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I hit the Big 6-0 at about 1:30 this morning — and the sky didn’t seem to fall. I’ve received a number of condolences from friends, family, and co-workers. Betsy Russell tells me that 60 is the new 40. But I can’t remember as many nicks in the chassis when I was 40. Overall, I consider life very good. I have a wife of 34 years who still loves me in spite of my warts. Two kids (and a wonderful dotter-in-law) who are doing well. I live in a great community, with dedicated leaders, like Mayor Sandi Bloem, who shares my birthday. I attend a great, little local church. And I’m loved by a magnificent God Who isn’t finished working on me. ‘Tis all good. Now, for your Wild Card …
A crane removing an oak tree from the yard of Michelle and Kevin McCarthy is seen after it toppled into the house Monday afternoon in Santa Rosa, Calif. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Mark Aronoff, The Press Democrat)
Top Cutlines:
Larry Spencer (Coeur d’Alene Press comments section): ” I went to talk to Dan English about 
the military voter I had questions about, and the election office seems to have followed the directions from the Secretary of State, and correctly registered the former Post Falls resident using Dan Englishs office address. The serviceman did own a home in Post Falls, and sold it in 2006, so he did reside in the area. My question is why the Secretary of State would direct that people who did not live in CdA in the past, but in Post Falls, vote in the CdA city elections. It seems to me that if a person moves away to go to school or serve in the armed forces, and in so doing they retain their right to vote here, they should still vote in the city they lived in rather than the city the clerks office is in.”
Dan English: “And thank you for acknowledging the correction Spencer. He is registered at this address per directions from the Secretary of State for these types of situations and has been an active voter since at least 2002.
Well, isn’t this just ducky. After 11 years, I got laid off yesterday. On a stress scale, I think I’m 
off the charts. First there was the thyroid biopsy (which turned out fine). Then there was the anemia problem. Then the failing kidneys. Then 3-days-a-week, 3.5 hour dialysis sessions. And now I have no job! I believe it is highly possible for an elephant to fall on my head. Actually - I think I’ll be ok. I’m eligible for SSI, which could take five months to resolve. In the meantime, I’ll do unemployment (think a 60-year-old dialysis patient is readily hireable?). Fortunately Medicare (for kidney dialysis) will kick in December 1. The good news … I do NOT have to drive in snow to work/JeanieS, Nuts & Nonsense. More here.
Question: Anyone have a message to encourage HBO favorite JeanieS?
With less than a week before Thanksgiving, a family of wild turkeys parades through a Fernan Lake neighborhood, posts KerriT/OnLocation North Idaho.
Santa Claus, also known as Patrick Farmer, at Santa Claus House in North Pole, Alaska, holds letters from children sent this year that the U.S. Postal Service says they will no longer deliver. Citing privacy concerns, postal officials say that generically addressed letters to “Santa Claus, North Pole” will no longer be forwarded to volunteers in the Alaska town as has been done for years. (AP Photo/Sam Harrel)
It can be easy for children to get their hands on cigarettes. Our cameras were rolling as 15-year-old volunteer girls try to buy cigarettes at a dozen different places in Spokane and Spokane Valley. The health district goes undercover more than 100 times a year to make sure stores are obeying the law and not selling cigarettes to minors. KREM 2 went along as four stores in our area were caught making the sale. The health district’s tobacco prevention team supervises the underage volunteers as they try to buy cigarettes in the store. Four out of 12 places sold to the girls/KREM2. More here.
Question: Should law enforcement spend much time cracking down on teen smokers?
When
the Statesman’s Erika Bolstad broke a rock-solid story about bonuses awarded by outgoing and embattled Sen. Larry Craig, the detractors were quick to chime in. Their message, loosely translated: “Hey Statesman, let the Craig story die already.” When Cynthia Sewell found some startling news about the city’s controversial streetcar public relations contract, and we followed up with an editorial criticizing the mishandled deal, we heard a similar refrain. “Enough about the streetcar contract; move on to real news.” So I’m left feeling a bit snarky. Readers say they want watchdog reporting. They want to know where their tax dollars are going. Do readers only really care when spending hits a certain undefined threshold? Is there some floor level we don’t know about, kind of like the unposted “real” speed limit on a remote stretch of I-84?/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here.
Question (from Kevin Richert): Do readers want watchdog reporting — or do they just say they want it?
So now we know who’s responsible for Lou Dobbs. It’s the American Legion. Before announcing 
his resignation from CNN last week, the Rupert-bred commentator told the Legion that his experience with itsnationwide oratorical contest at Minico High School shaped both his world view and choice of career. Dobbs, now 64, was 1961 Idaho state champion as a sophomore. “The discussion was ‘individual rights and responsibilities.’ That experience was fundamental to my ability to communicate in public. It gave me an opportunity to think more deeply and to express those rights and those responsibilities. It’s been an element of my life throughout my life. I never think about rights or privileges without thinking about responsibilities”/Steve Crump, Twin Falls Times-News. More here.
Question: Are you a Lou Dobbs’ fan?
The Milky Way spreads across the night sky over Mormon Row, an historic settlement, in Grand Teton National Park near Jackson, Wyo., Thursday night. The light in the distance is the city of Driggs, Idaho, on the west side of the Teton Mountain Range. (AP Photo/Jackson Hole News&Guide, Bradly J. Boner)
In this film publicity image released by Summit Entertainment, Robert Pattinson, background left, Kristen Stewart, and Taylor Lautner, right, are shown in a scene from “The Twilight Saga: New Moon.” Movie review here. (AP Photo/Summit Entertainment, Kimberley French)
Question: Should Bella have picked Jacob over Edward?
For those keeping score at home, Mike Kralicek, the former Coeur d’Alene police officer who 
was critically wounded in the line of duty a few years back, supports Councilman Mike Kennedy 100 percent. I just got off the phone with Kralicek. He told me that he called Mike Kennedy, offering his help in any way because he considered the councilman to be a strong supporter of public safety. Said MikeK: “The police and fire departments supported him. That’s why I knew he was OK.” Carrie told me that her husband made the decision on his own to join M-Kennedy in going through the Coeur d’Alene Place neighborhood. Her daughter pushed her husband in a wheelchair, Carrie said, because M-Kralicek can’t walk far on his own due to the horrific injuries he suffered in the shooting. She denounced anyone who would circulate the rumor that the police union forced her husband to support M-Kennedy against his will. Said Carrie: “Some people act as though Mike doesn’t have a brain in his head to make his own decisions.”
As you know, I’m deeply indebted for the terrific job that CindyH does filling in for me while I’m on vacation. But saying thanks doesn’t seem to be enough. So I figured I’d post this photo (monster hat tip to Sue) of a fundraiser planned by the Festival at Sandpoint. Apparently, firefighters (6 of the above firemen) at the Sandpoint Fire Department are offering 2 full days of labor — 96 hours total — to the home or business that turns in the highest bid. And this is just one of the 180 silent and live auction items that you can bid on at Holly Eve Saturday. (Call for tickets at 265-4554 and see below for more information)
Question: Now, what could you do with six firefighters for 96 total hours?
He’s still looking good,
he’s still looking fine,
but a little bit worse
than at age fifty-nine.
The Bard of Sherman Avenue
You can read the official Coeur d’Alene police report re: the incident discovered Thursday morning involving a swastika pasted to the front door of the Human Rights Institute here.
Despite its rocky start, the Burlington Northern Santa Fe refueling depot in Huetter received a nod of approval from the Kootenai County commissioners on Thursday. Continuing the conditional five-year compliance hearing that was tabled last week, the commissioners voted unanimously that the massive depot is in compliance with the conditions the officials set when they passed a conditional use permit for the facility in 2004/Alecia Warren, Coeur d’Alene Press. More here.
Thursday Poll:
A plurality of 40% (54 of 134 respondents) said they don’t like
President Obama or his policies. 48 of 134 (36%) said they like Obama
and his policies. 32 of 134 (24%) said they personally like Obama more
than his policies.
Being a Vandal, I like to reduce the difference between the University of Idaho and Boise State 
University to a glib one-liner: they win football games, and we won the National Medal of Arts. But again, that’s glib, and does a disservice — we win football games too, after all. I was born in St. Luke’s Hospital, and except for a few years in Jerome, I spent all my youth in Meridian, a mere ten miles out of Boise. My parents are both alums of what was once the Episcopalian Boise Junior College, my father with an associate degree in business and my mother with a bachelor’s in technical communications. There are many ways in which Boise State has us beat: enrollment, football, and number of bowling lanes on campus. Academics is not chiefly among them, and numbers can tell the story/Marcus Kellis, UI Argonaut. More here.
Question: Who do you think dominates the rivalry between UIdaho and Boise State?
Oprah
Winfrey knows how to keep viewers on the edge of their seats. In the last 10 minutes of her show, Winfrey confirmed that she will be ending her syndicated “Oprah Winfrey Show” in September 2011. “After much prayer and months of careful thought, I thought that next season, season 25, will be the last season of ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show,’ ” she told the audience. “You may hear a lot of speculation in the press about why I’m making this decision now, and I wanted you to hear it from me,” she said. “Twenty-four years ago on September 8, 1986, I went live from Chicago to launch the first show. I was beyond excited, and a little nervous”/CNN International. More here.
Question: Can you live without the ‘Oprah Winfrey Show’?
“It takes about a month to finish” said Coeur d’Alene Resort landscaper Chris Winter as he worked to string lights on a tree in front of the Coeur d’Alene Resort recently. The much anticipated Coeur d’Alene Holiday Light Show Opening Ceremony will be on Nov. 27, starting at 5:30 p.m., which includes a lighted parade, Christmas carols, candle lighting and fireworks show over Lake Coeur d’Alene. (Kathy Plonka/SR)
Item: Group recommends fewer Pap screenings: Report unconnected to recent mammogram advice/Shari Roan, L.A. Times
More Info: Only days after a federal panel scaled back on breast cancer screening recommendations for many women, another organization – the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists – has done the same for a screening credited with drastically reducing the rates of cervical cancer in the U.S. Women of all ages should undergo Pap smears less frequently than they do now, those new guidelines say. And young women are advised not to bother until age 21. The pullback follows the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force’s dismissal of routine breast cancer screenings for women under 50.
Question: What’s going on here?
Item: BNSF depot in compliance: Commissioners agree to propose additional conditions for facility/Alecia Warren, Coeur d’Alene Press
More Info: Despite its rocky start, the Burlington Northern Santa Fe refueling depot in Huetter received a nod of approval from the Kootenai County commissioners on Thursday. Continuing the conditional five-year compliance hearing that was tabled last week, the commissioners voted unanimously that the massive depot is in compliance with the conditions the officials set when they passed a conditional use permit for the facility in 2004.
Question: Are you still concerned that the BNSF depot near Hauser poses an environmental risk?
Have we really come to this? Both the President and the Attorney General have stated, Question: Do you have concerns re: the possible unfairness or location of this trial?
unequivocally, that Khalid Shaikh Mohammad and his co-defendants will be found guilty and executed. What an appalling statement. It’s not just the fear a lot of Americans have about these terrorists being brought to New York City to be tried in Federal Court. It’s what the rest of the world is seeing. The reason behind this faulty exercise is to showcase how wonderful our justice system is. How the United States is the shining beacon on the hill of fairness. Well, perhaps at one time. Whatever happened to “innocent until proven guilty”? Even the most heinous of criminals, those we know are guilty, are given that right/Dogwalk Musings. More here.
Soaf tells Huckleberries Online that “I was on my way down to La Barge WY yesterday. As I was headed through the Hoback River Canyon South of Jackson WY, I came around a corner on the highway and was greeted with the critters in the attached pics standing in the middle of the road. This pix of a ewe standing (only fee) from my vehicle.”
It’s rarely a dull day here at HBO Central — and today is no different. It appears the remnant of the neo-Nutsies were sneaking around in the darkness last night to try to intimidate Rachel Dolezal and other Human Rights Institute reps and fans. Here’s hoping those security cameras caught them. Then there’s last night’s attempted burglary of the Shopko Pharmacy, where my family gets its prescription medication. This little burg of ours doesn’t seem to be as safe as it once was. Mebbe dull days are nice. Here’s your Wild Card …
CindyH:
So. I got the dreaded “note from teacher.” Or in this case e-mail. It seems my 10-year-old was sent to the principal’s office for “blurting out,” and “talking out of turn several times despite repeated warnings.” He’s been sentenced to morning and lunch recess detention. (Keeping an active kid inside seems rather counterproductive, imo) My question is for parents: When/if your kids get in trouble at school, do you follow up with consequences at home? What kind? Right now, he’s confined to quarters while I go to the gym and mull this over during my workout. More below.
Question: Some Berry Pickers have already made suggestions on the “Wild Card” thread re: how Cindy should handle this situation. Do you have 2 cents to throw in, too?
Matt Phillips ( center) gets a skating tip from Disney On Ice professionals Mark Stanford (right ) and Allison Best during an open skating session today at the Riverfront Park Ice Palace. Local Special Olympic Skaters got the opportunity to meet and skate with professionals who are in town for the Disney On Ice “Worlds of Fantasy” show being held at the Spokane Arena through Sunday. (Christopher Anderson/SR)
Stacie Hunt poses for a portrait at Midwestern Meats in Mesa, Ariz.Hunt has the improbable title of fitness trainer for Midwestern Meats in Mesa. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/ The Arizona Republic, Michael McNamara)
Top Cutlines:
D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.
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