Black.”

Kate Matlosz Caregiver Sandpoint

DEAR READERS,

Well, the snow has finally arrived. I hope you all embrace it, because it’s going to be a loooong winter if you don’t.

I love the change of seasons. It reminds us that we’re alive, we’re growing, we’re learning and that every day isn’t the same mundane struggle.

Our cover this week is a wild one. Special thanks to photographer Tanyia Oulman and her courageous models (Duffy Walker made the cover) for their hilarious idea to sell the Hot and Hairy calendar to help raise funds for Community Cancer Services in Sandpoint. These burly men bared all (literally) for a good cause. Please buy them a beer or a pair of hot pants next time you see them out and about. And don’t forget to order a calendar (check Page 24 to find out where).

That’s all from me this week. Enjoy the change, Sandpoint.

-Ben Olson,

Publisher

“Dog Tales.”

Hazel Thompson 4.5 months Sagle

READER

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

www.sandpointreader.com

Publisher: Ben Olson

ben@sandpointreader.com

Editorial:

Zach Hagadone zach@sandpointreader.com

Lyndsie Kiebert

lyndsie@sandpointreader.com

Cameron Rasmusson (editor-at-large) John Reuter (emeritus)

Advertising: Jodi Berge

Jodi@sandpointreader.com

Contributing Artists:

Tanyia Oulman (cover), Ben Olson, Lyndsie Kiebert, Robert Egizi, Bill Borders, Susan Drinkard.

Contributing Writers:

Zach Hagadone, Ben Olson, Lyndsie Kiebert, Kody Van Dyk, Emily Erickson, Cameron Rasmusson, Brenden Bobby, Jane Fritz.

Submit stories to: stories@sandpointreader.com

Printed weekly at: Griffin Publishing Spokane, Wash.

Subscription Price: $115 per year

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.

SandpointReader letter policy:

The Sandpoint Reader welcomes letters to the editor on all topics.

Requirements:

–No more than 400 words –Letters may not contain excessive profanity or libelous material. Please elevate the discussion. Letters will be edited to comply with the above requirements. Opinions expressed in these pages are those of the writers, not necessarily the publishers.

Email letters to: letters@sandpointreader.com

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

About the Cover

This week’s cover features Duffy Walker, one of the many hilarious and courageous local men who took one for the team for the Hot and Hairy calendar.

Photograph by Tanyia Oulman.

Bonners Ferry vet honored with Spirit of Freedom Award

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff

Ron McIlnay is known among his Bonners Ferry neighbors as a Vietnam veteran who works tirelessly to make sure his fellow servicemen and women have what they need. For all of his efforts — both for his country and to the North Idaho community — McIlnay received the 2019 Spirit of Freedom Service award from Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo.

Karen Roetter, the regional director for Crapo’s Coeur d’Alene office, presented McIlnay the award on Nov. 11 at the Veterans Memorial Plaza in Bonners Ferry in front of a crowd of nearly 100 people. Roetter listed the many ways McIlnay has supported local veterans, from assisting with car repairs to helping families prepare for funerals.

According to McIlnay, none of what he does would be possible without the help of other local veterans and the community at large.

“I like thinking of myself as a messenger,” he told the Reader “I want everybody in Bonners

Ferry and Boundary County to be my eyes and ears and to let me know — is there a vet in trouble? … I can’t guarantee that we can help, but we have been able to help.”

Crapo honored 28 veterans this year, bringing the grand total of Spirit of Freedom Award winners to 313 since its inception in 2002. A number of veterans’ organizations are responsible for making nominations for the award, including the American Legion, Disabled American Veterans, Idaho State Veterans Assistance League, Idaho State Veterans Cemetery, Idaho State Veterans Homes, Lewis Clark Valley Veterans Council, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Veteran Advocates of Ore-Ida, Veteran Students Services at Idaho State University, Veterans of Foreign Wars posts and and Vietnam Veterans of America.

McIlnay serves as a VVA Sandpoint chapter board member, VFW Bonners Ferry chapter trustee and ride captain for the Patriot Guard Riders motorcycle group.

“The Spirit of Freedom Awards recognize veterans and

WELCOME WINTER

Thanks to everyone who submitted to our Facebook photo contest Nov. 13, when we asked for your best snowy photos from the Nov. 12 snow storm. The Reader staff was tickled by these quirky snowmen, photographed at Forrest M. Bird Charter School by Michael Bigley. Thanks, Michael! Enjoy your MickDuff’s gift certificate.

volunteers who set an example of leadership and service in our communities and across our state,” Crapo said in a press release announcing the 2019 award recipients. “Time and time again, I meet veterans who not only gave tremendously in service to our nation, but also continue to give their time, talents and treasure to supporting their fellow

veterans and others. I welcome the opportunity to express gratitude for this exemplary service by honoring these patriots who have served and continue to serve our country, Idaho and their local communities.”

McIlnay said the award was unexpected and he is honored to be recognized — but his dedication to fellow veterans won’t be slowing down anytime soon.

“Tomorrow is another day,” he said. “We had our awards, we had our this and that, now let’s get back to the business of helping vets.”

No federal dollars for Ponderay railroad underpass —

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff

It’s good news-bad news for the city of Ponderay and Friends of the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail. Residents approved the city’s 1% local option sales tax Nov. 5 — securing the necessary 60% supermajority by a margin of one vote — a portion of which will go toward extending lake access and connection to the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail via a railroad underpass.

That was the good news. The bad news, delivered Nov. 12, is that Ponderay didn’t receive

this time

the funding it requested from the fiscal year 2019 BUILD Transportation Discretionary Grant program that would have supported design, engineering and construction of the $9.82 million underpass.

That means it’s back to the drawing board for another grant attempt, albeit with a little more support after the Nov. 5 election.

“With some local match — from the local option tax — the city should be more competitive in the next round,” said Friends of the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail President Susan Drumheller.

U.S. Transportation Secre-

tary Elaine Chao announced the award of BUILD grants totaling $900 million to 55 projects in 35 states, none in Idaho.

Montana received $13 million for a street and trail system project in Missoula; Oregon was awarded $15.5 million to fund a 3.97-mile four-lane highway upgrade near Medford; and Washington garnered a combined $31.3 million to construct a facility for train loading, offloading and circulation at the Spokane International Airport and purchase brownfields at the Port of Everett.

Medicaid expansion on the horizon, Your Health Idaho spreads the word on open enrollment

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff

Open enrollment for the Your Health Idaho insurance marketplace began Nov. 1 and will close Monday, Dec. 16. In the meantime, officials including Executive Director Pat Kelly recently toured the state getting the word out about the 2020 plan year enrollment period, the seventh since Your Health Idaho launched in 2013.

“We’re really encouraging people to start early; don’t wait for the last minute,” Kelly told the Reader during his swing through Sandpoint in early November.

About 103,000 Idahoans are currently enrolled through the marketplace, which offers tax credits to nine out of 10 participants, saving more than 80% on the cost of premiums. About 25% of enrollees pay nothing per month, Kelly said.

“That’s really due to people shopping around; working with an agent or broker — they’re really the experts in this space,” he said, adding that with an average monthly premium of $500, all but $100 is covered by the tax credit.

That was the big message of the Your Health Idaho tour: informing prospective enrollees of the tools at their disposal through the marketplace.

Kelly said anyone can go to yourhealthidaho.org, enter basic information such as where they live, their income level and household size, then receive a tax credit estimate and comparisons of the 129 plans on the marketplace. Likewise, livebetteridaho.org — a collaboration between government agencies, nonprofits, faith-based organizations and community services — provides an anonymous, no-cost way to view a suite of services and resources, including connecting with state-licensed, Your

Health Idaho-certified agents or brokers for free.

“We know that Idahoans like to talk to their trusted advisers … and those agents fit the bill for that,” he said.

This year will be unique for the marketplace, however, as the expansion of Medicaid eligibility approved by the Idaho Legislature in 2018 takes effect Jan. 1, 2020. That means Idahoans making 100-138% of the federal poverty level will be “newly Medicaid eligible.” For a family of four, that means an annual household income of between $25,750 and $35,535. Currently, 258,209 Idahoans are enrolled in Medicaid and the Childrens Health Insurance Program, an increase of 8.42% since 2013, according to Medicaid.gov.

That number is sure to increase with the expansion of eligibility after Jan. 1, including about 18,000 people currently enrolled in Your Health Idaho. When the new Medicaid rules go into effect, those people in the 100-138% FPL category will see their Your Health Idaho enrollment canceled, and they will need to ensure coverage under the federal program.

“People that are on Your Health Idaho are automatically renewed for the coming year, so the vast majority of our customers will have already been auto-renewed for 2020,” Kelly said, adding that while “we will lose some of our enrollment” with Medicaid expansion, “we’ve been very conservative in how we’ve planned. With this Medicaid expansion initiative, we’re able to weather that decline in enrollments and really thrive financially.”

Your Health Idaho’s ability to support itself has been a critical condition of its existence since 2013, when it was created amid a robust political debate in Boise.

“It’s hard to talk about health

insurance without talking about politics,” Kelly said. “One of the mandates from the governor and the Legislature was that we would focus on Idahoans, it would be local and it would save money.”

The marketplace has met those conditions, he added, with $33 million saved since its inception and without the use of federal dollars. What’s more, Your Health Idaho — which is a government entity but not a state agency — is the cheapest and highest per capita enrolled statebased marketplace in the country.

“We have executed exactly

on what the Legislature asked us to do,” Kelly said. Still, 13% of Idahoans remain uninsured — down from 19% in 2013 but still higher than the 10% national average, according to data released in October by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Numbers like that underscore the urgency with which Your Health Idaho officials are reaching out for the current enrollment period, with statewide TV and radio ads, marketing on Hulu and Pandora streaming services, and a broad public relations campaign on all major social media platforms.

“We know that coverage is really important to people,” Kelly said. “Act early. We know people like to wait until the last minute, but we encourage people to start early.”

For Your Health Idaho enrollment information, tax credit estimates and plan comparisons, go to yourhealthidaho.org. For more on available services and resources based on your age, household size and income, visit livebetteridaho.org. For more information and to apply for Medicaid, go to medicaidexpansion.idaho.gov.

Sandpoint grade-schooler catches record trout

By Reader Staff

The Idaho fishing record books better make room for the spunk and creativity of 8-year-old Sandpoint girl Sophie Egizi, who reeled in a new catch-and-release record for Gerrard rainbow trout on Lake Pend Oreille in October — a trout she named “Old Man Sparkles” before sending him back into the drink.

The 36.5-inch fish annihilated a record previously held by fellow Sandpoint youngster Miles Landis, who caught his fish — a considerably smaller 14 inches — last November.

According to a Nov. 1 news release from Idaho Fish and Game announcing Egizi’s record, Gerrard rainbow trout in Idaho are unique to the Clark Fork River drainage and are listed as a separate trout species in the record books because of their trophy sizes.

Egizi caught Old Man Sparkles while trolling flies on an outing with Pend Oreille Charters.

‘This is totally doable’

Reclaim Idaho volunteers begin gathering signatures for education funding initiative

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff

When Reclaim Idaho launched in the summer of 2017, the grassroots group hung its hat on three missions: strong public schools, protected public lands and health care for working families. The organization, responsible for leading the charge in expanding Medicaid in Idaho, is now shifting gears to education, as the Idaho secretary of state’s office greenlit a ballot initiative in late October that aims to bring up to $200 million of annual investments into the state’s K-12 public schools. Organizers call it “Invest in Idaho.”

1987 to 2000.

Schroeder said the Invest in Idaho proposal would not financially impact 95% of Idahoans, and that only the “wealthiest individuals will see a very modest” tax increase.

“It’s not putting anybody in the poor house,” she said. “This is totally doable.”

Bits ’n’ Pieces

From east, west and beyond

East, west or beyond, sooner or later events elsewhere may have a local impact. A recent sampling:

“We are at a crisis point with Idaho’s public schools and it’s time to act,” Reclaim Idaho co-founder Luke Mayville said Oct. 25 following news that the initiative would appear on the ballot. “We are hearing the same thing from people all over the state. They’re worried about losing teachers to other states and they’re concerned their kids will not have the skills they need to get a family-supporting job in their communities. The Legislature has had ample time to address the crisis. It’s now time for the people of Idaho to take action.”

The initiative proposes increased taxes for about 5% of the Idaho population combined with a tax increase for corporate entities. Reclaim Idaho Executive Director Rebecca Schroeder said her team worked with experienced bill drafters, retired judges and attorneys while referring to legislation in surrounding states that pursued similar paths in order to help fund public education.

Schroeder said that Idaho is now 50th in the nation for per-pupil spending. While she sees that as a crisis, she’s heard the argument that when it comes to schooling, “money isn’t everything.”

“Money isn’t everything, but when we can’t afford to keep the lights on, money isn’t nothing,” she said.

The Invest in Idaho legislation would increase tax rates 3% for people making more than $250,000 per year individually, or for married couples making more than $500,000 together. The tax rate for both in- and out-of-state corporations would also increase to 8%, which was the rate from

Schroeder said that when Reclaim Idaho mobilized a volunteer workforce to gather signatures for Medicaid expansion, most involved were learning the process for the first time. When it came to canvassing neighborhoods and talking to voters about Medicaid, Schroeder said there was a bit of a learning curve. With the Invest in Idaho initiative, she said things are already going a lot smoother.

“Now we’ve totally got this thing,” she said.

Reclaim Idaho has until April 30, 2020 to collect all required signatures in support of the initiative, and until May 1, 2020 to submit those signatures. Despite proposed legislation and much discussion in 2019 about changing the state’s ballot initiative signature requirements, the same rules apply as when the group worked to get Medicaid in front of voters — volunteers must collect signatures from 6% of voters from 18 of Idaho’s 35 legislative districts. According to a Reclaim Idaho statement, that means 55,057 signatures is the goal.

Schroeder said that in light of this new initiative, she is often asked whether Reclaim Idaho is opposed to the recommendations that recently came out of Governor Brad Little’s K-12 education task force, including providing greater opportunities for all-day kindergarten, letting school districts be more flexible with funding and updating teacher salary allocation to help the state retain educators. She said her group is in favor of any effort to improve Idaho schools, but that the Legislature’s continued lack of action made the Reclaim Idaho team feel as though it was time to take matters straight to the voters.

“We are not at odds with any of this pro-education talk, but what we want to see is pro-education action,” Schroeder said. “There’s a big difference.”

Hope for cattle flatulence: In the U.S. cattle and other ruminants create 36% of the nation’s methane emissions; methane traps 84 times as much heat as carbon dioxide, greatly accelerating climate change. According to a report in Mother Jones, research from Australia indicates that cattle fed a 2 percent diet of seaweed show a 99% reduction in methane emissions. California has 1.8 million dairy cows, and research at the University of California-Davis is exploring how best to acquire the seaweed for livestock. The World Wildlife Fund says seaweed farming for bovines can provide jobs, enhance the marine environment and produce nutritious food for people as well as farm animals. The Atlantic reports that seaweed does not impact the taste of milk

Due to more wealth accumulated by those at the top income tier, only half of those born in the 1980s will out-earn their parents, according to University of California research. Other obstacles to getting ahead include 300% more student loan debt, stagnant wages and higher house prices. According to The Week, trends such as these have helped fuel increased membership in the Democratic Socialists of America.

New York City voters just approved instant run-off voting, a.k.a. ranked choice voting. The new voting method dodges the specter of a candidate with less than 50% of the vote winning an election.

September saw a 24% rise in U.S. farm bankruptcies, according to Bloomberg. The surge was blamed on unfavorable weather and the trade war with China. Estimates point to 40% of farmers’ profits this year coming from federal subsidies, trade aid, disaster assistance and insurance payments.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted to protect the Grand Canyon from toxic uranium mining. Now parks advocates are hoping the Senate will pass the Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act, which would protect 1 million acres around the Grand Canyon from new uranium mining claims. Dangers posed by mining include soil and waterway contamination and radioactive sludge.

Insects are disappearing at a rate of 2.5% a year, says Business Insider. Reasons: loss of habitat, use of pesticides

By Lorraine H. Marie Reader Columnist

and fertilizers, and climate change. At this rate, researchers estimate there will be no insects left by the next century — threatening the survival of birds, fish and mammal species, as well as plants that rely on pollinators.

California legislators have banned private for-profit prisons, NBC reports. The action came following the discovery of “serious violations” during an unannounced prison investigation.

The Trump Administration has been ordered in federal court to provide mental health services to families seeking new lives in the U.S., but who were separated from one another under the “zero tolerance” policy at the U.S.-Mexico border. According to the dean of the school of law at the University of California-Berkeley, the ruling is a recognition that government-inflicted trauma deserves remedy by the government. Estimates are that the government separated 5,500 children from their parents. What’s more, while many parents were deported their children remain under U.S. “watch,” reports The New York Times

Legislation recently passed in California will bring an end to the use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos in late 2020. Chlorpyrifos, used on food crops, has been associated with lowered IQ, autism, ADHD, and severe and permanent brain damage in young children. It has also poisoned farm workers.

Blast from the past: “When a man unprincipled in private life[,] desperate in his fortune, bold in his temper ... despotic in his ordinary demeanour — known to have scoffed in private at the principles of liberty — when such a man is seen to mount the hobby horse of popularity — to join in the cry of danger to liberty — to take every opportunity of embarrassing the General Government & bringing it under suspicion — to flatter and fall in with all the non sense of the zealots of the day — It may justly be suspected that his object is to throw things into confusion that he may ‘ride the storm and direct the whirlwind.’” Alexander Hamilton, U.S. statesman and political leader, having served in the cabinet of President George Washington.

And another blast: “When the speech condemns a free press, you are hearing the words of a tyrant.” Thomas Jefferson, third U.S. president, 1801-1809, a Democratic-Republican.

City waterfront giveaway

Former public works director: City of Sandpoint should rethink selling or trading public land at City Beach

By Kody Van Dyk Special to the Reader

The city of Sandpoint draft Parks Master Plan identifies disposing of city-owned green space located east of the Edgewater Best Western Hotel. It appears from media reports and the draft plan that in return the city will receive a piece of property adjacent to BNSF Railway known as the Edgewater RV Park.

I am opposed to this transaction.

From my research, the reason for the sale, or trade, of public land is to alleviate parking and boat ramp issues at City Beach. In addition, the owners of the Edgewater Best Western Motel have stated they expect to construct a larger hotel complex on the existing motel footprint and the city-owned green space to the east of the motel. There are important reasons why the parking issue is a fallacy, and the remedy unnecessary.

1. There are approximately 16 weekend days between July 4 and Labor Day each summer. These are the number of days there are parking and boat ramp issues at City Beach. For less than 4% of a year, the city wants to relinquish control or ownership of the land east of the Edgewater Best Western. That percentage does not justify trading open space with incredible views for a parking lot adjacent to a railroad.

2. When parking is perceived as an issue the first response is to provide more parking. This seems logical. But, when parking is a premium, one can rarely provide enough parking — demand will outstrip supply. Again, providing additional parking for less than 4% of a year leaves a sea of asphalt for the remaining 96% of the year. Increasing the size of a parking lot with minimal stormwater treatment does not fulfill the objectives of the Sandpoint Comprehensive Plan to protect the lake and river.

3. The objectives of the city can be met by not proceeding with the land transaction. Relocating the boat ramp to the southwest corner of existing city-

owned land accomplishes the separation between boaters and others without giving up the green space east of the Edgewater Best Western.

Every effort should be made by the City Council to maintain high-value green space adjacent to waterfront property. They are the trustees for city residents and land-owning taxpayers within the city. I believe it is their responsibility to take the long view and decide what the city will need and want generations from now.

Additionally, every effort should be made to invite the public to use the green space east of the Edgewater Best Western. Currently, the general public is mostly unaware that the city owns this green space. Structural encroachments into the green space further discourage the public from using this city-owned land.

In addition to adding additional parking at City Beach, this transaction appears to be for the benefit of the owners of the Edgewater Best Western so that they can erect a larger structure. Sandpoint should not be in the business of providing green space adjacent to waterfront for the desires of private enterprise.

In summary, I oppose this transaction and request that the Sandpoint City Council search their souls to determine what is best for today’s Sandpoint

and Sandpoint in the coming decades. Relinquishing the property east of the Edgewater Best Western for a parking lot adjacent to a railroad is not my idea of a good deal. I trust it is not the City Council’s idea of a good deal either. Let the City Council know how you feel about the draft plan. This link directs you to City Council con-

Laughing Matter

tact information: sandpointidaho.gov/ your-government/contact-us.

Kody Van Dyk served as Sandpoint Public Works director from 1990-2016.

By Bill Borders

Bouquets:

• I want to recognize my fulltime staff for a moment. I’m so lucky to have three very dedicated people work for the Reader I truly couldn’t do this without their help each and every week.

Since Zach Hagadone returned to Sandpoint and the newspaper he himself helped found in 2004, the quality of reporting in the Reader has increased tenfold. I wish our readers could see the lengths Hagadone goes to ensure each news story is fair and accurate. He is one of the top journalists in Idaho and we are lucky to have him.

Staff writer Lyndsie Kiebert started as an intern with the Reader during her final year at UI and has continued to impress me with her passion and ability to tell a story in a unique way. Kiebert never says “no” to an assignment, no matter how difficult, and she adds so much personality to our sometimes salty office. I’d be lost without you, LK!

Ad director Jodi Berge has been a calm, comforting presence to the Reader since she started a few years ago. While newspapers often deal with rapid turnover of ad salespeople, Jodi has stuck around because she’s great with our clients, she has an amazing heart and believes in our community.

You guys rock. Readers, if you see these folks out and about, buy them a drink and thank them for the hard work they do. This paper wouldn’t be a thing without them.

GUEST SUBMISSION:

• A big bouquet to the kind East Hope citizens who make baked goods for citizens who have voted during elections.

-Submitted by Cynthia Mason Barbs

• This is one of those rare weeks when I have absolutely nothing to gripe about. Drink it in deep, folks, this doesn’t happen very often.

Railroaded by Bu ett…

Dear editor,

The BNSF second rail bridge was “railroaded through.” That expression has been around since the beginning of railroads. Why? Because railroad companies laid track wherever they wanted, and still do today.

The plan for the second bridge is to accommodate the increase — five times as much — in rail traffic. It is not for BNSF’s argument that it will alleviate auto traffic congestion at crossings.

An increase in rail transportation is welcome to reduce truck transport (sorry truckers) moving goods to market. The real concern is rail transportation of oil and coal trains that threaten our lakes and rivers.

Here is the scoop: BNFS is owned by “Berkshire Hathaway Inc. an American multinational conglomerate holding company ... The company is known for its control and leadership by Warren Buffett, who serves as chairman and chief executive.” (Wikipedia)

Warren Buffet saw that the pipeline through Montana was not going to happen and he had the opportunity to buy BNSF rail line on the cheap with the sole intention of using it as an oil pipeline and for coal trains.

There are as many as eight trains, more than a mile long, running day and night, every DAY, filled with oil and coal. They travel through downtown Sandpoint and downtown Spokane — the volatile oil cars and dangerous coal dust posing an extreme danger. One oil car explosion will level six city blocks.

ALL of the oil and coal is shipped overseas.

BNSF had been campaigning their image in our local newspapers and magazines. They threw in some insignificant and woefully inadequate disaster equipment. This was to placate folks and keep the skeptics’ voices muted. It worked.

Railroads were built along rivers and lakes to accommodate the need for water on old coal-fired trains. Water is not needed for trains anymore, but for humans, water is precious. How are Sandpoint businesses going to deal with the noise and road obstruction during the twoto three-year construction of the bridge? Will tourists be coming to see the big black tankers full of oil crossing the bridge or listen to constant train horns at crossings?

To sum up, the folks along the BNSF railroad are subject to pollu-

tion, train disasters and noise as well as increased pollution from the countries that use the coal and oil, and potential oil and coal tanker environmental disasters. Just so Warren Buffett can make more money.

Sue Koller Cocollala

Oh Danny Boy!...

Dear editor, Sandpoint has voted. The message is clear. Take your Redoubt people and get out of here.

Leona Christensen Sandpoint

Dear editor,

To quote Ben Olson, the nerve of some people is astounding.

In the Reader, Oct. 17, 2019, Mr. Olson is attempting to publicly shame the county commissioners for trying to take over the Festival at Sandpoint. Judy Heraper’s letter to the Daily Bee, Nov. 3, 2019, states that she believes the city needs to not only rehire Ms. Wahl but also issue her a public apology?!

If the Festival does not survive it will be for two reasons: the repeated unforgivable bad choices of Dyno Wahl and the city of Sandpoint violating Idaho state law.

Idaho state law is not subjective. It is not to be ignored because a person or group does not agree with it. The county commissioners have the right to demand that Idaho state law is upheld.

To Ms Heraper: Were you driving on the same roads when Ms. Wahl was driving drunk? My family was. How many times has Ms. Wahl driven under the influence and NOT gotten caught and stopped from hurting or killing someone?

How did Ms. Wahl even hold the position as director of the Festival at Sandpoint with four prior DUI convictions?!

The consequences for her actions are a joke. No jail time? No revocation of her driver’s license? Ms. Heraper wants the city to give Ms.Wahl her job back and restore her good standing in the community? Five DUI convictions. How about all the people who have lost their lives/livelihoods because of people like Ms. Wahl? Do they or their families get another chance?

Molly Errett Sandpoint

Inslee out of step on smelter…

Dear editor, I’m not impressed with Inslee. First, he is very supportive and even contributing towards the Smelter.... now he wants to get answers he should have got from the very beginning before this process started? Sounds to me like he wants to make sure he gets the votes to get reelected. How stupid does he think people are around here!?!?!

Shirley Johnson Newport, Wash.

Dear editor,

ALEC is the acronym for the benign-sounding American Legislative Exchange Council. But there is absolutely nothing benign about ALEC. ALEC is made up of lobbyists that are funded by big corporations and conservative organizations. These lobbyists work to influence state legislatures to pass laws favoring those corporations and organizations and their agendas.

ALEC is responsible for the “Stand Your Ground” gun legislation, strict voter photo ID laws, rollbacks of environmental protections, preventing labor union organizing and blocking parts of the Affordable Care Act at the state level to name a few.

ALEC is currently gearing up for the 2020 legislative sessions in many GOP controlled states, eyeing even more extreme legislation in states across the country. ALEC is currently preparing legislation to restrict the right to peaceful protest, advancing the proposal for an Article V Constitutional Convention and making it easier for businesses to override environmental regulations.

ALEC’s member corporations pay top dollar for direct access to state lawmakers. These legislators allow these lobbyists to write corporate dream legislation into ALEC “model bills.” Then, ALEC-backed legislators rush those bills through their state houses, churning out laws that enrich corporations and badly hurt the majority of Americans.

But there is hope. ALEC has succeeded in the past by flying under the radar. Some groups are working to expose the insidious nature of ALEC; revealing to the public what ALEC does to our communities and states. ALEC’s contributors and supporters don’t like negative publicity.

Under pressure from these grassroots organizations, companies like AT&T, Comcast, Google,

Verizon and Coca Cola have dropped their membership in ALEC. As of May 2019, at least 114 corporations and 19 nonprofits have publicly announced that they cut ties with ALEC — though three of those corporations, BlueCross/BlueShield, EnergySolutions and Overstock. com, have returned to ALEC. (In case you’re interested, Overstock. com is involved with ALEC due to legislation about collecting sales tax on Internet sales.)

Who still supports ALEC? Most of the Big Oil/Energy companies; Telecom (fighting community broadband and open internet); tobacco and alcohol companies; Koch Industries; transportation (BNSF for example); and Big Pharma, led by Pfizer and Eli Lilly.

Let’s hope that more corporations see the light. ALEC’s funding has been reduced but not by enough to significantly adversely affect its lobbying. We need to expose more of the harm that ALEC does to the American people.

Gil Beyer Oden

Dear editor, I had to do a double-take after reading Ken Lawrence’s concession speech for the mayoral race. When he declared the need to “win the war against the poison of godlessness and liberalism,” I was stunned. I expect that kind of talk from the Taliban, not a candidate for mayor in the USA.

All people have the right to believe as they will, free of persecution. Historically, those who seek to enforce their beliefs on others have not been known for their commitment to human rights. Religious extremism and coercion is un-American, and has no place in a free society.

Chris Kohout Sandpoint

Dear editor, I’m godless and a steadfast liberal; Ken Lawrence can start his battle with me.

Ted Wert Sagle

By Emily Erickson Reader Columnist

In preparation for this week’s column, I clicked open my browser to search for the latest buzz around Millennials. I conduct this search regularly enough, digging for insights and discussion fuel, but the conversation as of late has been fairly stagnant. Between the classics (“Are Millennials Bound to Live in Their Parents’ Basements Forever?”; “How Millennials’ Entitlement Makes them the Worst Employees”; “Is Avocado Toast the Root of the Millennial Financial Crisis?”; etc.) and the shiny next generation starting to take the stage, I didn’t have big expectations for what I’d find.

So, as I directed my cursor over the “news” button with the familiar word “Millennial” placed inside the search bar, I was delighted by the headlines that started popping up.

Business Insider wrote: “A Surprising Number of Millennials are Saving for Retirement, and They’re Making Gen X Look Bad,” followed by a Forbes article, “How Millennials are Changing the Retirement Conversation.” Below these was a scathing BuzzFeed News writeup, “Millennials Have Been Supporting Their Boomer Parents on the DL, Census Data Shows.”

These articles, among many other similarly titled stories, came out in a flood and piggy-backed off each other’s results, praising Millennials for our financial imagination and savviness, despite the odds

Emily Articulated

A column by and about Millennials

For the love of toast

stacked against us. They cited analysis of the recent U.S. Census Bureau study “Survey of Income and Program Participation”; a Wells Fargo survey on savings and retirement trends; and a Morning Consult study of financial health, debt, earnings and savings.

They highlighted facts like, “45% of millennials have a retirement savings account and 33% are actively contributing to it,” and “the same share of millennials and Gen Xers — 14% — have between $25,000 and $100,000 saved in personal retirement accounts.”

The list of articles discussed patterns of behavior and attitudes toward retirement that have specifically set Millennials up for success, like delaying putting down roots, valuing entrepreneurship and free agency, and harboring distrust of Social Security as a viable retirement option.

Furthermore, the articles celebrated Millennials’ lack of convention — taking a breaking (or already broken) system and bending it to our will. They described us as, “cutting

spending and making far less frivolous purchases than their predecessors,” and relayed that “just as many American millennials have been quietly supporting their parents as boomers who have been supporting their adult children.”

In reading all of this, my first feelings were those of vindication. “Yes! See! I knew we weren’t the society-sucking leeches we’re made out to be!” I’ve always marveled at what my Millennial-aged peers have been able to accomplish, and could anecdotally discount the harsh charges against us in my circles alone. I’ve personally lived scraping through rent payments and searching for a new way to do things. My friends have started businesses and demonstrated both savviness and frugality. Collectively, we’ve proved that we are greater than the generalizations ascribed to us.

But, just as I was approaching the peak of my gloating, another set of feelings started to creep in. Those were how absurd the whole thing is. Of course, Millennials can’t be summed up by our shortcomings, just as the Boomers aren’t as soft as the Depression-hardened generation before them claimed. And, of course, as more Millennials are taking charge of the narrative, we’re painting ourselves in a more positive light.

This reflection is not to discount the facts and findings of these studies — rather, it’s to act as an assessment of how we all navigate our place within society. Collectively, we

tend to believe that the way we do things is the right way, and that those straying from the norm or uniquely reacting to their circumstances are causing unnecessary ripples in our perfect systems.

Soon, I’m sure, I’ll grow weary of how members of Gen-Z communicate and question their way of doing things, too. But it’s my hope that as generalizations of entire

populations on the basis of my own fear or discomfort begin to surface, I’ll remember that I was once entirely defined by a love of toast.

Emily Erickson is a freelance writer and bartender originally from Wisconsin, with a degree in sociology and an affinity for playing in the mountains.

Science: Mad about

strange liquids

By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist

Liquids are a vital part of our ability to survive. If water didn’t have a sustained liquid form on Earth, life wouldn’t have evolved to its current state. That also means coffee wouldn’t be a thing, and that’s a hellish existence too cruel to imagine.

In theory, most anything can achieve a liquid state under the proper conditions. Think about a fruit smoothie. Has the fruit become a liquid, or is the liquid water just carrying tiny solid chunks of fruit? In most cases, this distinction is insignificant for us, but it’s important for scientists wielding cutting edge technology for the betterment of mankind.

Our reference point for what makes a liquid normal or abnormal is water. It flows freely, it leaves residue on everything it touches and, despite being one of the most destructive and powerful forces on the planet, is considered fairly tame when compared to something like sulfuric acid. Water is considered a Newtonian fluid, with normal viscosity, or an ability to move freely and flow — most important, an application of force doesn’t alter its behavior.

Fluids that behave strangely, generally because of a high viscosity, are called non-Newtonian fluids. Honey is an example of a non-Newtonian fluid, as it is very dense and flows extremely slowly. Bees make honey by consuming the pollen grains of flower, breaking them down with partial digestion and spitting up the

sugary mixture, then fanning it with their wings to remove the moisture. Unlike water, honey is completely unique to our planet. After all, we haven’t found any Martian bees.

Another non-Newtonian fluid unique to Earth is Oobleck, a mixture of cornstarch and water to create a funky white substance akin to jelly. Oobleck has a unique viscosity, not as fluid as water, but not as dense as honey. This means it’s capable of easily taking the shape of most anything, including sound waves. By draping plastic wrap over a speaker and dropping some Oobleck over the plastic, you can make the substance “dance” by playing the speaker, particularly with bass. As the water evaporates from the goop, the sugars harden into something reminiscent of plaster.

Sometimes, strange liquid behavior requires specific parameters to be met. On Titan, the largest of Saturn’s 53 moons, there are huge lakes of liquid methane, the stuff that makes your farts smell. If swimming in stink tickles your fancy, you’ll want to bundle up, because methane shifts from a gas to a liquid at -296.4 degrees Fahrenheit. It also has about half the density of water, which means that if you did try to swim in it, it wouldn’t be dense enough for you to propel yourself through.

Luckily, on Titan, you only weigh about 12% of what you do on Earth, so it’s still possible for you to float, or even undulate like a dolphin to move. There is no substance on Earth that behaves like this, and

the closest correlation I can imagine is like trying to swim through a ball pit at a carnival, but much stinkier.

The award for most unique liquid on this list goes to one we’ve never actually observed. Liquid metallic hydrogen is a substance theorized to be at the center of gas giants like Jupiter. Pictures of Jupiter are a disservice to just how insanely big this planet is. It takes 11.5 Earths, sideby-side, to match Jupiter’s diameter. It is 2.5 times the total mass of every other planet in the solar system combined. That’s an immense amount of hydrogen, which is believed to change into different phases of matter as you dive deeper toward the planetary core.

The gas in gas giants acts similarly to how water acts in the ocean. The more water you have above you, the greater the pressure becomes. All of this gas also acts as an insulator, trapping more heat the farther toward the center you get. At some point, the incredible pressure starts transforming the hydrogen into a liquid state. In a vacuum, this requires a temperature of -417 degrees F, but huge amounts of pressure make matter act in unusual ways; and, despite temperatures in the thousands of degrees, the hydrogen still morphs into a liquid. At some point, the liquid transforms into a metallic state before becoming a liquid metal, which is believed to comprise most of Jupiter’s core.

The awe-inspiring forces involved here are something we aren’t able to fully replicate on

Earth, even in highly controlled laboratory environments. The closest proxy to metallic liquid hydrogen is the element Mercury, and that’s not even close.

It’s pretty wild to think that the craziest liquid, able to exert the most intense pressures known to man, is actually the lightest element in the universe.

One last fun liquid fact: Paper is treated with high amounts of pressure to

strengthen the cellulose fibers. When water touches it, the hydrogen in the water weakens those bonds and damages the structural integrity of the paper, which leads to a damaged, crinkly appearance once it’s dried, which will require less force to break it apart. Test it on this page when you’re done reading and see.

Random Corner

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

• The smell of chocolate increases theta brain waves, which triggers relaxation.

• Because it contains no cocoa solids or cocoa liquor, white chocolate isn’t technically chocolate.

• It takes approximately 400 cacao beans to make one pound of chocolate.

• Many botanists believe that the first cacao trees grew wild in the Amazon Basin or in the Orinoco valley of South America. The domestication of the cacao tree did not begin until it reached the tropical lowlands of southern Mexico more than 3,000 years ago.

• The Olmecs, the oldest known civilization in the Americas (dating from 1200-400 BCE), are thought by researchers to be the first users of cacao. Though few written records survive, recent linguistic findings suggest the word “cacao” is derived from the word kakawa in Mixe-Zoquean, believed to have been the Olmecs’ language.

• Among the many travails of conflict in WWII, chocolate bars shipped to soldiers overseas frequently melted in transit or hot-weather battlezones. The solution: In 1941 the Mars candy company created M&Ms, which famously “melt in your mouth, not in your hand.”

• The first chocolate factory in the U.S., called the Walter Baker Company, was established in 1765.

• Milk chocolate was invented in 1875 after eight years of experimentation by Daniel Peter, of Switzerland. Peter then sold his breakthrough to a neighbor, Henri Nestle.

• Eating dark chocolate every day reduces the risk of heart disease by one-third.

• To literally die by chocolate, a human being would have to consume about 22 pounds of the confection — equivalent to 40 or so Hershey bars.

Case cold Bonner County’s unsolved murders

By Cameron Rasmusson Reader Staff

It took three decades for the family of Tammy Bristow to see a break in the investigation of her murder.

Strangled at her south Sandpoint apartment in 1987, Bristow’s case was a puzzle for law enforcement. Initially promising leads quickly pointed to a primary suspect in Fred Gauerke, but forensic lab testing eventually ruled him out. Remaining leads fizzled out and the case went cold.

More than 30 years later this June, local law enforcement announced an arrest in the case. Thanks to DNA evidence that was finally processed in 2016, police landed on a match that led to the arrest of Sandpoint man William Acosta.

For Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall, the arrest was a breakthrough in a case that had stumped law enforcement officials for decades. But it’s not the only cold case he’d like to see resolved. The county prosecutor since 2009 and a deputy prosecutor before that, Marshall is haunted by a few cases that remain open.

Jodi Cooper

One of the most vexing local unsolved cases is the killing of Bonner General Health nurse Jodi Cooper. Hacked to death in 1992, the murder stands out as a gruesome episode in Sandpoint’s criminal history. Because Cooper and her family were well known in the community, news of her death hit hard.

“It was a complete shock,” Justin Iverson, a Sandpoint High School graduate and classmate of Cooper’s son, Jeremy, told the Sandpoint Reader in a 2017 article about the case. “It was one of the parts of high school I remember specifically. There was silence in the hallways between classes, and the teachers were willing to engage and talk with all the students about it. I think they handled that really well.”

Around 2 a.m. on the leap day of Feb. 29, 1992, Bonner County Sheriff’s deputies arrived at Jodi Cooper’s Careywood home. There, they found Jodi dead, her body scored by more than 20 wounds from a sharp weapon. Her common-law husband, Pete Crockett, was grievously wounded but managed to escape to a neighbor’s house with his young son, Kenny. EMS responders noted that one of the blows from the attack had cleaved clear through his skull, Marshall said.

“He didn’t have a good memory of the attack due to the trauma of it, so he wasn’t able to identify his attacker,” Marshall said.

An hour later, Jodi’s son, Jeremy, was found walking down a nearby dirt road. After investigators found inconsistencies in his alibi and blood spots on his clothing and glasses, the 17-yearold was charged with murder and attempted murder. But as the months wore on, the evidence gathered against Jeremy proved flimsier than initially thought, and the case was dropped.

The Cooper murder is a baffling case in many respects, Marshall said. Chief among them is the difficulty in establishing a motive. Rumors at the time indicated that Crockett might have had a marijuana grow, but Marshall doubts its importance to the case.

“This seems fairly inconsistent in my mind with any kind of a drug killing,” he said. “Normally those are done with guns, and there’s much less violence than this.”

While Marshall can’t discuss the more recent developments in an open investigation, he said there has been progress since the initial investigation.

“We recently have gone back to interview witnesses and put together timelines, and I think that the detectives have been fairly successful at that,” Marshall said. “Some of the people who are persons of interests, some of their stories aren’t consistent with what they were [in 1992]. ...

“People aren’t always going to have accurate reflections when

you’re going that far back, so just because your story doesn’t fully jive, it doesn’t mean we think you’re lying,” he added. “These were major inconsistencies.”

Mirissa Serrano

The murder of Mirissa Serrano is a more recent but no less haunting open investigation. The 27-year-old woman’s remains were discovered in 2018 at the southern end of Lake Pend Oreille after disappearing in Bonner County almost exactly one year earlier. A substantial snowpack

that winter thwarted search efforts shortly after the disappearance.

A resident of Lolo, Mont., Serrano was last seen in September 2017 with Danny Neep, a man in his 60s. Neep invited Serrano to a cabin in the Lakeview area, but they didn’t stay long. According to Neep’s testimony, Serrano thought the cabin was haunted, so they drove away to sleep in his truck. In the middle of the night, Serrano simply ran away, Neep claims.

“This is obviously suspicious,” Marshall said.

Serrano’s father testified that

the young woman suffered from severe mental health issues. And shortly before her death, she had not been taking her medication.

“We think this played a big part in how she died,” Marshall said.

Like most unsolved cases, the Serrano murder presents a unique set of challenges. In this case, the year between the killing and the discovery of the body present a much more difficult task for coroners trying to identify a cause of death and other critical details.

“If somebody has a bullet hole, that’s pretty easy, even if the remains have been in the woods a long time,” Marshall said. “But if it’s, let’s say, strangulation, it leaves much less evidence after a while.”

Despite the challenges, Marshall is hopeful that charges will be filed sooner rather than later. Investigators have a primary suspect in Neep, who is in custody on unrelated offenses. Meanwhile, a coroner’s inquest in May pushed the investigation forward.

“It helped us a great deal in establishing what exactly the facts were,” Marshall said.

If you have any information about either of these cases, please call Bonner County Sheriff’s Office at 208-263-8417.

By Reader Staff

For those seeking an authentic Sandpoint dining experience, head out to Pack River Store, which serves as a restaurant, convenience store and meeting place. The Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce is pleased to have the Pack River Store join its membership and celebrated Oct. 29 with a ribbon cutting.

Christmas tree permits available for public lands in the Idaho Panhandle Chamber welcomes Pack River Store

Owners Alex and Brittany Jacobsen have been busy maintaining the local institution while adding some new flavor and offerings since purchasing the business from Alex’s mother in 2018.

Pack River Store serves up breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week, as well as offering monthly five-course tasting menus and prime rib on the last Friday of every month. They also offer catering services and take-home meals, including Thanksgiving dinner.

The restaurant also serves as a convenience store where shoppers can find anything from coffee and basic household items to snacks and drinks. They have cozy indoor seating as well as an outdoor patio and picnic area right along the Pack

The Jacobsons are raising their two girls, Pearl and Walker, and running the store with great food and friendly staff. You will also see them at Summer Sampler in June, Festival Street at the Festival at Sandpoint in August and behind the scenes catering many of Sandpoint’s premier events.

Winter hours are Monday-Friday, 6 a.m.-7 p.m.; Saturday, 7 a.m.-7 p.m.; and Sunday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Find them on Facebook and on their website at packriverstore.com.

By Reader Staff

The snow has officially flown and stuck, and while we still have Thanksgiving on the menu, it’s nearing Christmas tree time.

Tree permits are sold for $5 each at any of the U.S. Forest Service offices, except the Forest Nursery, and at Bureau of Land Management offices.

Free tree permits are available to fourth-grade students through the Every Kid Outdoors program, along with free access to more than 2,000 other federal recreation areas. The Every Kid Outdoors program encourages fourth-graders to explore, learn and recreate in spectacular settings, including national parks, wildlife refuges, marine sanctuaries and forests.

To obtain the free pass and/or tree permit, fourth-grade students visit the Every Kid Outdoors website (everykidoutdoors. gov) to participate in a short educational activity and download a voucher. Students can bring their vouchers to a Forest Service office to exchange it for passes and permits.

The great outdoors make for a great classroom. Fourth-grade educators are encouraged to take advantage of the wide range of educational programs and tools associated with the Every Kid Outdoors program. Educational activities, field trip options, information and tools in English as well as Spanish are all available on the website.

The Every Kid Outdoors Program was established by Congress in 2019. It replaces the Every Kid in a Park Program, which was launched in 2015. It is an interagency collaboration between the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and U.S. Forest Service.

Native Voices enters its final phase of preservation work

By Jane Fritz Reader Contributor

By early 2020, the Idaho Mythweaver will be completing its 30th year working with Idaho’s six Indian tribes on cross-cultural arts, humanities and media projects. The nonprofit organization, headquartered in Sandpoint, is working on the final phase of its last project called Native Voices.

“It brings us full circle beginning with our very first project called Idaho Keepers of the Earth, a documentary series for public radio,” said co-founder and media director Jane Fritz, the original interviewer, a professional audio producer and graduate of Lewis-Clark State College. “The original recordings of oral histories and traditional stories are being reformatted into digital files and transcribed. No copies exist, and because of their age, they are very fragile,” she added.

The cassette tape recordings gathered between 1989 and 2003 for various public radio and media projects were produced primarily with elders, many of whom are now deceased. Of the 100 recordings in the Mythweaver’s archive, nearly half deal with the Nez Perce Tribe. Once these are digitized, the files and transcriptions will be given to the Tribe’s cultural resource department, as well as KIYE Nez Perce Radio for cultural programming. Digital copies, as well as the original tapes, will be housed at the Nez Perce National Historical Park Archives for long-term access to tribal members, family members and scholars.

“We have prioritized the Nez Perce recordings since they are the largest part of the archive,” said Fritz. “We worked with the Nimiipuu the longest — 13 years,” she said. “There are stories about fishing for salmon at Celilo Falls, told by the late Rick Ellenwood, as well as traditional Coyote stories about the creation of the falls, as told by Mari Watters and Allen Slickpoo, both deceased.”

The collection also has many stories about the Nez Perce War of 1877, which ended with the surrender of tribal leader

Chief Joseph at Bear Paw Mountain in Montana Territory.

“I interviewed the late Horace Axtell walking through the Bear Paw Battlefield, just the two of us, on the last day of the 125th commemoration. He talked about his ancestors with such respect and sadness, especially those that had died there,” Fritz said.

Phase III of the preservation work continues through January 2020, with the following two months to be spent preparing the completed digital files and transcriptions for distribution to the tribes as well as to institutional archives in the region.

In order to complete the final work, the Mythweaver still needs to raise around $6,200 toward its Phase III budget, which is part of the overall $64,200 cost of the project that began in mid-2017.

“We are in our final fundraising push, and are so close, but we need that last show of financial support to complete it,” said Fritz.

The Mythweaver has received grants from several foundations, large donations from the business community, and smaller individual gifts from many individuals through their GoFundMe site called “Native Voices: Preserve Recordings.”

The budget for the final phase

of the Native Voices project totals $15,990. The group recently received a $2,500 grant from the Idaho Humanities Council; $1,000 from the former Sahlin Foundation principals in Coeur d’Alene; $1,000 from Waterfront Property Management in Sandpoint; and $500 from two anonymous individuals. The organization has also received a generous pledge of support in a matching grant of $5,000 from Idaho Forest Group, one of the Mythweaver’s major supporters, once additional funds are received.

Those interested in donating can do so at the Idaho Mythweaver Facebook page or by mail to P.O. Box 2418, Sandpoint, ID 83864.

Digitized and original tape recordings from the other five Idaho tribes will be gifted to the respective tribes. Materials pertaining to the Kalispel, Kootenai and Coeur d’Alene tribes will be given to the Museum of Arts and Culture Plateau Center Archive and the Idaho State Historical Society Archives will be the recipient of the Shoshone-Bannock and Shoshone-Paiute recordings.

For more information about the project, contact Jane Fritz at 208-597-6123.

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

Dollar Beers!

8pm @ Eichardt’s Pub

Good until the keg’s dry

CASA Purse Party

4-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery

Back by popular demand. $5 admission buys a glass of wine and a chance to buy, bid and win designer handbags. A perfect girls night out. Supports CASA in our community

Live Music w/ Ron Kieper Jazz Trio

5-7pm @ Idaho Pour Authority

Live Music w/ The Nefftones 8-11pm @ Eichardt’s Pub

Live Music w/ Nights of Neon 9pm-12am @ 219 Lounge

Sandpoint’s rowdy 5-piece playing funk, hip hop, reggae and jazz

Live Music w/ Ponderay Paradox

5-7pm @ Idaho Pour Authority

Live Music w/ Mudslide Charlie

9pm-12am @ 219 Lounge

A Missoula-based group delivering house-rockin’ roots, with hints of R&B, hip hop and indie rock

Live Music w/ Brian Jacobs 8-10pm @ The Back Door

Sandpoint Chess Club 9am @ Evans Brothers Coffee Meets every Sunday at 9am

Introduction to Bike Maintenance 6-8:30pm @ Sandpoint Sports

This introductory class how to keep those bike and operating like they also cover tips and rules storing your bike for winter.

Live Music w/ Devon Wade Duo 6:30-9:30pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall

Live Music 8-10pm @ Blues with

Devon’s back for third Friday country with his father Mac on the drums! Laughing Dog 12pm @ Laughing

Live Music w/ Mike Wagoner Trio 5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery

All your favorite folk, Americana and rock music from talented performers

Live Music w/ Tonedevil Brothers

5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery

Sandpoint bros. who founded Tonedevil guitars, playing acoustic set of wetsern swing and bluegrass tunes

Downtown Abbey w/ tea 12pm @ The Panida Theater Watch the film and dress for an afternoon tea party!

Piano Sunday w/ Peter Lucht 3-5pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery

Local pianist playing everything from jazz to blues and classical

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

Karaoke 8-close @ Tervan

Night-Out Karaoke 9pm @ 219 Lounge

Join DJ Webrix for a night of singing

Trivia Night

7pm @ MickDuff’s Show off that brain!

The 2019 release Dog’s DogFather

Brad Keeler in concert: Tunes for Tough 2pm @ Sandpoint

Listen to an award-winning mentalist play songs Depression era at

Explore Virtual Reality

2-4pm @ Sandpoint

Reserve 15-minute

Downtown Abbey w/ tea

3:30pm @ The Panida Watch the film and dress afternoon tea party!

Lifetree Cafe

2pm @ Jalepeño’s Mexican Restaurant

An hour of conversation and stories. This week’s topic: “Make a Difference Now”

Rock Painting class w/ Lynn Walters

12:30pm @ Sandpoint Senior Center

Join Lynn Walters rock painting class, back by popular demand. All supplies includedjust show up!

Adult djembe class (12 and up)

Outdoor 6pm A chill, beverages

Yoga and Wine 6-7pm @ The Longshot Donation-based yoga gets 1/2 off glass of wine! All levels welcome

5:45-7:30pm @ Music Conservatory of Sandpoint

Join Ali Thomas for this djembe (drum) class

Wind Down Wednesday 5-8pm @ 219 Lounge

The Conversation

6-8pm @ Ivano’s

With live music by blues

man Truck Mills and a guest musician Carl Rey

An overview of the Sandpoint Arts Commission’s recent projects with Elle Susnin

Girls Pint Out

Dollar Beers!

8pm @ Eichardt’s Pub

Good until the keg’s dry

Open Mic Night w/ KC Carter 9pm-12am @ A&P’s

Trout Unlimited meeting

5pm @ Di Luna’s Annual meeting with social time at 5, dinner at 6, program at 7 with updates on fish passage structure and more!

5-7pm @ Idaho Pour Authority

Cool Chicks! Great Beer! No

Dudes! Bring a snack to share and be prepared to pair with several beer styles

3rd Thursday 7:45pm @ Make connections women. Open

Trivia Night with TriviaLive 6-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery

Create a team with friends and ily or play solo. Questions are and challenging and are always Prizes awarded for winning teams

to Bike Maintenance

Sandpoint Sports (Ponderay)

introductory class will teach you those bike parts running like they were new, and and rules for prepping and bike for winter.

Live Music w/ Kevin Dorin

8-10pm @ The Back Door

Blues with a new spin

Laughing Dog beer release @ Laughing Dog Brewery

2019 release of Laughing DogFather Imperial Stout!

Keeler in concert: for Tough Times Sandpoint Library to an award-winning instrumentalist play songs from the Great Depression era at this free concert!

Virtual Reality Sandpoint Library 15-minute sessions

Abbey w/ tea

The Panida Theater film and dress for an party!

Restaurant This Now”

Nov. 14-21, 2019

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

Comedy for a Cause

7:30pm @ Panida Theater

Presented on behalf of the Bonner Co. Community Food Bank and the Panida Theater, nationally-touring comic Richie Minervini will headline this charity event to “give back” to those who are in need. Proceeds will go to the Food Bank. Opener will be Sandpoint’s own Sam Cornett. Tickets $20

Explore Virtual Reality

10am-12pm @ Sandpoint Library Reserve 15-minute sessions

Bonner Co. Fairgrounds

Christmas Faire

9am-4pm @ BoCo Fairgrounds

Find something unique and handmade for everyone on your holiday shopping list. Enjoy Christmas treats, coffee, kids’ activities and festive music.

Free admission. 208-263-8414

DJ Night

9pm-12am @ A&P’s Bar and Grill

‘Hot and Hairy’ Calendar Release and Signing Party

5pm @ Laughing Dog Brewery Taproom

The Sandpoint FUN Raising 2020 calendar, featuring North Idaho men striking hilarious poses. All proceeds from sales of the “Hot and Hairy” calendar benefit Sandpoint’s Community Cancer Services

Teen Role-Playing Games

3-5pm @ Sandpoint Library

Magic the Gathering, D&D and others

Angels Over Sandpoint roast Jeff Nizzoli

8pm @ The Panida Theater

Raise funds for the Angels Over Sandpoint and roast one of Sandpoint’s funnest celebrities, Jeff Nizzoli! Tickets $35.

Karaoke

8-close @ Tervan

DJ Night

9pm-12am @ A&P’s Bar

Fireball Party

9pm-12am @ A&P’s Bar and Grill

Drink specials and fireball wings

Visual Communication Skills and American Sign Language

10:30am @ Sandpoint Library

a hands-on workout in communication skills. Meets Nov. 16, 23 and 30. Open for new students until the third class. susan.schaller@gmail.com

Outdoor Experience Monday Night Run

6pm @ Outdoor Experience

A chill, three-mile(ish) group run with optional beverages to follow. Headlamps recommended

Longshot yoga glass of welcome

SCRC 10-year party

5-7:30pm @ Trinity

Help Sandpoint Community Resource Center celebrate 10 years in Sandpoint!

Appetizers and a no-host bar. RSVP at 208-920-1840

3rd Thursday Women’s Meetup

7:45pm @ Matchwood Brewing Co.

Make connections with other local women. Open to all.

TriviaLive

d’Oreille Winery

friends and fam-

Questions are fun are always new. winning teams

Monday Night Football Party with KPND and host Bob Witte

5:30pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall Every Monday at 5:30 p.m.

Tuesday Trivia and Happy Hour

5-6:30pm @ Davis Grocery

Play as a team or as an individual

Robotics

3-5pm @ Clark Fork Library

Explore STEAM with Lego Mindstorm robotics

More Than A Woman Trivia

6:30-9pm @ The Back Door Bar

A fun night of laughter and female-focused trivia. Supports REturn REtreats nonprofit

French Wine Dinner featuring Joseph Droukin

6pm @ 41 South

Celebrate the special release of this year’s Beaujolais Nouveau with a five-course dinner and hearty wine pairings at 41 South. Cost is $75 per person and reservations are required as seating is limited. Call 208-265-2000 to make a reservation

Nov. 21-24

Hearthside Stories @ Panida Theater

Nov. 22

Sandpoint Lions Club Turkey Bingo @ Bonner Mall

Nov. 23

Food Bank Fundraiser Party @ A&P’s Bar

A car and community in common

Sandpoint Subies gears up to give back

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff

Mark Chevalier started Sandpoint Subies in August 2017 as a way to create regular meet-ups with fellow Subaru people — a species of car owner Bonner County has in spades. What began with about 30 members has grown to almost 300, all tied together by their choice of transportation.

But, according to Chevalier, it’s more than that.

“We started the group to be a community group versus just a large car group,” he said. “We really wanted to focus on having local members where we could all get together.”

The Sandpoint Subies resume is impressive — if you’ve had your ear close enough to the ground to hear about it. The group flies, or rather drives, under the radar delivering Thanksgiving meals and Christmas presents to families in need, and has now hosted two consecutive family friendly Trunk-or-Treat Halloween events at the Bonner Mall. The Subies have also volunteered at the Panhandle Animal Shelter Thrift Store and organized mass collections of pet food and other supplies for the shelter.

“We’re not doing it to get a pat on the back, or to get a break from the local police department or anything like that,” Chevalier said with a laugh. “We just do it because our families are here, our little ones are growing up here and we want to be able to give back to the people. In such a small town, it feels like it makes a big difference.”

Chevalier said Sandpoint Subies missions are also an opportunity to get local high-schoolers who may have only joined the group because of their car involved with charitable giving.

“I know when I was that age I wasn’t necessarily into the community as much, but they get to see that first hand — the connections that we make, and how something

so simple can really change someone’s outlook on things,” he said.

Sandpoint Subies is sure to change one lucky local’s outlook sometime very soon, as they put the finishing touches on a Subaru Forester to give away to a community member in need. The group bought the car for $500 and have given its innards a makeover — even replacing the engine.

“The car is probably our biggest undertaking,” Chevalier said. “It started with an idea, like ‘Hey, this would be really cool to do,’ and then [someone] goes, ‘I’ll put $40 on it,’ and that multiplies into 40 people.”

A breakdown of every person and business that has donated to the car project is pinned to the top of the group’s Facebook page, revealing a truly collective effort. Once the car is ready to give away, Chevalier said he will make a Facebook post asking for nominations from group members, as well as from the public at large.

While having a Subaru might be the obvious qualifier for joining Sandpoint Subies, Chevalier said that qualifier actually encompasses people from all walks of life.

“That really was a minor part of it, as far as any of us are concerned,” Chevalier said. “There’s such a wide range of people, from 16-year-olds with their very first car to 80-year-old ladies who attend every one of our events, regardless of whether it’s standing in a parking lot or bringing food to a food drive. Just having the Subaru is the way in, and then we all have that in common, and that breaks down the barrier of whatever differences we have outside of that.”

Chevalier said Sandpoint Subies’ main focus as the group continues to grow is to keep bettering the place they call home.

“We all have Subarus and they’re fun and all that,” he said, “but I think [the] greatest achievements for many of our members are being able to give back whatever it may be to our community.”

Find Sandpoint Subies online at facebook.com/groups/ sandpointsubies.

Sandpoint’s ‘hub’

Community Resource Center celebrates a decade connecting services with those in need

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

Some of the most functional nonprofit organizations in Sandpoint arose out of a need noticed by insightful residents. Sandpoint Community Resource Center, which celebrates 10 years in Sandpoint this month, is a prime example of how meeting a need can grow into something so much more.

Ten years ago, Sandpoint residents Dave Pietz and Rich Crettol heard a disturbing story about a veteran living in his vehicle. Pietz and Crettol — both veterans themselves — asked each other, “Why is his living in his car? How can we help?” After driving around Sandpoint, the pair found the veteran and tried to help him connect with the many resources and programs available to help veterans in need.

“What they found was, it wasn’t that easy to get him to the right people,” said Linnis Jellinek, executive director for SCRC. “What they found was a lot of people saying, ‘Call here,’ ‘Call there.’ That was the birth of the Sandpoint Community Resource Center — it was two men and a phone who said, ‘We need some place where it’s easy to get help and get to the right resources.’”

A decade after its foundation, SCRC still remains true to its original mission: to cut through the confusing phone tag and agency runaround, bridging the gap between those in need and those who serve.

The mission has been updated — “Dedicated to bringing hope to people who don’t know where to turn” — but the core concept is the same, according to Jellinek.

“Now, we all refer to it as the ‘Hub’ for nonprofits to come and find volunteers and for volunteers to find a nonprofit where they want to spend their time, talent and resourc-

es,” she said.

SCRC resource specialists are always available to help those who need help with anything, whether it’s finding affordable housing options or something as easy as help with their cell phone, Jellinek said.

“It’s amazing the variety of people we see,” she said. “We had a guy come in the other day and he could only read lips, and he needed to listen to the messages on his phone to make a doctor’s appointment. Boom. Done. When he left here he was so happy. He was actually going to the library to plug in there and find a place where he could volunteer, so we helped him with that, too.”

SPIN, the Service Provider Information Network, is a program cultivated by the SCRC to help about 80 area nonprofits come together to talk about and respond to critical issues in our community.

“Because of how many different people groups we serve — veterans, homeless, teenagers, the LGBTQ community — we then serve all these different nonprofits who we partner with,” Jellinek said. “This helped us to form the community asset SPIN.”

The service doesn’t end once someone walks out the door.

“We follow up on everybody,” she added. “We almost become case managers. It’s important to find out [if] they go get the help we recommended, because not everybody does.”

In a fortuitous set of circumstances, SCRC was just nominated for a big award as part of Idaho Philanthropy Day, sponsored by the Boise-based Idaho Nonprofit Center. The state is divided into three sections — north, southwest and east — so SCRC is competing for the northern category with nonprofits based in Sandpoint and Coeur d’Alene.

“We were one of three honorees in

northern Idaho and the only one from Sandpoint,” Jellinek said. “I was honored and humbled that we were nominated. We’re competing with Coeur d’Alene nonprofits the Kootenai Health Foundation and Gizmo-CDA, so we’re really excited.”

Jellinek said SCRC was nominated by the Idaho Community Foundation because, “aside from what we do helping people in need, they see us as a gateway for other nonprofits — especially for the help that we’re giving other nonprofits through our Volunteer Idaho Panhandle Program.”

The winners will be announced Thursday, Nov. 14 at a luncheon in Coeur d’Alene.

SCRC will be hosting a kickoff celebration for its tenth anniversary on Tuesday, Nov. 19 at Trinity at City Beach from 5-7:30 p.m. There will be appetizers and a no-host bar.

“Justin [Dick] was kind enough to close the restaurant for our event,” Jellinek said. “What we’re hoping is that people will come and leave a donation and sow into our

community for the next 10 years. Every donation, small or large, makes a huge impact. A small donation becomes a large donation because of how we spread it around.”

For those interested in attending, please call 208-920-1840 to RSVP.

Looking forward, Jellinek sees SCRC settling into its role nicely as the “Hub” between nonprofits and those in need.

“I want to let the population that we serve know that while they sometimes feel invisible in society, we see them,” Jellinek said. “We want people to know that we see you, we hear you and we know you’re there.”

To learn more about the Sandpoint Community Resource Center, visit sandpointcommunityresource.com.

Parks and Rec round-up

Litehouse names Kelly Prior president and CEO

By Reader Staff

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

Family Discovery Day

This class helps families unlock the doors to ancestral records and historic collections by providing helpful genealogical tools. The class will be Saturday, Nov. 16 from 10 a.m.3 p.m. at the Family History Center at the LDS church, 602 Schweitzer Cutoff Road. Topics include DNA, photo restoration and preservation, decoding seemingly impossible handwriting, navigating through historical dead ends, interviewing family members, immigration and more.

To register, visit sandpointstakecommunications.com or sign up the morning of the event. For more information, call 208-263-3327.

KNPS presentation

Sandpoint Parks and Recreation and the Kinnikinnick Native Plant Society team up to bring free monthly presentations covering a variety of natural resource related topics. This month’s presentation will take place Saturday, Nov. 23 from 9:45 a.m.11:30 a.m. at the Sandpoint Community

Hall, 204 S. First Ave. There is no need to pre-register.

Molly McCahon will speak on the topic “Preserving the Water Resources of the Lake Pend Oreille Watershed.” McCahon is the executive director of the Lakes Commission and also a member of Panhandle SEEP.

For more information, visit nativeplantsociety.org.

12th Annual Turkey Trot

Join Litehouse YMCA and the Sandpoint Parks and Recreation Department for the 12th annual Turkey Trot and food drive on Thanksgiving morning, Thursday Nov. 28 at Travers Park, 1202 W. Pine St. This casual race kicks off at 9 a.m. and features a 5k, 10k or whatever distance runners would like to run or walk. No dogs or bikes, please.

Participants can run free with a non-perishable donation to the food bank. Best costume wins a pie.

For info about these events, call 208263-3613 or sandpointgov.parksrecreation.

Litehouse, Inc. announced that its board of directors has promoted Kelly Prior to the position of president and CEO, effective immediately. Prior previously held the role of president at Litehouse, a 100+ employee-owned company based in Sandpoint.

In his newly expanded role, Prior will have the responsibility of setting the company’s strategic direction and vision.

“The past year has been a dynamic and exciting time for Litehouse,” said Curt Hecker, Litehouse board member. “Along with becoming the No. 1 [refrigerated salad dressing] brand in the United States, we also acquired two new brands, Sky Valley and Organicville. This acquisition took us from a manufacturer in the produce and deli departments to a manufacturer across multiple categories throughout the grocery store. With this expanded scope, it’s imperative we put an individual in the CEO role who has vision and a reputation of moving the

business forward. Kelly’s track record of strategic thinking, strong business acumen and outstanding relationship skills made him the right choice for the role.”

Prior joined Litehouse in 2002 and became CFO by 2005. In 2010 Prior was appointed executive vice president of the company, took on the role of interim president in 2018 and officially moved into the president role in February 2019. Over the past year as president, Prior has made it a priority to focus his time and energy on developing a long-term business strategy for Litehouse.

“The success of Litehouse is in large part due to the hard work and perseverance of our employee owners,” said Prior. “It’s crucial we have a forward-thinking strategy to ensure we continue to build a sustainable business that provides our employee owners with opportunities for years to come. I am honored to work with my fellow employee owners to ensure that we maintain our position as the No. 1 RSD brand while also expanding our footprint into other categories of the store.”

It’s Novem-deer at Northwest Auto Body and area food banks

By Reader Staff

With the yearly rut and hunting season, November is the busiest month for deer versus vehicle collisions.

As a result, Northwest Auto Body shops in Sandpoint and Ponderay will donate $50 to the Bonner Community Food Center or other area food banks for each wild animal collision the company repairs this month.

This will be the fourth year the locally owned auto body and towing business will donate to the food banks — last year contributing $1,450.

“This comes at a good time for families in need,” said Debbie Love, executive director of the Bonner Community Food Center. “This money goes straight to buying Thanksgiving turkeys and dinners for locals who need a little help.”

This Thanksgiving, the Sandpoint-based food bank will give out 800 turkeys and turkey dinners.

“That was the idea some of our employees had back in 2016,” said Northwest Auto Body co-owner and President Eric Donenfeld. “They wanted to find a way to help their neighbors and we wanted to make this a win-win. This is our way of turning an unfortunate circumstance into something good.”

Donations will also be made at food banks in Bonners Ferry, Priest River and western

Montana, if customers are from those areas.

“Northwest Auto Body is an outstanding example of a local business making a difference,” said Love. “We appreciate their support and are grateful they partnered with us.”

“We love our community and are blessed to be in a position to help others,” said Northwest Auto Body co-owner Cory Donenfeld. “These are our neighbors and friends.”

For more information, contact Northwest Auto Body at 208-265-9999 or the Bonner Community Food Center at 208-263-3663.

Hints to avoid deer collisions

:

- Being especially alert from 5-8 a.m. and 4-7 p.m. when deer are most active.

- Deer travel single file. If you see one deer crossing the road, assume there will be more nearby.

- Deer often feed along roads, are easily startled and unpredictable. Never assume where they are going to go.

- If you are about to hit a deer, play it safe and don’t swerve to avoid it. If you have time to slow down, do. Also, the safest place for you to strike a deer is in the middle of your front bumper.

- After an accident, make sure you safely pull off the road and can inspect the damage to see if the vehicle is drivable.

ENVIRONMENT

A conservative approach to fixing climate change

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

Bob Inglis is a rare human being.

He served as a Republican U.S. representative for South Carolina from 1993-1999 and again from 2005-2011. The American Conservative Union gave him a lifetime rating of 93.5% and he has earned endorsements from the National Rifle Association and the National Right to Life Committee. Inglis was also awarded the 2015 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award — for his work on climate change.

Former U.S. Congressman Bob Inglis will speak at Eichardt’s on Nov. 15

… My second six years, I had the opportunity to run again in 2004 and it was a different aspect when I came back. Three things changed: first, the love of my son; second, a trip to Antarctica; the third, being inspired by the faith of the climate scientist Scott Heron.

When I was running again in ‘04, my son said to me, “Dad I’ll vote for you if you’re going to clean up your act on the environment.” His four sisters and mother agreed.

Step 2 was going to Antarctica with a science committee and seeing evidence of ice core drillings.

to the environmental left, and finally, the Republicans lost control of the House in 2018. There’s an awareness that says, “If you want the majority back you have to win suburban districts.” Suburban districts are not going to go along with climate change denial anymore.

I was pretty rare back then but now we’ve multiplied. I might have been an albino unicorn back then but now it’s more normal.

SPR: Why do you think the issue of climate change has become so politicized, especially by conservatives?

they’d lose that case based on precedent, because you can tax stuff coming in based on content.

If the WTO upholds our carbon tax, then within 24 hours, China has the same price on CO2 because they’re paying on entry to, say, the Port of Seattle, a tax that’s going to Washington. If they had just collected that tax internal to China, that sheet of flat steel or whatever would come through with no adjustment, so the tax money would come through Beijing. Then the whole world is following, because you have the U.S. and China.

In addition to his political credentials, Inglis is an advocate, urging fellow conservatives to stick with the facts and the science that climate change is caused by human activities and poses significant risks — a position held by approximately 97% of climate scientists.

After his time in Congress, Inglis founded republicEN.org, a coalition of conservatives, libertarians, and “energy optimists and climate realists” of diverse political opinion united in a mission to convince their colleagues that climate change is real, it is a threat and it requires action to be solved.

The Citizens’ Climate Lobby has sponsored a visit to Sandpoint by Inglis to speak about his advocacy on Friday, Nov. 15. Inglis will meet with faith, business and civic leaders in a small-group format for dinner from 5:30-7 p.m. at Eichardt’s Pub with the intent to discuss how community leaders can promote reasonable climate action policies that are anchored in conservative values.

What follows is a conservation with Inglis, who gave the Reader a few moments of his time to answer some questions about his climate change work. Inglis’ answers have been lightly edited for space.

SANDPOINT READER: You’re a bit of an anomaly, Bob. You’re a conservative, former Republican member of Congress, you’ve been endorsed by the NRA and the National Right to Life Committee, but you also stress that climate change is real and should be solved. When did climate change first become an important issue for you personally?

BOB INGLIS: For my first six years [in Congress], I said that climate change was nonsense. I didn’t know anything about it except Al Gore was pushing it. I represented a very red district, so that was the end of the inquiry. I admit that was pretty ignorant

Step 3 was inspiration from Scott Heron, a climate scientist who has become a very dear friend. At the Great Barrier Reef on this congressional trip, he was showing us coral bleaching and I could tell that he and I shared a worldview before any words were spoken. I could see he was worshipping God and his creation. He told me about conservation changes he’s made in his life; to love God and love people. He rides his bike to work, uses air conditioning as little as possible, dries his clothes without an electric dryer. I got inspired. I wanted to be like Scott, loving God and loving people. It caused me to come home to introduce the Raise Wages, Cut Carbon Act of 2009. ... The exciting thing was, the decade of “disastrous disputation,” as well call it at republicEN.org, seems to have come to a close.

In early 2008, Newt Gingrich was on the couch with Nancy Pelosi in an ad, saying “We don’t agree on much, but we do agree climate change is real and we need to do something about it.” By the end of 2008, Newt had switched to, “We don’t know.”

So did the rest of the Republican leadership. The intervening event was the Great Recession: The wheels were coming off in October of 2008 and the election of Barack Obama and the decision of Republicans to pin it all on him. That went on for a decade, but now the decade seems to be over, and the best marker is Kevin McCarthy’s recent comments to the Washington Examiner, saying that Republicans have to come around on climate change if we plan on winning any elections.

When I got kicked out of Congress in 2010, I started down this road getting conservatives engaged on climate change. It was pretty lonely, but it’s really changed now.

The difference between then and now? The economy is better, we’ve had more experience with climate change and there are more on the eco-right as a balance

BI: I think it’s solution aversion. I’m not a psychiatrist or a scientist, I’m just a recovering politician. But what psychiatrists say is solution aversion is that condition where we don’t think we have a solution that fits with our values, therefore we doubt the existence of the problem. … What conservatives heard was this, “The UN with blue helmets on were going to consult with the United States EPA and they were going to regulate their every breath.” There’s nothing in that paragraph that’s attractive to conservatives. If that’s the solution, I don’t want to believe in climate change.

But they’re forgetting basic conservative principles. ... They know that all this is about is internalizing negative externalities. Having all products bear their costs in a transparent and accountable marketplace will help you get innovations fast. It’s a free enterprise system, delivering innovation. When conservatives hear that they say, “Yeah, that’s right.”

The good news is, there are a lot of progressives who agree. I want conservatives to recognize the existence of the problem and to start to solve it.

SPR: At republicEN.org, you claim that many community leaders can promote reasonable climate action policies that are anchored in conservative values. Can you share some of those ideas with me?

BI: Sure. When we talk about a carbon tax, how could that possibly be attractive to conservatives? Yes, it’s a carbon tax, but it’s paired with a dollar-for-dollar reduction in existing taxes, or a dividend of all of that carbon tax revenue back to the taxpayers. So there’s no “grow the government” scheme. It’s a revenue neutral carbon tax. That’s pretty conservative.

The second thing: it’s also got to be border adjustable … which means, we would apply the carbon tax on goods coming from a country that doesn’t have the same carbon tax. China would challenge that in the World Trade Organization — they would say those are impermissible terms. We say

The beauty for conservatives is there is no international agreement — just a bold move by the U.S. that says, “We’re ready to lead. We’re going to make it in your interest for the rest of the world to follow us.” It’s got to be, because all of these domestic-only proposals, like the Green New Deal or anything else that is American only, it doesn’t have this way of getting a border adjustment. It’s just moral signaling. Actually you go downhill if you do that … people that have carbon-intensive businesses will pick up and move to, say, China. Once they get there, not only do you lose the jobs, you lose the race to reduce emissions. You’ve got to figure out a way to get the world in on this thing. If not, it’s not worth doing. If you’re in front of a conservative audience and they give you 10 minutes to explain that, then they’re head-nodding and agreeing. Then you show them a clip of Reagan’s adviser, Dr. Milton Friedman, the father of Chicago School of Economics who said, “You tax it of course.” When conservatives hear that explanation, they say, “Oh yeah, we have something to offer here, we don’t have to be silent.”

SPR: How does that idea fly in the face of so much “America First” rhetoric coming from the Trump administration and anti-global sentiments among today’s conservatives?

BI: I actually wrote a piece for Donald Trump. It was real clear science in English. It’s basically everything I’ve just said to you but I put it into Trump’s language, which I don’t like to use. I wanted to make the point that you could say, “America is going to act and China is going to pay for it.” The more diplomatic way is to have a revenue-neutral carbon tax. It is an America first approach. Not in a belligerent way, but the world needs America to lead on this. We are the indispensable nation and conservatives are the indispensable partners in the indispensable nation.

If you’re a conservative and you’re interested in solving climate change, you’re the most important person on the planet.

Roast with the most

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff

They say you only hurt the ones you love. While that might be a cautionary statement in most instances, with a roast it’s pretty much a requirement. In that case, Jeff Nizzoli is in for it on Saturday, Nov. 16, when he’ll submit to the celebrity roast treatment courtesy of the Angels Over Sandpoint.

Owner of Eichardt’s Pub at 212 Cedar St. in downtown Sandpoint for 25 years, Nizzoli has long been a community pillar without asking for anything in return — least of all recognition, which may make the event itself the biggest roast of all.

“Jeff Nizzoli does a lot of things that nobody really knows about,” said Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Kate McAlister, who as a member of the Angels board will serve as director of Nizzoli’s “Man of the Hour” roast at the Panida Theater.

“Just listening to the stories of his friends is amazing,” she said. “I found myself saying over and over again, ‘Wow,

I never heard that.’ He just loves being a part of the community.”

Some examples of Nizzoli’s civic involvement include hosting the K-9 Keg Pull at the Sandpoint Winter Carnival each year; helping with the downtown flower baskets; managing the bar at The Follies every year of its 18-year run; putting together a team for the Angels’/ Ivano’s Italian Open golf tournament each year; and directly donating to numerous causes, events, institutions and individuals whenever they’re in need.

Nizzoli’s giving spirit will be on display even while he’s getting the business end of his friends’ wit. While in past roasts the Angels have given a portion of ticket sales to the roastee, McAlister said Nizzoli has asked that 20% of the proceeds go to support a friend’s sister-inlaw, who recently suffered a broken neck.

“He’s just a really genuine, great guy,” McAlister said.

The two-hour event, which starts at 8 p.m., will include both touching tributes and stinging barbs, with the first half including skits, video snippets, photos and appearances by a handful of “guest bartenders” — a.k.a., patrons and friends who Nizzoli has randomly asked to watch the bar for him over the years while he runs a quick errand — telling stories about what happened “when Jeff left me in charge one time.”

“In the midst of the humor there’s going to be some really poignant stuff,” McAlister said.

Angels Over Sandpoint Celebrity Roast features Eichardt’s publican Jeff Nizzoli

Things heat up in the second half, when official roasters Curtis Eberle, Rob Goldworm, Matt Jablon, James LaBarbera and Lief Olson take the stage.

Reader Publisher Ben Olson will serve as master of ceremonies, while Truck Mills — who has been a feature of Eichardt’s live music schedule since the pub opened its doors — will provide the tunes. Beer and wine will be available along with Panida concessions.

It’s possible this might

be the first Nizzoli is hearing of his “Man of the Hour Roast.” McAlister said that while he’s a real mensch, “if you email him, you’ll never hear from him.” Same goes for voicemails and Facebook messages.

Angels Over Sandpoint Celebrity Roast: Man of the Hour Jeff Nizzoli

Saturday, Nov. 16; doors at 7 p.m., show at 8 p.m.; $35.

Panida Theater, N. First Ave., 208-263-9191. Get tickets at Eichardt’s, Eve’s Leaves (326 N. First Ave.) or online at panida.org.

If so, in addition to everybody else, the Reader would like to invite Nizzoli to come on down to the Panida to honor with good-natured insults his many contributions to Sandpoint and the people who call it home.

D.A. Davidson forum features Washington Trust regional economic expert

By Reader Staff

D.A. Davidson will host its annual economic forum at the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce meeting in the Community Room (Tango Café) at the Sandpoint Center/Columbia Bank, 414 Church St. in Sandpoint. The meeting is from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 14 and includes lunch. To register for the event, call the Chamber at 208-263-2161.

This year’s featured speaker will be Steve Scranton, a senior vice president, chief investment officer and economist for Washington Trust Bank. Scranton holds a chartered financial analyst designation and has more than 35 years of experience as an

investment professional and economist.

As CIO at Washington Trust, Scranton is responsible for the Portfolio Management Group and participates on committees within the bank to help design strategies and policies related to investments. As the economist for Washington Trust, he participates in public speaking engagements, as well as authoring communications to keep clients and the public informed of economic and investment market

conditions.

Scranton is well-known throughout the Pacific Northwest as a speaker on regional economic conditions and world financial markets.

For more than 80 years, D.A. Davidson financial advisers have offered advice, personalized solutions and industry expertise to individuals, families and businesses. With 97 offices in 26 states, D.A. Davidson is the largest network of advisers headquartered in the West.

Take tea with the Crawleys

Big-screen Downton Abbey comes to the Panida, complete with afternoon tea

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff

According to the website afternoontea.co.uk — which we’re just going to assume is the authoritative source on tea time in the United Kingdom — the dress code for taking tea with others is “smart casual,” “so there is no need for men to wear a jacket and tie (unless otherwise specified).” These days that means “trousers or smart jeans, collared shirt and clean/unscuffed shoes are acceptable.” But for god’s sake, leave your “sportswear” and “trainers” at home. These recommendations, of course, are for the 21st century and tea times have definitely changed since the reign of King George V. Back then, from 1910-1936, you best believe men dressed in a jacket and tie for afternoon tea, and the ladies came resplendent in airy yet sophisticated tea dresses,

complete with hat and gloves (the gloves came off and the hat stayed on until 6 p.m., just so you know). Regardless, lighter tones only, please — black was reserved for the evening hours.

Bear all this in mind and dress accordingly if and when you accept a cordial invitation to afternoon tea and a viewing of Downton Abbey, the feature-length film, which comes to the Panida Theater for two showings Saturday, Nov. 16 at noon and Sunday, Nov. 17 at 3:30 p.m.

Downton Abbey (PG)

Saturday, Nov. 16, noon; Sunday, Nov. 17, 3:30 p.m.; doors 30 minutes prior to show; $9.78, tickets available online and at the door. Panida Theater, 300 N. First Ave., 208-263-9191, panida.org.

The costume drama, set in the palatial country home of the Crawley family in a fictional Yorkshire, takes place in 1927 — and about two years after the aristocratic action that ended the smashhit, six-season PBS series of the same name. (And, coincidentally, the same year the Panida was built.)

Fans of the show will recognize much in the two-hour, bigscreen version.

All the major characters are back, from Lord and Lady Grantham to Mrs. Patmore and Daisy, Lady Mary, Thomas Barrow, Mr. Carson and Tom Branson. Of course, the real star of the show is and always has been Violet, the Dowager Countess, played by the ever-phenomenal Maggie Smith.

There’s a lot of silverware polishing, run-of-the-mill estate management and food preparation, spiced as is its wont, with subtle burns and low-flying subversions of decorum and protocol. The stakes are higher than ever, though, as the upstairs and down-

Comedy for a Cause:

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff

There are plenty of opportunities to help feed local families over the holidays by supporting area food banks.

Few of those opportunities include enjoying the talents of nationally touring comedy acts, but thanks to the Panida Theater, those looking to lend a hand can also enjoy a laugh while attending the Comedy for a Cause night Friday, Nov. 15, benefiting the Bonner Community Food Center.

stairs denizens of Downton Abbey prepare for a visit from none other than His and Her Royal Majesties, King George and Queen Mary.

Reviews of the film have been positive across the board, with critics praising its lavish attention to period detail in set and costume design, its crackling writing and the sheer pleasure of reuniting with favorite characters from the TV series, which ended in 2016.

The consistent caveat, however, is that this is a film intended for the initiated. If you were a fan of Downton on the small screen, you’ll be a fan of it on the big

screen. If not, you may ask yourself what’s all the fuss about these fussy Brits. That said, if you’re a lover of clever dialogue and picture-perfect scene setting, there’s nothing not to like — whether or not this is your first visit with the Crawleys and their help.

Regardless, remember to keep your pinkie in and only stir from bottom to top in your cup.

Panida hosts comedy show to benefit Bonner Community Food Center

Headlining the night will be Richie Minervini — former owner of the East Side Comedy Club on Long Island, where big names in comedy like Jim Carrey, Ray Romano, Rosie O’Donnell and Eddie Murphy all got their start. Murphy was a high-school student when Minervini opened his club in 1979.

Comedy for a Cause

Friday, Nov. 15; doors at 6:30 p.m., show at 7:30 p.m.; $20. Panida Theater, 300 N. First Ave., 208-263-9191, panida.org.

“Just before he went onstage, Eddie would take a brand-new pair of shoes out of the box and wear them onstage,” Minervini told the Daily News in 2007. “A different pair every night. Finally, I found out he worked in a shoe

store. He’d put them back on the shelf the next day.”

In the world of stand-up, Minervini is largely credited with launching careers. Still, he originally opened the East Side Comedy Club as a venue for his own comedy, seeing as it was so hard to get onstage at the clubs in New York City. Since his club’s closure in 1995, Minervini has been touring and performing his own stand-up routines, the latest of which will come to the Panida stage.

Opening for Minervini will be Sam Cornett, Sandpoint handyman and musician with more than 30 years experience in recording and entertainment.

“The food bank fills a vital need for our whole community that we care deeply about,” said

Panida Director Patricia Walker, “and we were happy to have this year’s Comedy for a Cause benefit them.”

Those who bring a nonperishable food item to the show will be eligible for a drink discount.

Just what Sandpoint kneads

Bluebird Bakery fires up its ovens on First and Cedar

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff

Bluebird Bakery is bright and lively on a Monday afternoon. Smells of freshly baked bread and coffee intermingle as patrons work on their computers, chat in groups and grab huckleberry vanilla danishes to go. Baker Jill Severson takes it all in over a cup of coffee while on a midday break from the kitchen.

“Whether you’re here getting something to go or here for two hours working or just hanging out with friends — I want it to be comfortable and inviting,” she said of her newly opened bakery at 329 N. First Ave.

Severson attended high school in Spokane and visited Sandpoint occasionally during those years. She first began baking in Seattle in 2003, and credits the first chef she ever worked under with instilling in her a passion for the craft and the idea to pursue a career in baking. After years of honing her skills, Severson’s baked goods made their North Idaho debut at the Farmers’ Market at Sandpoint in the summer of 2018. When that went well, she decided it was time to pursue her ultimate goal — a bakery all her own.

Bluebird Bakery opened its doors Oct. 31 after 10 months of renovations and preparations at the corner of First Avenue and Cedar Street.

The bakery currently offers loaves of bread, baguettes, pastries both sweet

and savory, a full coffee bar, tea, beer, wine, and meat and cheese assortments.

Severson said she hopes to roll out sandwiches — both breakfast and lunch varieties — in the coming weeks.

Severson said she takes pride in her work with laminated doughs: the flaky pastry doughs made up of layers and layers of thin dough and butter used to make croissants and danishes.

“To me, that’s the most rewarding,” she said. “It’s a long process, and if you do it well, you can tell.”

Severson said she seeks ways to

source her ingredients locally, making note that all of her flour comes from Cairnspring Mills in Burlington, Wash., which makes all of its products from sustainably produced grains in the Pacific Northwest. The bakery also serves Post Falls-based Doma Coffee. Brian Kelly of Old Tree Handcrafted Furniture in Sandpoint made all of the furniture in the bakery, and a local friend of Severson’s designed the logo.

The front-of-house staff at Bluebird Bakery also has a truly local feel, comprised of several faces from around town who have their fair share of experience in the food service industry.

“The staff I have, I feel so grateful to have them,” Severson said. “I think I got super lucky.”

As for Severson, she’ll be back in the kitchen, doing what she does best.

“It’s fun. I could never sit behind a computer. I don’t think I could ever do a nine-to-five [job],” she said. “I like working with my hands and working with fun people … The interaction with guests, too — being able to make something with your hands for someone to enjoy. It’s rewarding.”

Bluebird Bakery’s current hours are Sundays 8 a.m.-3 p.m., Mondays 6 a.m.3 p.m., closed Tuesday and Wednesday, and Thursday-Saturday 6 a.m.-6 p.m.

Find Bluebird Bakery on Facebook at facebook.com/bluebirdbakeryid or on Instagram @bluebirdbakeryid.

All the fixings

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff

Most people would agree that the desire to help our neighbors reaches its peak this time of year.

As snow settles in the valleys of the Idaho Panhandle and residents settle into the darkest months of the year, the giving spirit can go a long way toward making sure some of those residents can make it through the holidays with good food on the table. Facilitating that cause are five food banks across Bonner County, including the Bonner Community Food Bank, which is currently seeking turkeys to help feed between 600 and 800 families in Sandpoint and Priest River this Thanksgiving.

“We also need all the fixings to go with,” said BCFB administrative assistant Tammie Harder. “Stuffing, gravy — anything you can think of that would go with Thanksgiving dinner.”

She said turkeys both big and small are needed, seeing as not every family can eat a 20-pound bird. The food bank is also always accepting nonperishable goods of all kinds, as well as toiletries and, very important, diapers. Monetary donations are also accepted.

While the BCFB team manages both the Sandpoint and Priest river food bank

locations, there are also food banks in Clark Fork, Priest Lake and Oldtown seeking Thanksgiving donations. See their addresses, hours and contact information listed below.

Bonner Community Food Bank

Open Monday-Friday

9 a.m.-2:30 p.m. 1707 Culvers Drive Sandpoint 208-263-3663 foodbank83864.com

Clark Fork Food Bank

Open Wednesdays 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Located at the Seventh Day Adventist Church

700 Pine St. Clark Fork 208-266-0321 clarkforkadventist.org

Priest Lake Food Pantry

Open the first and third Tuesday of each month, noon-3 p.m.

Located at Lamb Of God Church 26506 Hwy 57 Priest Lake

Panida annual membership meeting and

ice cream social planned

By Reader Staff

The Panida Theater was first opened in 1927. After falling on hard times, the community banded together to re-open the theater as a nonprofit organization in November 1985. The community theater celebrates this double birthday every year with an ice cream social at its annual membership meeting. The meeting this year will take place at 3:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 23 in the Panida Little Theater. The meeting is open to all.

“Challenges, Choices and Community” will be the theme for the 2019 meeting. The Panida has collaborated with many local organizations this past year to add to its diverse programming. The community has many other venue choices now and the movie industry has changed dramatically in the past few years, which poses some serious financial challenges. “Community” continues to be the driving force behind the Panida despite the challenges and the community ultimately chooses the future of the Panida

through its contributions and support.

“There is something for everyone at the Panida throughout the year and all are welcomed,” said Panida Executive Director Patricia Walker. “There is reason to continue to celebrate all of the many patrons and volunteers who take tremendous pride in keeping the doors open and this also gives us the opportunity to say thank you and to honor the past support.”

The Panida Board of Directors includes Robert Moore, chair; Aric Spence, vice chair; Foster Cline, secretary; and at-large members Carol Thomas, Lenny Hess and Abby Ulman.

The mission of the historic Panida Theater is to share and protect the historical integrity of the local institution as a center of entertainment, education and community involvement, while its vision is to preserve, protect and provide a venue to enrich the community culturally and economically.

The stated values of the theater are historic preservation, inclusivity, collaboration, diversity, education and economic stability.

Local food banks put dinners on tables across Bonner County

208-448-2367 or 208-448-2383 facebook.com/pg/priestlakefoodbank

Priest River Food Bank

Open Tuesday, 10 a.m.-11:30 p.m.; Wednesday, 10 a.m.-noon; Thursday, 2-5 p.m.

45 S. McKinley St., Ste. 107 Priest River

208-448-4989 foodbank83864.com

West Bonner Food Bank

Open Monday-Friday 10 a.m.-noon

315 E. 3rd St. N. Oldtown 208-437-0143

A good lookin’ good cause

The

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff

Want a fast, effective way to raise money for a good cause? Gather some burly men, dress them provocatively and snap some pics.

On the surface it may sound a little crazy, but for Karli and Nate Weber, it was an idea that produced. They decided a “dudeoir” — boudoir, but for dudes — calendar could be a great fundraising opportunity for Community Cancer Services, a Sandpoint organization dedicated to supporting local cancer patients with whatever they need.

The Webers contacted their wedding photographer, Tanyia Oulman, and she couldn’t wait to get started. Thus, the dudeoir photo shoots began to take shape.

The resulting photos provoke laughter, but are nonetheless beautiful. The final product is known as the 2020 Hot and Hairy Calendar, which will officially drop Friday, Nov. 15.

“You have to have some pretty open-minded men,” said Lisa Laude, one of the project organizers. “They’re fun guys.”

Some of those fun guys included Laude’s husband, brother-in-law and father-in-law, among others — all working-class men who drive trucks, work in construction, own businesses, sell cars and the like. Most volunteered by responding to a Facebook post in September seeking men who might be up for the challenge. Laude said the cause was an encouraging factor for many participants. The cover of the calendar shows the 11 models standing with the cancer survivors in their lives, some even holding photos of loved ones who have died of the disease.

“Cancer is just one of those things that everyone deals with anymore,” she said.

Laude said that the Hot and Hairy calendar came together quickly, with the casting call for models posted in late September and all the photos wrapped up in October — one of the coldest North Idaho Octobers on record.

“It was really impressive what these guys got out there and did in such extreme temperatures with very minimal clothing on,” she said, laughing.

People have the chance to meet all the models — fully clothed — on Friday, Nov. 15 at the 2020 Hot and Hairy Calen-

dar release party at Laughing Dog Brewing. The party kicks off at 5 p.m. and will be the public’s chance to purchase a calendar and get it signed by the men of the hour. Calendars are $30 and can be ordered online for $35 at sandpointfunraising.com. All calendar proceeds go to CCS and a portion of Laughing Dog’s sales during the release party will also go to the nonprofit.

Michelle Sivertson, of Laughing Dog Brewing, said Karli reached out to her to make sure it was OK if Nate wore a shirt from the brewery in his photo shoot for the project. Sivertson happily obliged, and took the opportunity to support the effort further by hosting the release party. Laughing Dog will even release a new brew the night of the party: the 2019 DogFather Imperial Stout.

Hot

“Our Laughing Dog Brewing family, as well as ownership personally, have been affected by this ugly disease,” Sivertson said. “Community Cancer Services provides vital services to our community and we are happy to support them.”

and Hairy Calendar release party

Friday, Nov. 15; 5 p.m.; FREE.

Laughing Dog Brewing, 805 Schweitzer Plaza Drive, Ponderay. 208-263-9222. sandpointfunraising.com.

Will the 2020 Hot and Hairy Calendar be the one and only of its kind? Thanks to its success so far, Laude said she’s heard talk that Weber, Oulman and the entire team of husky, charming models are just getting started, and that several more men have stepped forward to be involved next year.

“The ideas are already flowing,” she said.

MUSIC

They got the funk

New to the Sandpoint scene, Nights of Neon makes a name for itself

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff

Running into people at the grocery store can often be a nuisance, but for Nights of Neon, it was a stroke of good fortune.

The band had been forming in earnest for a while, the brainchild of guitarist Reese Warren, who wanted to turn toward a funky project after rockabilly-ska group Still Tipsy and the Hangovers disbanded in 2018. He’d already recruited his friend and former bandmate Karston Peer to play bass but was still in the market for a singer. Enter: Michael Robinson.

Warren had heard Robinson’s powerful, soulful voice at various karaoke nights around town, but only connected with him one night in the aisles of Super 1. Warren asked if he’d lend his pipes to his new funk band and Robinson accepted.

With guitar, bass and vocals in the bag, the next step was to get a drummer — a hot commodity among Sandpoint bands. As luck would again have it, former Atlanta-based drummer and guitarist Dan Ohmann was feel-

ing the itch to pick up music again after a five-year hiatus. A Craigslist ad led to an audition that didn’t pan out, but it did connect him with Warren.

That was in January. In February, Warren, Peer, Robinson and Ohmann got together for their first practice.

“Things went really well right off the bat,” Ohmann said. “Everything seemed to click.”

There was one final ingredient, however: a horn, provided by fellow Still Tipsy alum Paz Rainbow, who came on board in March.

“The horn adds a major dynamic to the sound of the band,” Ohmann said. “Prior to Paz joining, the band sounded good but lacked something. The horn brought a new flavor to the band helping them to stand out among the other acts in town.”

Nights of Neon

Friday, Nov. 15; 9 p.m.-midnight; FREE; 21+. 219 Lounge, 219 N. First Ave., 219.bar. Listen at the NoN Facebook page.

With its lineup complete and the Nights of Neon moniker in place — “The name is funky, and that’s why we like it,” Rainbow said — the band played its first gig in July as part of the Fat Pig’s summer patio music series, followed soon after with a

A lot of bands and artists plant their flag in the broad genres of folk, Americana and rock-country, but some just inhabit those spaces better than others.

The Mike Wagoner Trio is one of those groups to whom the rambling, easygoing style seems to come easy.

Comprised of singer-songwriter Wagoner, Utah John and Jaco, the band reels through both covers and originals with effortless picking and strumming, sometimes layering on the wistful sound of a harmonica.

The result is a tight ensemble never misses — made even more compelling by Wagoner’s ability to slip into a vocal timbre eerily reminiscent of Willie Nelson.

— Zach Hagadone

5-8 p.m., FREE. Pend d’Oreille Winery, 301 Cedar St. Ste. 101, 208265-8545, pow.com.

show at Eichardt’s.

Audiences have liked what they hear from NoN — a sound that band members describe as a whirl of soul, jazz, reggae and ’90s hip hop, but with funk solidly at its core.

“The criteria for the songs we do, with some exceptions, isn’t that it has to be pure funk, but it has to be ‘funky’ and fun,” Ohmann said.

Playing a combination of covers and originals, Rainbow said “we choose songs that have the thing, you know, the fun factor — the thing that makes you want to dance and have a good time.”

“The thing” was in evidence at NoN’s first show at the 219 Lounge and will be repeated Friday, Nov. 15 when the band returns to the Niner from 9 p.m.-midnight.

It’ll be a busy winter after

that, with five more gigs currently scheduled through January: a Dec. 7 return to Eichardt’s; NoN’s first outof-town show at the Symes Hotel in Hot Springs, Mont. on Jan. 11; another 219 show Jan. 18; and two appearances Jan. 24 and Jan. 29 at Taps on Schweitzer Mountain.

In the meantime, audiences can catch Warren in his side project CobraJet and Rainbow does double duty with The Groove Black.

It’s a lot to juggle with day jobs and families, but a packed schedule is a successful schedule, and by that standard NoN is a newcomer to Sandpoint’s music scene but one that’s already making a name for itself.

“Playing music is an escape, a very fulfilling hobby to us,” Rainbow said. “If you can create more, why shouldn’t you?

The Sugarhill Gang, Nov. 15, The Hive

It’s not every day that the pioneers of rap music roll into Sandpoint, but The Sugarhill Gang will do just that to commemorate the 40th birthday of their hit “Rapper’s Delight.”

Having sold 8 million copies of the catchy first hit, remaining living members of the group — Wonder Mike, Hendogg and Master Gee — are still at it, performing the groovy and once trail-blazing rap tunes of the late-’70s and early-’80s.

Revisiting “Rapper’s Delight” is like studying the modern rapper’s playbook. Though the backing music is certainly reminiscent of early rap, the verbal riffs reveal how much Snoop Dogg, Will Smith and even more current artists — Drake, Lil Wayne, J. Cole, for example — are built on the sound The Sugarhill Gang made mainstream four decades ago.

—Lyndsie Kiebert

Doors at 5 p.m., show at 9 p.m., $25 in advance, $30 at the door, 21+. The Hive, 207 N. First Ave., 208-457-2392, beeswaxsystems.com/ thehive. Listen at facebook.com/OfficialSugarHillGang.

This week’s RLW by Zach Hagadone

On Nov. 25, 1783, the British Army sailed from New York followed by George Washington’s triumphal entry into the city. Still marked as “Evacuation Day” in the Empire State, the event was a catastrophe for average people still loyal to the Crown. For a fascinating history that complicates our understanding of “loyalty” in the 18th century, read Liberty’s Exiles by Maya Jasanoff.

LISTEN WATCH

You probably know Philip Glass’ work even if you don’t know you know. His is the swelling, swirling, rolling and roiling orchestral work behind film soundtracks like The Truman Show, The Hours and Notes on a Scandal. The 82-yearold composer has also penned 30-ish operas and so many other pieces that they have their own Wikipedia page. His 1984 opera Akhenaten premiered Nov. 8 at the Metropolitan Opera and it is truly awe inspiring. Now you know.

HBO’s new Watchmen series is fantastic. Critics agree, yet, because we live in the United States in 2019 there are comic book “purists” who despise the show because it isn’t a direct re-tread of the groundbreaking 1986 graphic novel of the same name. Rather, it’s set in an alternate present day full of violent racism, right-wing fanaticism and insane wealth inequality. “Too political,” they sniff, despite the anti-right wing politics of its source material. Hint: Rohrshach isn’t meant to be a “hero” and never was.

A lifetime of fish

Local author’s memoir recounts his ‘life list’ of fish

From Northern Idaho News, Nov. 20, 1903

THIRSTY TIM TAKEN IN TOW

Tim McCarty, lumberjack and general bad man, who has had collisions without number with Marshal Harry Sawyer, had a final encounter with the officer early Wednesday morning and is in jail for ninety days with a sprained ankle which he received in a rough and tumble fight with him. McCarty last June, after having been locked up for drunkenness three or four times, was put on the chain gang. He refused to work and when an opportunity afforded slipped his shackles and got away. Wednesday morning about four o’clock Marshal Sawyer heard a commotion in Abbot & Branson’s saloon and found his old friend McCarty loaded to the gunwales and telling what he was going to do. The marshal told McCarty he wanted him and McCarty’s answer was that the marshal couldn’t take him. He accompanied his challenge with the vilest of language and Marshal Sawyer, after waiting for him to vent his spleen, told him he was going to the bastile and he might as well come along. McCarty made a rush for Sawyer, head down, and Harry tripped him, throwing him to the floor with force sufficient to sprain the fellow’s ankle. McCarty struck on his head and the consussion dazed him, but when he came to, he repeated that the officer could not take him to the calaboose. The marshal caught the Irishman’s wrist with the “come along” but McCarty refused to rise and had to be dragged from the saloon and halfway across the bridge before, with the assistance of two other men who met the officer and his struggling prisoner, McCarty was finally raised to his feet. He walked the rest of the way and was locked up for the night.

By Reader Staff

Serious birdwatchers are well known for compiling “life lists” of species they have sighted in pursuit of their sport. Why wouldn’t a globe-trotting fisherman do the same — with a few fish tales thrown in for good measure?

Sandpoint angler and career fish biologist Al Van Vooren reflects on 70 years of fishing with friends and family — along the way describing his adventures catching more than 140 different species of fish — in his new memoir Fish of a Lifetime

The 256-page paperback includes vignettes, short stories and photos, allowing the reader to follow along on Van Vooren’s many journeys. From the creeks, muddy rivers and lakes of the Midwest, to the trout streams, whitewater rivers and mountain lakes of the far West; from the blue waters of Hawaii and Costa Rica to the brackish waters of the Everglades; and from the Alaskan tundra to the Amazon jungle, anglers will find familiar experiences they can relate to, as well as new experiences that may appeal to their sense of adventure.

That’s the message Van Vooren aims to convey to readers.

“My hope for those that do read it is that they might find it fun or interesting, or that it stirs and brings to mind their own wonderful memories made in the pursuit of fish,” he said.

As a biologist, it was in Van Vooren’s nature to phylogenetically categorize the stories, beginning with the most primitive and moving through the most “advanced” species into four parts — hence, chapters include “Temperate Freshwater Fishes,” “Temperate Saltwater Fishes,” “Tropical Fresh/Brackish-Water Fishes” and “Tropical Saltwater Fishes.”

Fish of a Lifetime has captured the attention and praise of regional author Paul Quinnett, Ph.D., who wrote a pair of regionally best-selling books exploring the psychology of fishing, Pavlov’s Trout and Darwin’s Bass.

“If you ever wanted to sit around a campfire … and listen to a fish biologist tell fish stories, this is a book you have to have,” Quinnett said. “He will fill up your heart with tales of family, friends and good times gleaned from a lifetime of adventures traveling all over the planet to catch just one more.”

Van Vooren enjoyed a 38-year career researching and managing fish populations in Ohio, Iowa and Idaho, and has written technical and popular articles on fish and fishing, including a regular fishing column in the bi-monthly Idaho Wildlife magazine. He lives on Lake Pend Oreille with his wife and fishing partner Susan.

Van Vooren published his memoir in association with Sandpoint-based Keokee Books. Copies of Fish of a Lifetime are $13.95, and available at Sandpoint-area bookstores or online at keokeebooks. com and amazon.com.

Crossword Solution

Many people do not realize that the snowshoe can be used for a great many things besides walking on snow. For instance, it can be used to carry pancakes from the stove to the breakfast table. Also, it can be used to carry uneaten pancakes from the table to the garbage. Finally, it can be used as a kind of strainer, where you force pancakes through the strings to see if a piece of gold got in a pancake somehow.

Week of the

“Harry walked to his father’s grave and recited a requiescat for his old man.”

Corrections: In the Nov. 7 issue of the Reader, we wrote that 6,080 ballots were cast in the Sandpoint City Council election. That should have been 6,080 votes cast in 2,562 ballots. Sorry for the error. -ZH

CROSSWORD

1. Hinder 6. Air force heroes

Tears

Burdened

Was a passenger

Dash 17. Sheeplike

18. Decay from overripening

Blaze 20. Equivalent 22. Lack of di culty 23. Residence hall 24. Pantry

Box 30. Cacophony

Night before

Fail to win

Existence 35. Follow as a result 39. Paving material 41. Harshly ironic or sinister

A rmatives

44. Flat-bottomed boat

Murres

Pain 49. Anagram of “Ail”

Glove

Helix

Forearm bone

Cans

Task

Shade of blue

Spouse 65. An small olive-grey bird

66. Singer Ives

Like 68. Metal bar

Views 70. Religious o shoot 71. Kings of the jungle

Smudge

Magma

Norse god

1/100th of a dollar

Work dough

Tree surgeons

Pillars

Biblical garden

9. Homestead

10. A popular vote by the electorate

11. Homeric epic 12. Analyze syntactically 13. Contemptuous look

21. One who poses 25. Anagram of “ Rave” 26. Kill

27. Sit for a photo 28. Vipers

29. Practices

34. Skin softener

36. Indian dress

37. Module

38. French for “State”

Largest continent 42. Unpaid

45. Harsh or corrosive

48. Andean animals 51. Pierces

52. Arouse

53. Accustom

55. Blacksmith’s block

58. Rice beer

59. Short skirt

60. Therefore

61. A noble gas

62. Infants