We need to deal with Halloween this weekend before we get to the 2010 Election Day. Which, if the polls are right, could prove scary for Democrats who are hoping against hope to hang onto the House of Representatives and possibly Congress. Congressman Walt Minnick might be nervous this weekend, too — with the late surge by Republican Raul Labrador in a state that could tilt even further red if that’s possible. So don’t go wearing a Sarah Palin mask to your jittery Democrat friends place. You might not be appreciated. Now, for your Wild Card …

Item: Hart makes timber fund ‘donation’: Officials uncertain how to treat lawmaker’s check/Betsy Z. Russell, Spokesman-Review

More Info: Idaho state Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, sent a check as promised to the state’s school endowment for $2,450, but he called it a “voluntary donation” to the permanent fund, not a payment on a judgment over a 1996 timber theft. That left the state endowment’s managers scratching their heads as to how the check should be handled. Revenue from timber sales on state endowment lands goes into a fund that makes direct payments to schools every year. Donations to the permanent endowment are held in perpetuity; only their investment earnings are distributed.

Question: Anyone have any idea what Hart’s trying to do here?

Hawaii defensive tackle Kaniela Tuipulotu (49) and Hawaii safety Mana Silva (43) tackle Idaho running back Kama Bailey (8) in the second quarter during an NCAA college football game  Saturday in Honolulu. Hawaii won 45-10 here. (AP Photo/Eugene Tanner)

• Arizona State 42, Washington State 0
• Eastern Washington 50, Portland State 19
  

Item: Campaign funding fax bloopers abound: Legislature candidates both sent disclosure reports from colleges/Maureen Dolan, Coeur d’Alene Press

More Info: An investigation of Nonini’s own campaign financial disclosures revealed that his own campaign financial disclosure was faxed last week from a University of Idaho machine located at the university’s research center in Post Falls. Nonini’s campaign manager/treasurer is Jerry Baltzell, a University of Idaho employee and the business manager at the research center. “I certainly don’t approve of that,” Nonini said when made aware of the source of his own campaign fax. “I’ll take the responsibility myself.”

Question: What do you make of Nonini getting caught in the same faxing blunder that he’d contacted NIC & the Press to issue a complaint re: Dave Larsen’s campaign?

Item: Commissioner race heats up with write-in: Currie, loser in Idaho primary, fighting back/Alison Boggs, SR

More Info: Nelson labeled it “sad” that Currie has chosen to “go down this road. I think it speaks for itself.” Via e-mail, Nelson said the supporter in question (Larry Spencer) has not been involved in her campaign since the middle of the primary. She said at that time “confusion arose” about the placement of a campaign sign and she “asked him to conclude his efforts.” “Since that time,” she said, “he has not been involved in my campaign effort.”

DFO: I found it strange that Nelson elected to answer questions from the Spokesman-Review via e-mail; yet found time to come to the SR office to be interviewed on camera by KHQ.

“With an LCSC scrimmage Thursday night (no score kept) the NIC men’s power packed basketball team is ready to begin another successful year,” e-mails Don Sausser with this photo. “Preseason NJCAA rankings place the Cardinals 3rd in the nation while the women’s team is ranked 6th. With this quality in our backyard there is no reason to travel far to enjoy highly competitive basketball.” Pictured is a young NIC Cardinal round baller in training!

DFO: Feel free to post a possible cutline, if you’d like.

Allred is an unconventional Democrat. He had no evident partisan affiliation before entering the gubernatorial contest, and when he did, he made it clear to party leaders that his alignment with them would be on his terms, not theirs. He has a doctorate in conflict resolution – not a bad calling in the world of politics – and taught it at Columbia University and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. As the founder and president of Common Interest, a public-issue citizen group, Allred understands the value of engaging the public in problem-solving and consensus-building efforts. Such an approach, which he has regularly practiced in Common Interest, won’t work magic, but it has a good chance to build badly needed public trust/Spokesman-Review Editorial Board. More here.

• Kevin Richert/Statesman provides a roundup of endorsements in governor’s race
  

Question: Do you agree/disagree with this endorsement?

After Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Honor” rally at the national mall, fans of Stewart’s Daily Show and Colbert’s Colbert Report wanted (Jon Stewart, right) and (Stephen Colbert) to put on a rally of their own. And so they will. Tomorrow, from noon to 3 pm EST, Stewart will gather his followers in Washington D.C. for a “Rally to Restore Sanity.” Enough with the rallies for the crazies, the extremists, and the screamers, Stewart said. Here’s a rally for the rest of us, those who believe their opponents are, in all likelihood, not Hitler. Who are unwilling to boil down foreign policy to a 1:1 blood-oil conversion. Who believe words like “socialist,” “communist,” or “antichrist” should be reserved for actual socialists, communists, or false prophets claiming the mantle of Christ and ushering in seven years of Armageddon. It’s a cry, not for change or for revolution, but for being decent and reasonable/Daniel Walters, Inlander. More here.

Question: What do you make of Jon Stewart’s national “Rally to Restore Sanity” today?

On his wall, Facebook Friend J.B. posts about a recent trip to a pub/grill for dinner: “I walked into the men’s room and found 3 young boys, maybe 8 yrs old or so, trying to hit the urinal from about 4 feet away. Thay were having a blast, and making a mess; it reminded me of my own boyhood.” Which prompted one of Taryn Hecker-Thompson to comment: “At my kids’ school they made a rule that boys couldn’t go to the bathroom together because they were having problems with boys playing that same game.” And another to ee-yew: “OMG, as a mother of boys in that age group! Do all men (boys) do that?”

Question: Any of you guys want to answer that last question: “Do all men (boys) do that?”

County clerks across the state are opening absentee ballots early despite state law that apparently bars doing so. On Wednesday, Deputy Secretary of State Tim Hurst told clerks they could open ballots early; clerks wanting to cut the election-day workload and to have time to flatten the folded papers before running them through optical scanners on Tuesday had asked for permission. Creased ballots pass through scanners slower and can jam the machines, said Ada County Election Supervisor Jo Spencer. Hurst advised clerks, in an e-mail, to figure how long opening ballots would take and begin opening that period of time before Tuesday/Jay Patrick, Idaho Reporter. More here.

Question: Should county clerks be allowed to open absentee ballots early?

If you want Hilarity mixed with a little horror, take the post falls exit off of I-90, take a left and go about 2 miles west on Seltice Way and although it may seem to be in the middle of nowhere, on the right hand side next to a 400 sq. foot bungalow will lie The Shanty Bar. You can tell immediately that you have arrived at the correct place due to the fact that you are now parked in a gravel lot and the billboard will have about 12 misspellings and or missing/barely hanging letters. This is North Idaho at its finest/SpokaneDiveBars.com. More here.

Question: Have you had the courage to drink at The Shanty or The Grail in Huetter? And/or: Which is the worst dive bar in the Inland Northwest?

Whitehorse, Yukon Territory to Anchorage, Alaska
Oh glorious day. Finally, a day in which Mr_Bloggy and his Travelnatrix got along and had fun viewing the amazing mountains and lakes and rivers and more mountains and more rivers and a huge glacier and more mountains and a stunning panoramic vista of more mountains, rivers, and the sun peering through wonderful snow clouds like a flashlight through a 10 year old’s bedspread. It was delightful and a bit awe-inspiring, especially the 46 mile long Kluane Lake in the Yukon Territory. Mind blowing, other-worldly scenery – it’s hard even for a wordy SOB like Mr_B to summarize in a pithy travelogueish way, but suffice it to say that North Idaho’s bests (CDA, Pend Oreille, Priest) pale in the majesty of this lake and the surrounding mountains and forests/Mr_Bloggy (More: “Journey to the North — Fait Accompli”).

• Day 1: Seattle, Wash., to Quesnal, B.C.
• Day 2: Quesnal, B.C., to Fort Nelson, B.C.
• Day 3: Fort Nelson, B.C. to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory

Question: Which country have you seen that you’d rate higher that North Idaho’s bests (CdA, Pend Oreille, & Priest)?

In a blog post this week, Jamie Lynn Morgan, center, theorizes that there’s only 2 degrees of separation in the Coeur d’Alene area, not 6. Jamie: “My first real aha moment with this is when by a chain of events I became friends with a woman who had just moved to the area from Oregon and we ended up connecting and now have a standing coffee date once every week when we can get away. It was in the planning of the first few coffee get together’s that we realized that people she had met since being in town were people I already knew. Or after meeting with one of the girlfriends she invited we realized that she used to live down the road from my husband’s family and that I knew her brother because he used to be friends with Tom’s brother. The list of these instances goes on for quite awhile. More here.

Question: Do you agree with Jamie’s theory that we’re so closely connected in North Idaho communities that we’re only two steps away from one another?

Nick Anderson/Houston Chronicle

On Rocky Castaneda’s Facebook page, Rocky identifies the Lake City players in this photo as (from left): : Colton Carlson, Robbie Quinn, Simon Gookin, Allen Carmichael (photos).

At first it looked like there was no doubt the rematch would be at Coeur d’Alene, at least until the second half when it appeared the game would have to move west across Highway 395. Then CdA junior quarterback Chad Chalich engineered a six-play, 71-yard drive in the final 94 seconds, capped when Actually, less than a minute elapsed when Connor Harris slipped two tackles after running a little drag route across the field and turned it into a 28-yard touchdown down the left sideline with 43 seconds to play. … That he did, completing 25 of 38 passes for 258 yards and three touchdowns. But after the top-ranked Vikings (8-1, 3-0) controlled the game and built a 13-0 halftime lead, the Timberwolves (6-3, 2-1) reversed things/Dave Trimmer, SR. More here.

• Meanwhile, in Post Falls, the homestanding Trojans walloped Lewiston 39-14.
• All Idaho & Washington high school football scores
  

Question: Isn’t it ridiculous that two good teams like Coeur d’Alene High and Lake City High have to play again in the first round of the playoffs, which means one will not move on to challenge southern Idaho teams?

My 85YO mother got a kick out of Pro Life last night as she was watching the Idaho gubernatorial debate. And called me to say so. Then, she asked my opinion re: the candidates, especially Butch Otter and Keith Allred. Then, she brought up Pro Life again. So, why don’t you vote for him, I asked, adding: I make a lot of protest votes. When I explained that a protest vote is one that you make for someone who has no chance to win, to send a message, she seemed delighted. I doubt that she has ever made a protest vote before. But I suspect she will Tuesday. Now, for your Wild Card …

• Update: Huckleberries Online topped 2M page-views for year a few minutes ago (6:15 PM). Thanx for your continued support …
  

Birds that were feeding on grass near the runway, swarm upwards as a U.S. Navy E-6B plane makes touch-and-go landings Friday at the Fort Smith Regional Airport in Fort Smith, Ark. (AP Photo/The Southwest Times Record, Kaia Larsen)

Although things have been quiet recently on the Save Cougar Bay battlefront, new shots were fired yesterday by the Cougar Bay Osprey Protective Association, which filed a lawsuit challenging the Idaho Department of Lands’ rejection of their application to protect the pilings and booms in Cougar Bay. Having been rejected twice by the Department, without so much as a hearing, the Osprey Association filed a “Petition for Writ of Mandate” to have the Court order that IDL accept the application and hold a hearing. A most unlikely pair of attorneys — Scott Reed and John Magnuson, who are usually on the opposite sides of land use and waterways cases — filed the case late Thursday afternoon on behalf of the Osprey Association/Terry Harris, KEA Blog. More here.

Question: Do you want the pilings to remain in Cougar Bay?

• 5:28 p.m. Danielle has questions re: a dispute she’s having with her landlord.
• 5:03 p.m. PFPD officer is told to check welfare female whose vehicle is being rammed by another vehicle. No location given.
  
• 4:58 p.m. Officer has Post Falls WalMart shoplifter named Amber in custody.
  
• 4:54 p.m. Caller reports smoke coming off roof of house on Idahline/PF. (Update: Officer report “smoke” is actually steam from a dryer vent.)
  
• 4:24 p.m. Adult Probation on Dalton reports a wanted person is in the office.
• 4:14 p.m. Caller reports a limping boxer dog east of traffic circle on Good Hope & H54.
• More below
  

North Idaho Maritime worked on Friday near The Cedars floating Restaurant to remove about 500 pilings from the Spokane River. The pilings were once used as navigational guides for moving logs on the river, but the last waterfront sawmill closed several years ago. Donations from the Coeur d’Alene Tribe,  Avista and Hagadone Corp. helped pay for the pilings removal. (SR Photo: Kathy Plonka)

• Cartoon: Spooky politics/David Horsey, Seattle P-I
  
• Halloween evening to be mild, likely dry/Mike Prager, SR
• Viks vs. T-Wolves GameTime Game of the Week/KREM
  
• Spokane’s Planned Parenthood fined by state/Kevin Graman, SR
• Ysursa predicts strong turnout Tuesday/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise
• Poll: Montanan swing to GOP, Obama approval 32%/Billings Gazette
• Osprey Association sues to protect Cougar Bay pilings/Terry Harris, KEA Blog
  
• Republican Party goes negative so Otter doesn’t have to/Betsy Russell, EOB
  
• Idaho Vandals: Long flight to Hawaii, tough opponent/Josh Wright, SR
• Coldwell Banker shutting Flathead Valley offices/Shelley Ridenour, DIL
• Labrador, GOP continue try to tie Minnick to Obama/Brad Iverson-Long, IR
  
• Montana soldier begins therapy after losing legs, arm/George Plaven, Chronicle
  
• Washington Post leaves Minnick-Labrador race off list/Dan Popkey, Statesman
• Boise State announces football series w/Michigan State/Idaho Statesman
• Orbusmax Special: King5 poll: Dead heat between Murray, Rossi here
  

A squirrel stares at a basket full of mannequin heads in a Halloween display on a porch in Cadillac, Mich. Thursday. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Cadillac News, Jeff Broddle)

Top Cutlines:

• 1. The squirrel is stumped trying to figure out if the owner of the house is a head case or a basket case — JohnA.
• 2. One head in the tree is worth three in the basket — JeanieS.
• 3. A squirrel discovers that when you put down roots, you can really get a-head — Gary D. Rhodes.
• HM: Herb
  

• Thursday Poll: 89 of 135 respondents (66%) said they plan to vote for a write-in candidate this year. 44 of 135 (33%) said they aren’t voting for a write-in candidate. 2 were undecided.
• Today’s Question: How do you plan to vote in this year’s election — absentee, at the polls, not voting?
  

Police have identified two people who were found dead inside a Post Falls home Thursday evening. Christina K. Mandriguez, 38, and Jeffrey A. Hayes, 54, each died of a single gunshot wound to the forehead in a homicide/suicide, said Post Falls Police Chief Scot Haug. The couple’s landlord found Mandriguez’s body around 5:15 p.m. and called police. Investigators found her slumped up against the front door, with a cell phone in her hand, Haug said. Hayes was found a few feet away in a hallway. A Glock handgun was between the two bodies/Chelsea Bannach, SR. More here.

I’ve seen these signs around brilliant red northern Idaho and wonder if the Republicans are so worried about their candidate losing they have to stoop to this. Or do the Democrats have a death wish? Curious, I asked a friend who is a mover and shaker with the Dems and was advised to note the sponsoring name on the poster. Hmmm. Seems the name is that of a VP of the Reagan Republicans! Whether or not his organization gave it’s blessing is something I don’t know. He certainly has the right as an individual to do as he pleases. If it’s a personal issue or a party issue, the party is tarred with it/Dogwalk Musings. More here.

Question: Have you decided whether this is a clever idea or a dirty trick yet?

At Mount Spokane, Alex Hval, son of CindyH, kicks off during a game in which he tied the school’s record for successful point-after-touchdown conversions. SR photog Jesse Tinsley was on hand to snapped this photo of last night’s game.

• 10 Halloween costume options for my kids/A Butterfly Moment
• Restoring sanity/Accidental Rabbit Trails
• A scary letter before Election Day/Arch Druid
• Meeting the Beatles again/Atmospheric Ruminations
• Mortgage down the drain?/Community Comment
• Independent thinker/Independent voter/From A Simple Mind
• Coeur d’Alene’s 2 degrees of separation/Jamie Lynn Morgan
• 3BT: Celtics start new season, sirloin steaks, restoration/Kellogg Bloggin’
• Beautiful despite the rain/Live, Love, Laugh, Hope
• Fall on Fernan, and: Rite and Right of passage/More Main Street
• Send in the clowns/Nuts & Nonsense
• Bed time play list/Rants, Raves, & Random Thoughts
• Time to roll/Skookum Photography
• Getting there … sorta/Slight Detour
• Incoming/Tumblewords

• HBO Numbers (for Tuesday): 10,520/6195, (for Wednesday): 9547/5792, & (for Thursday): 10,148/5720.
  

Question: Which high school sport(s) did you play?

On his Facebook page, FB friend Matt Weaver writes: “Dear Rain, I know what you are trying to do. i get it. you think people will like you because snow is your cousin. but you are not fooling anyone. you need to realize your place in this world, right now…..its snow’s turn. please dont make this harder than it already is. I respect you and have always enjoyed our time together. but please, you need to move on. this is gettiing childish.”

Question: Which do you prefer — rain or snow?

Huckleberries hears … that there’s a move afoot among local mainstream Republicans to give county GOP Chairman Tina Jacobson a dose of her own medicine. Jacobson, as you may recall, is presiding over a move by Phil Hart supporters to remove Matt Roetter as state committeeman because he prefers write-in candidate Howard Griffiths to the Athol legislator on moral grounds (tax evasion and timber stealing). Insiders tell Hucks Online that Jacobson and Hart participated in a workshop this spring for Friends of Liberty in which they told their audience how to run a successful political campaign. Friends of Liberty organizations include the Kootenai County Constitution Party (as well as John Birch Society, Libertarian Party of Washington, and Tea Party of both Sandpoint and Spokane). My sources say Jacobson did the same thing she is accusing Roetter of doing because (follow the dots here) she was telling possible Constitutionalists how to run a successful campaign, possibly against Republicans. And they note that incumbent Sen. John Goedde, R-CdA, is running against Constitutionalist Ray Writz in a Senate District 4 race.

Question: Is this a legitimate beef?

Kathie Lee Gifford as Lucy Ricardo, left, and Hoda Kotb as Ethel Mertz, recreate a scene from an “I Love Lucy” program during the NBC “Today” television program’s annual Halloween Show, in New York, Friday. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Question: Which “I Love Lucy” episode did you like best?

Sometime late this afternoon or evening, Huckleberries Online should hit 2 million page-views for the year, putting this blog on a pace to exceed the 2.09 million of 2009. I recall when I started Huckleberries Online (No Holds Barred) on Feb. 16, 2003, then Editor Steve Smith said he’d consider the blog a success if it reached 2000 page-views per day. Now. Hucks attracts that on a bad Sunday. This blog has evolved over the years. And continues to evolve. However, Hucks remains indebted to the readers, bloggers, commenters, & blurkers who tune in here every day to keep the numbers up — and make it a continuing success. Thanx.

A Berry Picker e-mails this to Hucks HQ re: the appearance on KVNI radio this morning by GOPrimary winner Jai Nelson and write-in candidate Rick Currie, the commission incumbent: “Jai was articulate, professional and informed. Rick came on the phone about five minutes later, totally out of breath and obviously furious. He ranted about things Jai had said pertaining to the budget etc. but was almost incoherent in his ranting. At the very end it was like he remembered he had planned remarks and rushed through those, barely remembering to tell people they had to write his name in. If anyone was learning about the candidates for the first time from the radio this morning, Jai would have won by a knockout.”

Question: Did anyone else listen in this morning to the 15-minute interviews of Jai Nelson and Rick Currie on KVNI radio? Reaction?

I just returned from the noon luncheon of the Kootenai County Democratic Club for NIC trustee candidates, where Norm Gissel asked about a hypothetical situation that was disallowed by moderator Mary Lou Reed. Who didn’t think it was relevant to the trustee races. But candidate Ron Nilson answered it anyway. In the hypothetical, Norm asked the 4 candidates what they would do about an individual who stole trees that supported children’s education. Nilson said: “No way should anyone enter public land & take timber that belongs to our kids.” Rep. Phil Hart’s name wasn’t mentioned once. But everyone knew who Norm & Ron were talking about.

All 4 candidates for the North Idaho College Board of Trustees promised to support the development of the NIC education corridor. When the question was presented to him, Ron Nilson  answered simply “yes” when asked if he supported the corridor. “I don’t have horns and a tail,” he said. “I support the education corridor. But I don’t support going forward without a plan.” When opponent Ken Howard explained that a plan has been in place for years for infrastructure and that it will continue to evolve with public input, Nilson responded that “there’s a difference between a well-defined plan and a concept.” Robert Ketchum, Nilson’s running mate, said the purchase of the education corridor is final. At this point, “no action could resist” the corridor. Incumbent Christie Wood said she’s committed to developing the corridor because NIC is landlocked and experiencing “tremendous growth.”

DFO: I attended the debate and posted this to ensure that every candidate is on the record supporting the Education Corridor. The property is too precious to the future of our community college and higher-education opportunities in the community to allow this specific question to go unanswered.

Re: Cursive writing on endangered list (on Oregon college campuses)

Kamm: My younger brother is a lefty and was traumatized by the Nuns tying to make him right handed. My Mother, all 4‘10” and usually a pleasant woman, charged down to school and less than politely informed his teacher to ‘leave him alone’. BTW Left handed writers are considered more creative. Are you in a profession that highlights your skill or are you a ‘closet creative genius’? My brother is in advertising and has been artistic all his life. When he was in high school, he illustrated his answers on a job application; he got the job.

Question: Are you lefthanded or have any lefthanders in your family. What are the obstacles to being lefthanded in a righthanded world?

You can’t see this week because I can’t either. But I do notice that something’s making a weird wave in the lake in this photo taken by Linda Lantzy/Idaho Scenic Images this week. Linda writes on her Facebook page: “Curious if anyone has had a Lake Pend Oreille monster sighting? Not that I believe in such things … but something really strange happened when I was photographing at the location below.” Linda goes on to say: “I’m not a nut.”

Question: Do any of you have a monster story — Lake Pend Oreille Monster, Bigfoot, etc.?

• 11:44 a.m. A Post Falls employer wants to see an officer re: employee embezzlement.
  
• 11:02 a.m. Wife reports that a neighbor on Wheatfield/Hayden is strangling her husband.
  
• 10:46 a.m. Caller reports that a blue Tundra was driving recklessly at 4th & Hanley before pulling into Coeur d’Alene High lot & parking near gym.
  
• 10:35 a.m. Male in a gray jacket just stole beer from convenience store/gas station @ 1501 E. Sherman/CdA.
  
• 10:31 a.m. Office in 1100 block of W. Ironwood reports unwanted person on premises.
• 10:25 a.m. CdA parents reports his 14YO son has been missing since 9 last night.
• 10:21 a.m. An unconscious person is reported in 7300 block of Courcelles/CdA Place.
• 10:19 a.m. A male facing 10 days in jail on a warrant is now in DMV office.
• 9:51 a.m. 2 males are arguing over a possible parking violation @ T.W. Hunters on Spokane/PF.
• 8:36 a.m. Richard @ SunMeadow & Coyote Trail/Worley reports items taken from garage.
  

Fort Nelson, B.C. to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory.
 
Finally some scenery and Mr_Bloggy is not referring to the smirking visage of the Travelnatrix as she once again controls the driver’s seat the entire 11 hours. No, today was serious scenery, most during the 200 click drive through the Northern Canadian Rocky Mountains, including robust mountains in varying degrees of snow cappedness, strange looking exposed tilt strata, weird rock outcroppings, stunning vistas of river valleys winding through mountains, but most incredible – critters on and alongside the highway: caribou, reindeer, mountain goats,  Dall sheep, and bison. Full travelogue post here.

• Day 1: Seattle, Wash., to Quesnal, B.C.
  
• Day 2: Quesnal, B.C., to Fort Nelson, B.C.
  

Question: Have you ever driven the Alcan highway to Alaska, as Bloggy is doing now?

The Labrador for Idaho campaign today released its closing ad in the race for the First Congressional District entitled “Family.” The ad, which will begin airing over the weekend, spotlights Raul’s family values and his determination to get to Washington and start working to restore the American dream for Idahoans/Raul Labrador campaign news release.

Reaction?

The “Anti-Depressants” prance on stage late Thursday, during the Pier House Pretenders in Paradise Costume Contest in Key West, Fla. The dancing pill bottles were the brainchild of Key Wester Lenore Tria and won first place in the Group Amateur division of the competition that was a facet of Key West’s annual 10-day Fantasy Fest costuming and masking festival that concludes Sunday, and this year is themed Habitat for Insanity. (AP Photo/Florida Keys News Bureau, Andy Newman)

Question: What’s driving you insane this Halloween season?

My OpenCDA blog buddy Dan Gookin is in trouble, if loyalty oaths and supporting party candidates 100% are important next time he tries to run as a Republican. In making predictions and observations re: select races, Gookin correctly surmises about Phil Hart: “While Hart may have an IQ of 160, politically his IQ is half that.” And then goes on to say in a post that he’s voting for three Democrats for statewide office — Eldon Wallace (lieutenant governor), Bruce Robinett (controller), and Mack Sermon (secretary of state). However, he’s standing by Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna. Not only does Gookin admire Luna, but he thinks Democrat Stan Olson is a “piece of work” and “a dick” (just repeating what he wrote). All in all, it’s a colorful read and gives insight into the inner workings of someone that Duane Rasmussen tried to out during the last City Council election as an individual who wasn’t truly a Republican. Seems Duane was right. Full post here.

Question: What do you make of Gookin’s predictions and observations?

Following the third trial in eight months, two Coeur d’Alene brothers were found guilty Thursday of racially harassing and threatening a Hispanic man in August 2009. Sentencing was set for Jan. 13 for Frank James Tankovich, 47, and William Michael Tankovich Jr., 50, who were found guilty of malicious harassment and conspiracy to commit malicious harassment against Kenneth Requena, a Puerto Rican man. “For a while there, I felt like I was on trial,” said Requena, who felt so threatened when the Tankovich brothers drove by his home on Aug. 16, 2009, that he pulled a gun and had his wife call 911. Defense attorneys said it was Requena’s actions that escalated the incident/Alison Boggs, SR. More here.

• Cutline: SR File Photo by Jesse Tinsley: William, Ira and Frank Tankovich await their verdicts in an earlier trial in a Kootenai County courtroom April 19. At far right, is defense attorney Dan Cooper.
  

Question: Do you support the decision by the Kootenai County prosecutor to try the Tankoviches three times on the hate crime?

JEERS … to the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee. Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, may be a tax scofflaw and a timber thief. But he’s their tax scofflaw and their timber thief. Woe to any Republican who says otherwise. Just to recap: Hart’s the guy who claimed income taxes were unconstitutional more than a decade ago and still owes more than a half-million dollars to the state and federal governments. He’s the same fellow who trespassed on state timber lands and took enough trees to build his home without paying - at least until recently. At least one Republican leader isn’t buying it. “I won’t support a guy who has these issues surrounding him because it’s not good for the Republican Party,” says State Committeeman Matt Roetter of Hayden. “Character matters. Being honest matters”/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. More below.

Idaho gubernatorial candidates Libertarian Ted Dunlap, left, Democrat Keith Allred, second from left, Independent Jana Kemp, third from left, Republican C.L. ” Butch” Otter, second from right, and Constitution Party candidate Marvin Richardson stand together before a debate conducted by Idaho Public Television at the Idaho Statehouse on Thursday in Boise. Story & 2 live-blog reports below. (AP Photo/Joe Jaszewski)

• Idaho Records/Sherry Adkins, SR
• Thursday Scanner Traffic/Sherry Adkins, SR
  
• Morning rain soaking Inland Northwest/Mike Prager, SR
• Couple found dead in Post Falls home/Chelsea Bannach, SR
• 2-fer: Governor’s debate: Otter, Allred spar over school funding/John Miller, AP; and: Betsy Russell’s live-blogging of debate/Eye On Boise; and: Dustin Hurst’s live-blogging of debate/Idaho Reporter
• S.F. Giants star Affeldt has Spokane roots/Dave Erickson, KXLY
  
• Hayden man gives parrot to women searching for elusive pet/Bill Buley, Press
• Father-daughter rescued after 3 nights in mountains/Brian Walker, Press
• Kootenai County housing numbers getting better/Tom Hasslinger, Press
• Command Center of Post Falls sees 34% revenue hike/Market Watch
  

Dan of the County: I do not handle or pick up or count or in any way interact with ballots when I am on the ballot myself. I will be visiting polling sites on election day to deliver other supplies and check on election day activities in general as is my responsibility. That also includes getting called out to polling sites when there are reports of someones sign being too close, etc. On election night I will be at the elections office but again will not handle ballots and will not be involved in posting results on the internet or other reports.

Question: Any other question for the clerk’s office re: ballot handling or Election Night?

Otter is a rugged individualist who throws caution to the wind when he bucks broncos yet meticulously manages your hard-earned tax dollars. He’s an entrepreneur, someone with a CEO’s background and mentality and a super salesman’s keen eye and thick skin. He’s fearless in personally recruiting businesses from neighboring states, selling them on Idaho’s lifestyle and business-friendly environment. He’s rock solid in his determination to keep Idaho’s tax structure optimal for businesses not just to survive, but to thrive. He understands that a good education is key to a good job, but he also knows the difference between spending wisely and spending lavishly/Mike Patrick, Coeur d’Alene Press. More here.

Question: Do you agree/disagree with the Coeur d’Alene Press endorsement?

In his Twitter last night, Dustin Hurst/Idaho Reporter made the statement “Weatherby says if not for social media, Vaughn Ward would be facing Walt Minnick Nov. 2.” I’ve noticed that Republican candidates, who were late getting to the party two years ago, were way more involved with the social media this time. Even Gov. Butch Otter and Superintendent Tom Luna have Twitter accounts. In the primary, primary campaign spokesman Dennis Mansfield was tweeting from my office as I interviewed Raul Labrador. The R’s have come a long ways since I explained the social media landscape in Idaho to U.S. Sen. Jim Risch.

Question: What role has the social media played in the 2010 election campaign, either statewide or locally?

Signe Wilkinson/Philadelphia Inquirer

Police confirmed that two people found dead inside a Post Falls home this evening each died of a gunshot wound to the head. An adult woman was found with a single gunshot wound in the front of her head around 5:15 p.m. She was slumped up against the front door, with a cell phone in her hand, said Post Falls Police Chief Scot Haug. The man had a similar wound, and was found in a hallway a few feet away. A Glock handgun was on the scene. There was no sign of an intruder or forced entry to the rental home at 509 E. 11th St., but police are not calling it a murder/suicide, Haug said/Chelsea Bannach, SR. More here. And: Tori Brunetti’s KXLY story here.

The KVNI Facebook page announces this afternoon that Republican commissioner candidate Jai Nelson will be interviewed by host Joe Paisley at 7 a.m. by phone Friday. That interview will be followed at 7:15 a.m. by a one involving Paisley and write-in candidate Rick Currie, the incumbent commissioner. Don’t expect any hardballs. Basically, the station has been allowing candidates for courthouse positions to tell listeners a little about themselves this week. Also, you can go to www.kvni.com to find a link that’ll let you listen live on your computer. Now, I’ll repost the Wild Card …

On her Idaho Scenic Images Facebook page, Linda Lantzy discusses this photo that she shot near Bonners Ferry Wednesday. “I was so excited to find this grove of trees,” she writes. “I’ve been looking for something like this for a long time. I am definitely going back when there’s snow on the ground … and in spring, summer and fall … ooh the possiblities!” In the comments section, she said she had to work to keep the houses out of the background. Of the “surreal” look of the photo, she said she “waited for the light to intensify enough that each tree had a nice glow.”

The loops and curls of cursive handwriting have all but vanished from college essay exam blue books. On rare occasions when college students write by hand, nearly all of them use what educators call manuscript form, which is to say, they print. Cursive writing is endangered and may near extinction in another generation, educators say. With the rise of word processing, texting and twittering, young people have fewer needs to write by hand. Cursive is on its way to becoming an artifact for calligraphers/Bill Graves, Oregonian. More here.

DFO: Bill Graves was a reporter for the Coeur d’Alene Press in the late 1970s early 1980s when SR columnist Doug Clark was managing editor.

Question: Do you have good handwriting? And/or: Do you regret that cursive is going the way of the dinosaur among college students?

• 5:48 p.m. Cows are loose on Clagstone/Athol, north of H54, in closed range.
  
• 5:15 p.m. Caller reports finding a body laying across the doorway of a home in 500 block of E. 11th/PF. Also, he said there was a smell in the house. Officers called for the coroner after determining that the individual is dead. (KXLY: 2 found dead in Post Falls home here.)
  
• 4:14 p.m. Caller reports he chased NIC vehicle burglar into bushes and told him to stay put while he got campus security. Suspect is described as “pale with a big nose.”
  
• 4:06 p.m. Student reports a male is taking things from vehicles along Rosenberry Drive (adjacent to North Idaho College).
• 4:03 p.m. 2 females are pushing a 3rd female in 1900 block of 13th/CdA.
• 3:58 p.m. Shopko has caught a shoplifter who’s being cooperative.
• More below
  

On her Facebook page, Kerri Thoreson reports that she snapped this shot at the eastern end of Fernan Lake Wednesday.

• Cartoon: California’s Senate showdown/David Horsey, Seattle P-I
• 3rd Tankovich hate crime trial results in guilty verdicts/Alison Boggs, SR
  
• Ex-Timberlake fire chief writes open letter re: recall/Herb Huseland, Bay Views
  
• Bozeman High track coach accused of sexting/Bozeman Chronicle
  
• Zags No. 12 in preseason basketball poll/Associated Press
• Higher rates OK’d as Avista announces profits/Becky Kramer, SR
• Sunset mag names Sandpoint as one of West’s best ski towns/Schweitzer Resort
  
• Debate brings out differences between 1st CD rivals/Betsy Russell, SR
  
• Glitch at Otter’s office leaves farmers lacking aid/Associated Press
• WAC close to adding to Texas schools for football/San Jose Mercury News
• Vandals football banking on linebacker Robinson/Josh Wright, SR
  
• Fairchild crew locates missing father-daughter hunters/Spokesman-Review
• ISP trooper uses counterfeit money to buy food/Associated Press
  
• 2-fer: Viks picked to beat Lake City, and: One night, two great high school contests/Greg Lee, SR
• Orbusmax Special: Most college students print as cursive starts to disappear on Oregon campuses here
  

An eight-week-old female lion cub swims through fall leaves during a swim test at the National Zoo in Washington Tuesday. The test was to make sure the four cubs will be safe around the water feature when they are put on public display. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Top Cutlines:

• 1. After seeing the messy water, keepers figure they shoud weed between the lions — JohnA.
• 2. I’m all for hakuna matata…but this time of year it’s cold in the watah! — DCR.
• 3. “if I hear one more human say ‘ah, isn’t that cute’, I will devour them, as soon as I get dry and put on a few pounds” — Gary D. Rhodes.
• HM: Cabbage Boy & Fishinjay
  

If I hadn’t checked Randy Stapilus’s Facebook page, I would have missed this story from the Bonner County Bee in which U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo ran head long into a group of birthers during a Sandpoint pit stop. From the article by Cameron Rasmusson: “Substantial conversation arose at speculation about the legitimacy of Obama’s citizenship and consequently, his presidency. Several attendees were eager to weigh in on the issue, one noting that if Obama’s presidency was invalid, all of his appointees would be deposed as well, resulting in a political coup. He then asked whether Crapo would support Obama’s impeachment if sufficient investigation occurred. Crapo replied that it was the House’s responsibility to impeach the president, while the Senate held the trial, and he would need more information before making a public statement. “I would need to see more background on the issue,” he said. More here.

Question: Seriously?

News of the tax commission’s actions tripled business at the Normal Hill stand, Kami Charais said. The Charais’ took in about $603 from sales of the Halloween staple, compared with the $200 family members were seeking to pay for Jacob and Sami-Lou’s wrestling and dance programs. The family also got a temporary seller’s permit from Nez Perce County and another permit from the state. When all is said and done, the couple plans on turning about $36 over to the tax commission. “It was never my intention to tax-evade, and I guess ignorance of the law is no excuse to evade the law,” Kami Charais said/Elaine Thompson, Lewiston Tribune. More here. (Lewiston Tribune/AP photo: Kyle Mills)

Question: Is this one of those times when a bureaucrat is pennywise & pound foolish — in other words, they’re following the letter of the law but eschewing common sense?

McGruber: Does anyone else think that those who don’t live in Phil Hart’s district who object to his serving another term but can’t vote on that district’s ballot might do the next best thing and vote the write-in against Hart’s girlfriend in the commissioner race?

Question (for non-House District 3 voters who oppose Phil Hart): Has the scenario mentioned by McGruber above crossed your mind — voting against Jai Nelson because you can’t vote against Hart?

Huckleberries Online and a number of other local media just received a news release from Larry Spencer, challenging the way Bonner County certifies absentee ballot signatures. In bold letters to launch the release, Spencer writes: “County Clerk (Marie Scott) has ‘certified’ absentee ballot signatures using staff, not election judges in violation of Idaho Statute. Election poll challenger (Larry Spencer) arrives on designated day to find that certification of signatures has already been completed, and he is not allowed to compare the ballot envelope signatures to those on file.” You can read the entire release here. At least, now we know where Spencer has been hiding out.

Question: What do you make of the Spencer’s complaint in the news release — that Bonner County isn’t using proper procedure to certify absentee ballot signatures?

It’s Thursday morning. That means it is time once again for Lunches and Punches, the weekly video series in which (Bloglander, the Inlander blog) takes an otherwise perfectly palatable local lunch and do something just really unappetizing to it. More here.

Question: I’ve guess I’ve been told so many times to clean my plate because there’s thousands of children starving elsewhere. Am I the only one that is ambivalent re: the Inlander doing this to food? You can answer that or guess the ingredients in the lunch destroyed above.

Walt Minnick was listing off reasons why he contends rival Raul Labrador is “so far out of the mainstream,” from his positions on withdrawing from the United Nations to his support for repealing popular election of U.S. senators, and concluded, “He would deny his own daughter … the right to terminate a pregnancy if it were caused by rape or incest.” Labrador hit back, “I’m so far out of the mainstream that I was re-elected with 70 percent of the vote in my legislative district. I’m so far out of the mainstream that even the Idaho Statesman says that this is a dead heat, even though he’s spending $2 million to assassinate my character and I’m only spending $500,000. … The people of Idaho like my views/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. (AP/Statesman Oct. 14 File Photo: Katherine Jones)

• City Club debate: Opening comments
• Candidates clash over ‘appalling’ ads
  
• Labrador: ‘He accused me of a crime’
• Candidates spar over range of issues
• Mega-loads, wilderness raised at debate
• City Club 1st CD debate: Closing comments
• Labrador, agent defend handling of Lopez case
  

Question: Can you describe what is mainstream in Idaho?

Quesnal, British Columbia to Fort Nelson, British Columbia

Today was rough. The Travelnatrix was horrid – bitchy, mean, and completely immune to logic and sense.  How bad was she? Well, she insisted on driving the entire 12ish hours from Quesnal to Fort Nelson, and when Mr_Bloggy volunteered, multiple times, during night driving to have her pull over on the side of the road so he could wash off the inches of brown grime accumulated from a highway coated with gravel, snow melting chemicals of unknown origin, and what appeared to be nasty dirt, she refused and insisted she could see just fine, despite the headlight projection approximating that of a weak, cheap, 2 D battery craplight purchased for $.99 at the Dollar Store.  Finally, during a fogbank of pea soupish proportions outside of Fort Nelson, at night, she pulled over with hazard lights a-blinking to let Mr_B quickly remedy the situation/Mr_Bloggy. More here.

• Bloggy Goes North to Alaska, Day 1
  

OrangeTV/Get Out! North Idaho is at it again. Yesterday, the Orange one provided us with the “Tina Lisa,” a knock off on DaVinci’s Mona Lisa that had one commenter comparing county GOP queenpin Tina Jacobson to the dark-haired Heart sister. Today, OTV provides us with “Christie’s Cupcake Cafe,” based on the PC video game “Jessica’s Cupcake Cafe.”

We’ve already started discussing Walt Minnick’s latest TV ad attack on attorney Raul Labrador’s immigration advocacy. Sisyphus comments: “Minnick has a ‘Willie Horton’ ad to which Labrador will respond at today’s City Club meeting here in Boise. I’ll be there.” What do you think of the ad?

• Noonish: Male wants to see an officer re: getting threatened at 7-11.
• Noonish: Officer is stopping to roust a panhandler from Government Way & Canfield.
  
• 11:51 a.m. A large slash pile is burning on Upriver Road, 1.5 miles from H95.
• 11:27 a.m. Corrie has questions re: getting a pet dog neutered.
  
• 10:45 a.m. A male has been sitting in a vehicle all night @ Riverview & Schilling/PF.
• 10:29 a.m. Female follows a loose dog wearing a bandana to a home on Majestic & Soldier Creek/Rathdrum. But no one was home.
• 10:22 a.m. Multiple callers report a tire & rim on the e/b median side of I-90 @ the Huetter rest stop and debris on the opposite side.
  
• 10:16 a.m. Driver reports a large object wrapped in plastic in I-90 median @ Huetter.
  
• 10:05 a.m. Search & rescuers have found the missing hunters — a father and a daughter from Post Falls — who were lost in the St. Joe area. SR story here.
• 9:59 a.m. A suspicious male is reported in 500 block of Lakeside/CdA.
• 9:33 a.m. Fire station personnel on H54/Athol is treating a walk-in w/a medical problem.
• 8:59 a.m. A possible illegal burn is reported @ Hayden Lake Road & Dodd.
• 8:56 a.m. Resident @ Brunell & Sunnyside reports that a male is screaming outside.
• 8:31 a.m. A 2005 orange Dodge Nova has been abandoned on I-90 & 4th of July Pass.
• 8:21 a.m. Officer reports his first encounter w/local female who’s known to be troublesome.
  

• Wednesday Poll: Demo David Larsen (90 of 159, 56.6%) is the pick over Rep. Bob Nonini (55 of 159, 34.6%) in the House District 5A race. 13 respondents won’t vote for either man.
• NPR Poll: 74 of 144 (51.39%) don’t support federal funding for public radio. 70 of 144 (48.61%) do.
• World Series Poll: 54 of 105 (51.43%) want to see the S.F. Giants win the World Series. 51 of 105 (48.57%) prefer to see the Texas Rangers win the series.
• Today’s Poll: Are you going to write-in a candidate’s name in the 2010 general election?
  

On KEA Blog, Terry Harris cutlines: “Candidates Jai Nelson and Dan Green at the comp plan hearing, perhaps discussing how they would un-screw it up. Nelson, of course, is running against write-in candidate Rick Currie, the incumbent commissioner. Green won is GOPrimary and is unopposed in the general election You can read Terry’s views on the latest comprehensive plan meeting by the current county commission here. (Photo by KEA BlackberryCam)

Last Thursday former U.S. Representative Bill Sali, long an ally of Hart’s, sent a letter (disclosed, again, via Russell) on the subject to fellow Republicans. His counsel, after saying in essence that Hart was wrongly accused (though none of the reported facts are in dispute): “Why has Phil gotten so much media attention? In the legislature Phil has been an effective voice for freedom, less government and lower taxes. Apparently Betsy Russell can’t stand that and she wants to silence his voice.” How many more politicians snagged in trouble are going to use this kind of dodge – it’s all the freedom-hating media’s fault – and get away with it? We may get some answers to that, in Idaho and far beyond, next week/Randy Stapilus, Ridenbaugh Press. More here.

• Why Democrats will lose big in Idaho/Adam’s Blog
• How about trick-or-treatin’ w/governor, 1st Lady?/Dennis Mansfield
• It came out of the swamp/Fort Boise
• Melaleuca and copyright/43rd State Blues
• Second acts: Dick Morris surfaces in Idaho/The Johnson Report
  

Question: Do you really think the media hate freedom?

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Keith Allred is doing better in Republican-dominated eastern Idaho than one would expect. Polls show his support is strongest there. Allred also has picked up endorsements from prominent centrist Republicans, many of whom work in that region of the state. What could possibly explain it? It might be that Allred’s opponent, Republican Gov. C. L. (Butch) Otter, traditionally has had problems in eastern Idaho. Or it just could be that Allred has struck a nerve with his centrist, problem-solving philosophy. No, says eastern Idaho businessman Frank VanderSloot. It’s because Allred is playing the religion card. Allred is a Mormon and he’s encouraging other Mormons to back him for that reason, says VanderSloot, CEO of Melaleuca Inc./Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

• Luna’s work as school chief merits re-election/Spokesman-Review
  
• Robinett has training for state controller/Idaho Statesman
• Where other papers stand on 1st CD race/Kevin Richert, Statesman
• Best way to handle panhandlers in Boise/Idaho Press Tribune
• What it means to be a fan/University of Idaho Argonaut
  

Question: Do you take note of a candidate’s religion during his/her political campaign?

Arlington Elementary School fourth-grader Tia Moua, 9, leads the Spokane Symphony through a rendition of the “Washington Post March,” written by John Philip Sousa in 1889. Spokane Public Schools’ fourth-graders gathered at The Fox for a pair of shows on Wednesday for the symphony’s free concert. Resident Conductor Morihiko Nakahara, center, noted to the crowd of students that Tia had even brought her own conductor’s baton for the occasion. One more session is planned for today. (SR Photo: Dan Pelle)

• Idaho Records/Sherry Adkins, SR
• Wednesday Scanner Traffic/DFO, Huckleberries Online
  
• Clouds may bring light rain later today/Mike Prager, SR
• Fairchild helicopter to join search for NIdaho hunters/KREM
  
• Defendant has tattoos linked to Aryan beliefs/Alison Boggs, SR
  
• New voter ID law creates confusion/Mike Butts & Sharon Strauss, Idaho PT
• Gridlock on wolves alienates key allies/Becky Kramer, SR
• Gonzaga women basketballers picked to win 3rd straight WCC title/SR
  
• Prognosticator sez 1st CD race now leans Labrador/Dan Popkey, Statesman
• Fresno State, Nevada to stay in WAC until 2012/Brian Murphy, Statesman
• Idaho coaches dislike volleyball tourney format/Greg Lee, SR
• Timberlake Fire recall vote is Tuesday/Brian Walker, CdA Press
  
• Minnick campaign sez Labrador dishonored vets/Betsy Russell, SR
  
• NRA gives Phil Hart A+/Phil Hart press release
  

Item: Write can go wrong election night: Ballot counting expected to spill into early hours of Wednesday morning/Mike Patrick, Coeur d’Alene Press

More Info: “I hate to say but we are really in uncharted territory,” County Clerk Dan English said Wednesday. “I know it [counting ballots] will be very lengthy and I expect into the early hours on Wednesday because the counting machines will stop each time there is a write-in ballot. That ballot will be removed to a write-in board of two people who will verify if it is a valid write-in.”

Question: Do you plan to vote for a write-in this year?

Item: List of write-in names not OK: Residents: County elections workers not following rules/Alecia Warren, Coeur d’Alene Press

More Info: County Clerk Dan English verified early Wednesday afternoon that polling stations have been offering a single list of write-in candidates for voters to peruse briefly, only if they requested it first and then returned it before voting.

Question: Should voters be allowed to see a list of official write-in names at the polls if they request one?

On his Twitter account moments ago, Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, provided a link to 5 YouTube videos that “tells his side of the story and clarifies misleading articles in the press.” The video below is the first of that series. You can see the rest of the series here.

Reaction?

Re: Betsy Russell to blame not Hart/Huckleberries Online

Sisyphus: He doesn’t even bother to use “liberal” before “media”. It’s becoming redundant for him. … I find it amusing. Shorter Bill Sali: “Hart has successfully hidden his overdue tax obligation and timber thievery for years, its only a liberal media conspiracy that it come out on the eve of his uncontested election”. Give it up Betsy. There’s no hope for you. Your best bet is to freak out over a burka wearing taxi driver and score a fat $2 million contract at Fox.

• Change the subject/Randy Stapilus, Ridenbaugh Press
  

Question: Are Phil Hart’s problems part of a “liberal media conspiracy”?

Poolman: I really like the players on Texas — Vlad — Elvis, Josh (classic reborn Jesus freak teetering on the edge of a relapse) the coach who looks like he just stumbled out of the Gospel Mission. But, I just can’t get past the Bush element. You know when the series goes back to Texas we are going to get close ups of W between every other pitch. I would much rather watch a disappointed W than a smirky W. I’ll stick the West Coast dogs and the kid with the bangin’ hair.

Question: Poolman basis his support for the Giants on his dislike for Texas Ranger fan George W. Bush. How do you determine who you root for in this World Series?

Aerodynamic: And as I write this DFO, Nelson once again has blown off a forum - this time at the CDA Tribe in Plummer. Of course, she invites folks to call her and speak with her one-on-one, where she can spin as the mood strikes her. Nelson will NOT face th voters in a public forum.. So who’s advising her? Hart of Spencer? What a cast of characters this year!

DFO: According to a source, Nelson has been a no-show at the following debates or candidate forums this fall: Arrow Point — about 20 people, Medimont — 6 people, Mica Grange — cancelled due to her non-participation, and now the tribe. The League of Women Voters, of course, didn’t include the commissioner race because they don’t cover ones that have write-in candidates.

Question: Are there any forums that Nelson has attended?

Joe Heller/Hellertoons

On a television show years ago, I saw where one of the actors was in a friends bathroom. That actor looked thru the medicine cabinet !!! Have you ever done that? I haven’t. Never even thought of it, before the show. Makes me shudder to even think of it now, and EVEN MORE, the thought that someone would do that in my bathroom. I have a boring cabinet, but still. What is in your bathroom cabinet? Have you ever looked in someone else’s … and if you do, would you be ok with someone looking in yours?/Cis, From A Simple Mind. More here.

Question: What is in your bathroom cabinet? Have you ever looked in someone else’s?

A fan wears a hat before the start of baseball’s World Series between the San Francisco Giants and the Texas Rangers this evening in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Question: Who do you want to win the World Series — San Francisco or Texas?

As some of you know, Mr_Bloggy has taken a road trip w/his travelmatrix north to Alaska. As part of that road trip, he’s sorta retracing Sarah Palin’s steps back to the frozen tundra — and filing daily travel reports about it. I’ll post the first of the Bloggy Travelogue later this morning. Also, OrangeTV has morphed current leadership in the local Republican Party with Da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” to produce a work of art that he calls “Tina Lisa” here. It appears that a fun day looms for Hucks Online today. So I’ll play the Wild Card and get out of your way …

The stand, which she said is not actually roadside but rather only around the front of the family’s home, had mediocre success until a reporter from from a local television station, KLEW,  stopped by to set up a time later in the week to profile the stand for a human interest piece.  Charais said the family contacted the supplier of the pumpkins, a family friend, to ask for a few more gourds to provide a better image for the cameras.  The story, which can be seen here, showed up on KLEW’s website Oct 19. A week later an unnamed staffer from the Idaho State Tax Commission stopped by the house. Charais said she asked the staffer, who didn’t identify herself in initial contact, if she had seen the news story and if she wanted to buy a pumpkin.  The mother said the staffer replied, “‘Do you know you’re running an illegal operation here?’”/Dustin Hurst, Idaho Reporter. More here.

• Cutline: Jacob Charais, 6, and his little sister Sami-Lou, 4, sit in front of their pumpkin stand at their home in Lewiston on Friday. (Lewiston Tribune/AP Photo: Kyle Mills)
  

Reaction?

“Just got an early Christmas gift, Facebooks CindyH. “A fresh box of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Christmas Magic books. This is the 7th collection my work has appeared in but the thrill of opening the box of newly minted books is just as exciting as it was the first time.”

• CdA, Capital tied in 5A prep football poll/Idaho Statesman
• Ad Watch: Minnick hits Labrador on vets plate bill/Betsy Russell, EOB
• Crimestoppers offers reward in 3 CdA graffiti cases/Coeur d’Alene Today
• Spokane County deputy identified in Sunday shooting/Meghann Cuniff, SR
• 2-fer: Bonner County 2010 election section online/Bonner County Bee, and: video clips from candidates’ forum/Sandpoint Online
  
• Ward, Simpson, Tea Party donate to Labrador/Brad Iverson-Long, IR
• Luna supporter has ties to program she lauded/Associated Press
• State tax revenues beat forecasts in Idaho again/Associated Press
• Real Clear Politics moves Idaho’s 1stCD race to ‘toss-up’/Dan Popkey, IS
• Twin Falls welcomes 1000 jobs to town/Scott Evans, KTVB
• Small Idaho town of Carey mourns student’s death/Ty Brennan, KTVB
• Traffic light working at CdA’s 5th & Sherman/Coeur d’Alene Today

Kittens sit in a bucket before meeting the Duchess of Cornwall, during a visit to the Battersea Dog and Cat’s Home in London (a refuge for lost and abandoned cats) earlier today. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Chris Jackson, pool)

Top Cutline:

• 1. It’s a little known fact that the cat population in Britain is kept under control due to the Duchess of Cornwall’s insatiable appetite for 3 Kitten Soup — Cindy.
• 2. In a nod to voters, each of the kittens tries to prove it is the cutest of them all. The kitten in the front wins after it produces a loyalty oath to cuteness — Dustin Hurst.
• 3. After four-and-twenty Blackbirds were collected, a new pie treat was served to the queen — Gary D. Rhodes.
• HM: Arch Druid
  

• 5:57 p.m. Timothy, on W. Hayden, has contained a stray dog in his garage.
• 5:56 p.m. Women’s Center reports possible abuse of child on 6th/CdA.
• 5:40 p.m. A disorderly male is reported in front of Albertson’s on Ironwood/CdA.
  
• 5:39 p.m. Dan has questions re: getting rid of ex-wife’s belongings.
  
• 5:22 p.m. A driver is unhurt but trapped in his vehicle following a one-vehicle rollover @ Ramsey & Golf Course Road/CdA.
  
• 4:52 p.m. Child abuse hotline fields call of possible abuse of father toward 10YO daughter in Athol.
• 4:24 p.m. Caller reports a suspicious male in area of Honeysuckle & 9th/CdA.
• 3:11 p.m. An illegal burn is reported in Corbin Park, off Corbin Road/PF.
• 3:10 p.m. A PFPD officer is stopping to check on a drunk male @ Spokane & Railroad.
• More below
  

• Tuesday Poll: Democrat Paula Marano easily beat Republican Kathy Sims in the straw poll here for Hucks Nation’s choice in the House District 4B race. Marano pulled 100 of 166 (60%) votes to best Sims, who had 61 of 166 (37%) votes. 5 of 166 (3%) said they wouldn’t vote for either. Interestingly in the House District 4A poll Monday, Hucks Nation chose Republican Marge Chadderdon over Democrat Mike Bullard.
• Today’s Poll: Who will get your vote in the House District 5B contest: Democrat Dave Larsen or Republican incumbent Bob Nonini?
  

Most Republicans and a plurality of independents want the U.S. government to halt its financial contributions to embattled National Public Radio, while most Democrats support continued U.S. funding for NPR. NPR’s controversial firing last week of news analyst Juan Williams re-ignited a long-time debate over whether U.S. government funds should be channeled to the non-profit radio service. A single-digit percentage of NPR funding comes from the U.S. government/Poll Position. More here.

Question: Do you support continued U.S. funding of NPR?

House Speaker Lawerence Denney will wait until after Tuesday’s election to announce whether he’ll allow state Rep. Phil Hart to remain on a key tax policy committee. A House ethics committee recommended Hart, a Republican from Athol, be removed from House Revenue and Taxation Committee while he wages a constitutional battle with the IRS and the Idaho State Tax Commission over hundreds of thousands in income taxes. Denney says he spoke with Hart a week ago, but that an announcement on Hart’s membership on the legislative tax panel would be premature — until the election is past/Associated Press. More here.

Question: Anyone here think Denney will boot Hart from Rev & Tax committee, if Hart scores a solid win over write-in Howard Griffiths next Tuesday?

A grizzly bear walks across a road near Mammoth, Wyo., in Yellowstone Park. Grizzly bear numbers in the three-state region in and around Yellowstone National Park have hit their highest level in decades. At least 603 grizzlies now roam the Yellowstone area of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. Story here. (AP File Photo/The Billings Gazette, David Grubs, File)

• Cartoon: Election ads are evil pond scum/David Horsey, Seattle P-I
  
• 7 Rangers, 1 S.F. Giant, Bochy are ex-Spokane Indians/Spokesman-Review
• Sculptor threatens to sue Kalispell for payment of bronze grizzlies/DIL
  
• Helena activists form new group after ouster of prez/Matt Gouras, AP
  
• Driver’s education student killed in Blaine County crash/KTVB
  
• Search begins for missing hunters in St. Joe area/Spokesman-Review
• Idaho to cut $8 million in Medicaid services/Associated Press
• Tankovich hate-crime trial to begin in CdA/Meghann Cuniff, Sirens & Gavels
• Poll: Idahoans weigh in on roads, religion, and big loads/Idaho Statesman
• Deported mom reunited w/4 injured children in Boise/Ty Brennan, KTVB
• Pilot of doomed plane fought to keep it aloft/King5 & AP
• U.S. Fish & Wildlife will manage Idaho wolves/Associated Press
• Thieves trot off w/hair from horses’ manes, tails/Amanda Ricker, Chronicle
  
• Orbusmax Special: ‘Moss Man’ calls Oregon arrest a Halloween mix-up here
  

Seldom do I ever feel more proud to be an American than when I hand my ballot over to the women working at the Nez Perce County fair building on election day, tell them my name and one of them says, “Jeanne DePaul has voted.” Seriously. I’m getting a little choked up just writing that. Oh, I have my moments singing along with the National Anthem at a Lewis-Clark State College volleyball game or listening to a speech at the annual Veterans’ Day ceremonies around town. But you don’t have to be American to do those things. To vote, you have to be an American. I am glad Idaho isn’t moving the direction my home state, Washington, is in getting rid of polling places/Jeanne DePaul, Virtual Deadlines, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

Question: How do you vote — by mail or at the polls?

In his 103 years on this earth, Ace Walden created a template for community involvement and making a genuine difference in peoples’ lives. We only came to be acquainted in his 99th year but my life is surely richer for having known him. In 2007, as a centenarian, Ace was honored as Grand Marshal of his hometown’s Fourth of July parade and I was honored to drive him along the route, with our friend, Ruth Pratt riding shotgun. I got a little choked up seeing the absolute joy and delight on his face in my rearview mirror as Ace greeted old friends along the way. In front of us were the uniformed honor guard from the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department. The tree-lined street was filled with families and flag waving. It was about as good a moment anyone could have, a Norman Rockwell vignette in real life/Kerri Thoreson, Main Street. More here.

Question: Any further thoughts about Ace?

Last Thursday, former congressman Bill Sali wrote a “Dear Friend” letter defending Rep. Phil Hart from “biased accounts of the media.” In the single-page letter (which you can read here),  Hart met with Hart to hear the legislator’s side of the story and came away convinced that the media haven’t been “fair to Phil.” Quoth: Why has Phil gotten so much media attention? In the legislature Phil has been an effective voice for freedom, less government and lower taxes. Apparently Betsy Russell can’t stand that and she wants to silence his voice. She wins if you decide not to support Phil.”

DFO: For the record, Sali is playing fast and loose with the truth here. Betsy Russell did point out that Hart wrote a book and that he won various votes in the House Ethics Committee. On the other hand, I wonder why Sali didn’t remind you that the Ethics Committee unanimously, with 4 Republicans chiming in, recommended that Hart be stripped of his position on the House Rev & Tax Committee. Which would lead any fair-minded person to deduct that Hart wasn’t totally exonerated by the Republican majority on the Ethics Committee.

Question: Are you surprised that Bill Sali would attack messenger Betsy Russell for the well-documented tax problems and five-finger timber discount of Phil Hart?

On her Facebook page last night, CindyH “3 phone calls in 30 minutes: 1. Alex: Who is picking me up? I’ve been done with practice for TEN minutes! 2.Ethan: Hey! Do think I can stop by after work. And maybe borrow $10 for gas? I don’t think I’ll have enough to get home. 3. Sam: Mom! Where are you? When are you coming home? It’s 5:30 and I’m HUNGRY. My voicemail message? “The mother you have reached is disconnected and no longer in service.”

Question: When did you last feel like turning off your phone or posting a message that “the person you have reached … is no longer in service”?

After reading about the squabbles among warring Kootenai County Republicans, OrangeTV/Get Out! North Idaho offers this little parody that he entitles the “Tina Lisa,” for your viewing pleasure.

• Noon: Therapist at Ironwood Drive office reports a female client is making threats to kill herself by taking pills or jumping off overpass.
• 11:38 a.m. A male fixing a flat tire on a dark-blue car is creating hazard @ I-90 & H41.
• 11:37 a.m. A resident of Reed & Lacey/Hayden has caught a loose pitbull.
  
• 11:33 a.m. A vehicle is on fire on H54 between H95 & 5th in Athol.
• 11:25 a.m. Terry reports that appliances were taken from a foreclosed house.
  
• 11:18 a.m. Wyoming Avenue/Hayden resident is suspicious re: a female w/a clipboard who asked about a vacant house in the neighborhood as she walked by.
• 10:45 a.m. A Honda Civic registered to a 5th Street/CdA resident is weaving on w/b I-90 @ M/P 17 (near Sherman Avenue exit).
• 10:01 a.m. A dog is running loose in Shopko/CdA parking lot.
• 9:57 a.m. Tracy has questions for an officer re: transfer of vehicle title.
• 9:46 a.m. A male is unconscious @ Colin & Lorraine Drive/Athol.
• 8:58 a.m. Caller reports a 6-7YO boy w/o shoes or socks & wearing pajama bottoms is n/b on Atlas walking toward Prairie/CdA.
• 8:56 a.m. Caller reports small children are screaming outside a home near Hayden Kindercenter.
• 8:53 a.m. Project CDA administrators are trying to separate 2 teen boys who are hitting each other near school office.
• 8:48 a.m. Benewah County wants F&G to handle an injured elk on H95 @ M/P 416 (Elder Road).
• 8:37 a.m. DMV reports that a person wanted on a felony warrant is on the premises.
• 8:15 a.m. Wanda wonders what to do w/a wild cat that has been injured & sick for 2 weeks.
  

At OpenCDA today, Mary Souza walks us through her conundrum re: Rep. Phil Hart, concluding that state committeeman Matt Roetter is obligated to support Hart although he considers Hart to be a tax cheat and timber thief. And that she wouldn’t vote for Hart this time if she lived in his district. Mary said she’s been too caught up in other things to speak her mind on the Hart issue. But she saw the light last night while sitting next to Hart at the meeting of Kootenai County Republicans: “But last night cleared the clutter of all the innuendo and defenses, for me anyway.” After dismissing much of Hart’s indiscretions as old news or “being within the specific wording of the law,” Mary says she wouldn’t say a word publicly against Hart, if she held the office of state committeeman “because it would be my JOB to, at the minimum, do no harm to the candidate chosen by the primary voters of my district.” Yet, she foamed for almost a year on much smaller allegations against County Clerk Dan Englilsh that failed to pass legal muster in Judge Charles Hosack’s courtroom. Amazing how partisan filters blind the wearers.

Question: Why can’t the partisan Republicans see their hypocrisy in giving a free pass to Phil Hart while attacking Democrats for the smallest of things?

1st Leg: Seattle, Washington, to Quesnal, British Columbia

Mr_Bloggy and his Travelnatrix, who will remain unnamed, made it as far as Quesnel, BC on Tuesday, not quite to Prince George but the darkness had descended - in, on, and around the car, and the Quesnel Travelodge was as far as today would permit. 500 + miles and nearly 12 hours, including a remarkable border crossing, in which the vehicle was searched and many stern faces and curt questions were asked of Mr_Bloggy and his Travelnatrix. As a side note, if you take the Sumas crossing, be prepared for a few miles of Washington dairy farms of exceedingly dense and obscene odors on the way to the crossing. In case you’ve forgotten already, and who hasn’t, Mr_B is co-piloting a car journey up the treacherous and pregnant with doom Alcan Highway to Anchorage, Alaska to be a helpful cuss to his Travelnatrix friend and dictator. He is also trying to find out along the way,  from the common  folks, if Sarah Palin has ever visited and if they think she represents the wild and independent spirit of the Folks of the North©.  See the end of this report for today’s answers. Much more here.

DFO: Mr_Bloggy and a friend are traveling the Alcan Highway to Anchorage, Alaska, in her Subaru Outback. He’ll be providing daily dispatches from the trek.

Boise State’s George Iloka (8) attempts to recover an onside kick by Louisiana Tech during the second half of an NCAA college football game Tuesday in Boise. Boise State won 49-20. Idaho Statesman story here. (AP Photo/Matt Cilley)

• Idaho Records/Sherry Adkins, SR
• Tuesday Scanner Traffic/DFO, Huckleberries Online
  
• Some sun possible today, rain returns Thursday/Mike Prager, SR
• Vestal: Dad force Spokane Catholic Church to address abuse issue/SR
• Paraglider saved by 2 Boundary County hikers/Tori Brunetti, KXLY
  
• Opinion: Ace Walden: A hole in 1(03)/Mike Patrick, CdA Press
  
• Poll: Idaho electorate unsettled week before election/Betsy Russell, EOB
• Fernan Road construction finished, ‘110 percent better’/Alecia Warren, Press
• Courthouse candidates reveal finances/Alecia Warren & Brian Walker, CdA Press
• Auditor’s snafu delays payment of $1.4M in tax relief/Alecia Warren, CdA Press

Question: Boise State fans are lamenting that their beloved Broncos didn’t beat Louisiana Tech as handily as other opponents. What do you think?

On her Facebook page, Christy Woolum (Gathering Around the Table) writes: “I introduced Edgar Allen Poe to my 8th graders this week with the reading of “The Tell Tale Heart”. These students have grown up with Freddy Krueger, It, Scream, Chuckie, and many more scary characters… but Poe was a bit creepier. He is still the classic horror king.”

Question: Who fits the title “classic horror king” better — Poe, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, or someone else?

In his editorial today, Marty Trillhaase of the Lewiston Tribune defends the tax revenuer who created a nationwide stir by insisting that a couple of kids selling pumpkins to raise money for sports. Marty opines: “Gilmore’s getting a bad rap on this story. She didn’t shut down the business. Never even hinted at it. The children weren’t at home when she stopped by. Nor was she being selective. People who engage in farmers markets, roadside produce stands and flea markets are obligated to get a license and collect sales tax.” Then, Marty goes on to say it’s strange that Idaho cracks down on kids when it looks the other way on bigger tax cheats: multi-state corporations, special interests, Internet & catalogue sales, tax scofflaws, and, of course, our own Phil Hart: “The Republican representative from Athol has made a mockery of state and federal tax laws.” More here.

Question: In other parts of the state, Rep. Phil Hart’s name has become synonymous with tax cheat/timber thief. Why are local Republicans so tone deaf to such an outcry?

Juan Williams, pictured, told a television audience that when he saw Muslims boarding a plane it caused him concern. Something Juan Williams now understands he never should have admitted. The group-thinkers at NPR could not allow it to stand unchallenged. Being a leading purveyor of political correctness, they know the world has more to fear from a lumberjack, miner or roughneck than radical Muslims. So they canned him. The people at NPR are shell-shocked at the reaction. The firing of Juan Williams has caused irreparable damage to the reputation and credibility of NPR. The fact they did not expect the backlash is just another example of the arrogance/Dan Hammes, St. Maries Gazette-Record. More here.

Question: What do you make of the Juan Williams’ firing by NPR?

• Originally posted at 10:08 p.m. Tuesday
  

On a narrow vote, county Republican chairwoman Tina Jacobson and other fans of Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, held off trying to oust state committeeman Matt Roetter until after the general election Tuesday. Also, the Republicans appointed a committee to watch future comments by executive committee members and elected precinct leaders in the media. In a well-orchestrated meeting, a motion was made and passed 35-30 to delay the vote on Roetter until the next Central Committee meeting in November at the earliest. As a result of the vote, the packed crowd at Republicans headquarters was denied the chance to discuss the attempt to oust Roetter because he refuses to support Hart, whom he considers a tax dodger and timber thief. In a related move, the Central Committee voted that elected executive members and precinct leaders must support all primary winners, without exception. More below.

Question: What do you think of the gambit used by local GOP leaders to avoid a showdown over the Matt Roetter-Phil Hart question before the election?

Havre Public Schools nurse Jana Nordboe demonstrates how much sugar is in a 12-ounce can of Mountain Dew in Havre, Mont. (AP Photo/ Havre Daily News, Nikki Carlson)

Question: Do you drink much pop? Does this demonstration give you second thoughts re: your habit?

JimmyMac: Hate ‘em. They scare the batcrap outta me. Omly thing worse-midget clowns. I had a quartet of older gentlemen show up at my wife’s old office with roses to serenade her one Valentine’s Day. She was utterly embarrassed to no end and swore revenge. On my birthday a year later the weirdest, wickedest singing clown showed up at my office. Freaked me out. Thank goodness she couldn’t find a midget clown.

Question: What scares the batcrap out of you?

Phaedrus: I’m at a loss to figure out why the voc-tech crowd wants to replace Christie Wood. Herb, it’s personal. Robert Ketchum was let go by NIC, the Trustees approved of that action. Ron Nilson’s vo-tech gravy train was disrupted and Ron Nilson belongs to the “My way or the Highway” school of thinking, he is unwilling (perhaps incapable) of seeing another point of view. So he recruits (sponsors?) Ketchum to run. And despite leading the governing board of KTEC he also wants to have input into the governing board of NIC. If Nilson wins, I hear that NIC’s new colors will be yellow and black and the Cardinal logo will be replaced by a bulldozer.

Question: Do you think North Idaho College has a good balance between academic classes and vo-tech/pro-tech ones?

Herb: It is not difficult for me as a modrately conservative voter, to laugh at some of my own party’s efforts at trying to convince the middle that they are not Republicans. It is clear, as it was when I resided in Orange County, California in the sixties, that extremism always stalks the edges of the Republican Party. In Orange County, it was the John Birch Society. Here, God only knows, but some of the same absolute garbage that was puked out in the sixties is still around, and around in both parties. … I have always enjoyed the reparte of politics in the past, but currently and from both extremes, a meannest has surfaced. Instead of debating issues, we debate character. Instead of issue orientated discussion, we have a preface of personal putdowns.

Question: Is Kootenai County becoming as conservative as the old Orange County, California?

Signe Wilkinson/Philadelphia Inquirer

I just noticed something interesting on the GOP/Phil Hart Central Committee agenda for tonight. After the Elephants deal with state committeeman Matt Roetter — whether thumbs up or thumbs down — they had another item on the agenda that sez simply: “Damaging the Republican party in the press.” Now I know that Chairwoman Tina Jacobson, pictured, isn’t fond of what has been going on here at Huckleberries Online. So I have to wonder whether she’s going to try to guess who’s my sources — she might be surprised — and punish them in some way. That, or she simply might follow the Red Queen’s lead and begin shouting, “Off with their heads.” After all, the local CC seems to be on the other side of the looking glass. You can read the agenda for yourself here.

Question: Aren’t you guys glad that I have sources in the bowels of the local Republican & Democratic parties? How else would you get the interesting behind-the-scenes stories? From the Coeur d’Alene Press? Bwahaha.

In recognition of the season, the Spokesman-Review Voices Facebook page is publishing the scariest photos from its files, including this one — “the second creepiest photo we’ve run on the cover of the Voices from Oct. 23, 2008.” (Photo by Dan Pelle)

Question: Are you afraid of clowns?

My live-blogging the debate last night cost me a good pair of glasses. After the event, I spent 10 or 15 minutes talking to Ron Nilson, Ken Howard, Robert Ketchum, Skip Hissong, Dick Harris, & others. As I was about to leave, I noticed I didn’t have my glasses — and spent the next 15 minutes retracing my steps with Kit Hoffer looking for them. I was only in two different areas. So it was weird that they couldn’t be found. Fortunately, I had a backup pair with an old prescription in the 4Runner that works as well. But the frames aren’t as good. So much for my problems. Now, for your Wild Card …

• BTW, you can see the North Idaho College trustee forums (30 minutes apiece) on the Post Falls city web site here.
• Also: Wood-Ketchum debate via Hucks here, and: Nilson-Howard debate here
  

Herb: As a supervisor in the gate crew, Silverwood, I once offered to help out at the Main St. Theater. My job was to handle counter sales and make sure popcorn was kept up. I dutifully filled the popcorn machine, turned it on and walked back to the counter. A large surge of guests showed up at the counter. While serving them, I noticed some smoke. Holy Cow! The popcorn machine was on fire. I turned it off and called for help. Smoke had activated the alarm system which was directly wired into emergency services. With fans, the smoke was sucessfully withdrawn from the building without any permanent damage. I learned from this that I am not a multitasker. They never asked me to help again.

Question: Have fire personnel ever responded to your home for any reason?

In this photo, Kari Eff-Bomber Rettke, Kristie Hooky Helraiser Blair, Marae Carr, Angela Maris, Connie LeGault, Chelsi LeGault, & Kristen Rathbun Binyon. The Snake Pit Venomous Vixens split into their two local teams to entertain their fans in a bout Sunday. They have one remaining bout this season, versus High Desert Darlins at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 14, at Skate Plaza. (Photo from Rocky Casaneda’s Facebook page)

• Boise State playing Louisiana Tech tonight/Ryan Larrondo, KTVB
  
• Ad Watch: Otter touts scholarship despite cuts/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise
• Court OKs new Hanford cleanup schedule/Shannon Dininny, Associated Press
• 3 died in plane crash in southwest Washington/Associated Press
• No public services for CdA booster Ace Walden, 103/Coeur d’Alene Press
  
• 2-fer: Demos fund poll for Allred, and: IACI spends another $24K against Allred/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise
• 3-fer: Riverkeeper intervenes in Spokane River TMDL case, and: Lead poisoning prevention & Silver Valley cleanup, and: Kootenai County comprehensive plan redux/Terry Harris, KEA Blog
  
• North Idaho Maritime to remove Spokane River pilings/Coeur d’Alene Press
  
• North Idaho resorts excited re: early-season powder/KHQ
• Construction slows biz on Sandpoint’s 2nd Avenue/Cameron Rasmusson, Bee

Dallas Cowboys fans watch their team lose 41-35 to the New York Giants during the second half an NFL football game Monday in Arlington, Texas. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Cutline Contest:

• 1. You shoulda seen the look on their faces at HBO when Mr. Bloggy posted pics of himself in his fur-lined G-string — Kevin Taylor.
• 2. These fans chose paper over plastic, next time it’s plastic for the team — Charlie.
• 3. Fans show that Romo wasn’t the only one who got sacked last night — JohnA.
• HM: Gary D. Rhodes
  

• 6:09 p.m. Buckles on Riverstone’s Main Street reports theft of jeans.
• 6:02 p.m. A utility line is down at Reed & Lacey/Hayden.
  
• 5:51 p.m. Owner wants an officer to meet her at her business in 5700 block of Government Way because the wife of a local jail inmate is trying to get in.
  
• 5:28 p.m. Male reports he found door open when he returned to his home on 3100 block of N. O’Connell/Rathdrum and saw another male running out back door.
  
• 4:35 p.m. PFPD Blue officers are trying to apprehend a male who’s sitting near play area of Post Falls McDonalds. This could be related to 3:10 p.m. incident.
  
• 4:19 p.m. Caller says 4 juveniles in silver car @ I-90 & Bosanko light are smoking pot.
• 4:01 p.m. Caller wants PFPD Blue to check on 3 males & a female in a van parked in Curves parking lot.
• More below
  

• Monday Poll: Incumbent Republican Marge Chadderdon (90 of 174, 51.7%) is the preferred choice of Hucks Nation in her House District 4 race with Democrat Mike Bullard (73 of 174, 42%). 7 of 174 (4%) said they didn’t plan to vote for either candidate. 4 were undecided.
• Today’s Poll: Who will get your vote in the House District 4 race between Republican Kathy Sims and Democrat Paula Marano?
  

Raul Labrador is an easy choice for Idaho’s 1st District congressman. He’s smart, straightforward and says what he means. He’s a strict conservative who doesn’t compromise his beliefs to get votes. In interviews, debates and discussions with this editorial board, he did not hesitate or “talk around” the answer to a question. He just gives you his take, for good or for bad. In the upcoming Congress, Idaho needs a strong conservative voice. It can’t be someone who is trying to straddle the fence and decide when to vote to the left and when to vote to the right to save his place in the Capitol/Idaho Press Tribune. More here.

Question: Do you agree/disagree with Idaho Press-Tribune editorial endorsing Raul Labrador?

Roberta Larsen, wife of House District 5 candidate David Larsen, sends along this photo of their grandson, Lionel August Larsen McClellan, and this note: “Lionel is astonished that his parents Christine and Martin are bathing him in a bucket.  Shows that the Larsen clan is very fiscally conservative and environmentally conscious.” I wished more candidates and their families had the Larsens’ sense of humor this deep in the election cycle.

All three of North Idaho College’s winter teams are ranked in the top 10 by the National Junior College Athletic Association. Wrestling is ranked No. 2, men’s basketball is ranked No. 3 and women’s basketball is ranked No. 6 in the NJCAA pre-season polls that came out this week. “This is the first time all three of those teams have been in the pre-season top 10,” said NIC Athletics Director Al Williams. “This should be a tremendous season for all the players and fans.”

Question: When did you last see a North Idaho College sports event?

Sometimes it hits me like a lightning bolt — nothing is more important than a positive outlook. Even when it seems like to be optimistic is completely rooted in irrationality and is blind, what choice do we have? It is not naïve to hope for the best, it’s the only option. The alternative is too heavy, too depressing. Life will get better and the sun will shine again — this I know/Tanya, UI Argonaut’s “Off the Cuff.” More here.

Question: Generally, do you tend to be optimistic or pessimistic?

The University of Idaho offers one more reason to travel to Moscow for the football game between the Vandals and Nevada — Robb Akey bobbleheads. They’ll be given away at the game Saturday, Nov. 6. Meanwhile, Akey discusses JoJo Dickson’s career-ending injury against New Mexico State last weekend in Josh Wright’s WAC notebook here.

Question: Do you own any bobbleheads? Which one(s)?

Gov. Butch Otter has appointed Michelle Stennett to the Idaho Senate seat vacated by her husband Clint’s recent death; Stennett had been filling in for her husband as he battled brain cancer, and is now running for the seat in her own right. Otter said he was making the appointment for the remainder of Clint Stennett’s term “with sadness at her husband’s loss but great confidence in her abilities;” you can click below to read his full announcement. Michelle Stennett was the unanimous top choice of the Idaho Democratic Party’s District 25 legislative committee to succeed her husband in the post/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise.

Question: Good call on Otter’s part?

The men who wrote Idaho’s Constitution 121 years ago meant to make it difficult for government to go into debt. But they didn’t intend to hamstring economic development indefinitely. So the three constitutional amendments on the Nov. 2 ballot — largely drafted by state Rep. Fred Wood, R-Burley, and Sen. Joe Stegner, R-Lewiston, and approved overwhelmingly by the Legislature last winter — are much-needed updates to our state’s charter/Twin Falls Times-News. More here.

Question: Do you agree-disagree with the Twin Falls Times News opinion that Idahoans should support all 3 constitutional amendments on the ballot next Tuesday?

(Ron) Nilson, pictured, and (Robert) Ketchum stand apart because they are committed to helping students in credit and non-credit classes reach their full potential not just intellectually, but economically. They understand that at the end of the educational line, if the graduate doesn’t have a good job, the education probably doesn’t have good value. We’re convinced Ketchum and Nilson will expand and improve relationships within the community and at the state level. Both have earned the respect of Idaho’s state and federal officials, so when they talk about NIC’s needs, those holding the keys to resources will listen/Mike Patrick, Coeur d’Alene Press Editorial Board. More here.

Question: Agree/disagree with the endorsement?

Neva Harris , mother of QuentinDodd, who was shot and killed by a Spokane County sheriff’s deputy Sunday night, tries to make sense of the loss of her son Monday. Meghann Cuniff SR story here. (SR Photo: Colin Mulvany)

• Cartoon: Deconstructing the U.S. electorate/David Horsey, Seattle P-I
  
• NW Montana Von Trapps to join ‘Sound of Music’ reunion/Lynnette Hintze, DIL
  
• Mormonism becomes campaign issue in Idaho, Nevada/John Miller, Statesman
  
• DNA profile links Montana felon to ‘86 Spokane slaying/Jody Lawrence-Turner, SR
• Doug Clark: How about a crackdown on smackdowns/Spokesman-Review
  
• Spokane Valley native part of federal investigation/Spokesman-Review
• Searchers find downed plane with 3 aboard in Lewis County/KHQ
• Idahoan Romanick set to become Oakland A’s pitching coach/Steve Crump, TFTN
• Orbusmax Special: Mother charged with kicking 14YO daughter out of car on I-5 here
  

Mr. Bloggy: Mr_Bloggy is about to discover hope. Hope, BC, that is. Mr_Bloggy is co-piloting an adventure! He and his squeeze are driving to Anchorage Ak thru BC and the Yukon Territory. He will endeavor to provide daily dispatches, as it were, of the trip as he knows many of you readers, especially the kids who don’t have driver’s licenses yet, are pondering this trip one day, themselves. Mr_Bloggy has had the Alcan in his bucket list forever. And now!

Question: When did you last go on a road trip?

How much do you love seeing a college woman hocking a huge green spitball of mucus on to the ground? Not very much, I hope. With that image in your head, it may be harder to take a dip in public the next time you have a hankering. There is a time and place for chewing tobacco, unfortunately. There shouldn’t be, but if you choose to take a dip while hanging with your friends, that’s OK as long as I don’t have to see it. But when someone thinks it is real slick to pop in a chew before class, and then bring a water bottle to spit it in — a clear one even — that’s too far. Way too far. No one wants to see you spit brown stinky residue into a clear water bottle. Just because you have something to spit it in does not make it appropriate, and because the water bottle is clear, we can all witness the action/Dara Barney, UI Argonaut. More here.

Question: Do you chew? Or go with girls that do?

• 11:39 a.m. Caller was asking for return of items taken following Post Falls area suicide earlier this month.
  
• 10:55 a.m. Mack @ Hayden Meadows Elementary has caught a golden retriever.
  
• 10:52 a.m. Caller reports that a male shook his fist at a female by water fountain @ Life Care Center Garden Plaza/PF.
• 10:46 a.m. Female reports 2 males took $150 from her Coeur d’Alene home, including one with dreadlocks.
• 10:32 a.m. Lakeside Elementary/Plummer official says a student brought a knife to school.
• 10:20 a.m. Betty reports there’s a sick cat in her garage @ 10315 Pinto/Hayden.
• 9:58 a.m. Michael reports a male has answered his advertisement for his lost rifle, claiming he has found it but wants money for its return.
  
• 9:37 a.m. A wild fire is reported at Captain John Mullan & Cody roads/CdA.
• 9:30 a.m. Landlord has questions re: a civil matter with a tenant.
• 9:22 a.m. Alicia reports possible fraud activity involving her business bank account.
• 9:20 a.m. Female reports crash w/another driver who blew a stop sign @ Maple & Buckles/Hayden.
• 8:24 a.m. Officer reports that communication reception is bad on west side of new Hayden WalMart.
  

On the Get Out! North Idaho Facebook page, OrangeTV asks if mid-morning is too late to publish breakfast Food Porn (like this photo from Kootenai Cafe). Then, he answers: “Never! And this looks like one sultry omelet.” I disagree. It’s too late for those of us who only ate a piece of buttered toast and a hard-boiled egg for breakfast. This mouth-watering omelet made my stomach growl — and it’s still 70 minutes until lunch.

Question: What do you like in your omelets?

On his Facebook site, Sam writes that he’s hosed that Hayden WalMart had Boise State logos in infant wear but nothing for the Idaho Vandals. Which prompts this confession. I don’t have any Vandal wear among my collection of baseball caps, T-shirts, sweat shirts, etc. Nor Washington State wear, for that matter. I have Gonzaga covered in spades. Ditto for the various colleges my kids attended — Linfield, University of Colorado, University of Florida, University of Portland, and Portland State. But I need to get some Vandal gear.

Question: What kind of sports gear do you have?

Eman: Ya know Dave, last night while watching my beloved Giants destroy the Cowboys I noticed that my wedding ring was missing. Same situation, only had been to a couple of places but it vanished. I never take it off, for the last 20 years, the only time was for baseball in case I got hit on the hands. Seems this time of year with cooler weather it does get loose and dry. Damn thing must have glided off. Ever happen to any of you guys? Needless to say I had a lot of “splainin’” to do to my wife.

Question: I took my wedding ring off for the first time in years a week or so ago when something in the garden bit me on the finger. I didn’t want my finger to swell an cause a problem with the ring. When did you last take your wedding ring off?

Gina Bushfield,18, left, and Sabrina Ewing,18, share an umbrella as they walk along Garden Avenue in Coeur d’Alene, Idhao on Monday. Cold rainy weather is supposed last all week long.(AP Photo/The Spokesman-Review, Kathy Plonka)

• Idaho Records/Sherry Adkins, SR
• Monday Scanner Traffic/DFO, Huckleberries Online
• Heavy snow falls on Inland Northwest mountains/Mike Prager, SR
• Silverwood attendance reaches new heights/Alison Boggs, SR
  
• Ad Watch: Anti-Minnick ad makes false claim/Betsy Russell, SR
• Statesman backs Brad Little, and Ben Ysursa/Idaho Statesman
  
• Labrador to New York Times: Minnick appeals to bigotry/Dan Popkey, Statesman
  
• Mayors critical of Kootenai County comp plan/Alecia Warren, Press
  
• Pendleton pair hurt in accident with Kootenai deputy/Spokesman-Review
• North Idaho crash injures Spirit Lake man/Spokesman-Review
• Idaho home prices tumble 14 percent/Bert Caldwell, Office Hours
• 3rd trial starts for Tankovich brothers/Coeur d’Alene Press
• Officials narrow search for plane bound for Lewiston/KXLY
  

Item: Additional postage has absentee voters licked: Post office admits ballots should not have been returned to citizens/Tom Hasslinger, Coeur d’Alene Press

More Info: Absentee ballots across Kootenai County were returned to voters who tried to mail them back to the elections department recently after a postage snafu - even though post office rules regarding mailed votes say they should have been delivered anyway. Turns out, mailing back the two ballots on weight and size alone should cost 61 cents, not the standard 44 cents. Post office rules state that votes should be delivered anyway, as a way to ensure they are counted, post office staff said Wednesday.

Question: What do you make of this snafu?

Item: Republicans clash over Hart: Central committee will vote to remove leader Matt Roetter over support refusal/Alecia Warren, Coeur d’Alene Press

More Info: “I don’t care who it is. If the guy is elected through the primaries, that is the person we’re obligated to support,” Trotter said. “It could be Bozo the Clown, for all I care. Not that Phil Hart is a bozo.”

Question: Who will be more defined by this vote — Matt Roetter or local Republicans?

Re: McCrory lawyer wants witness fee of $21.27 back

Sisyphus: The “real” point is that McRory’s attorney exercised the authority of the court by issuing a subpoena (a court order to appear) to assure Christa’s attendance at the hearing. The rules required he provide a witness fee to cover travel expenses. Had she failed she would have been held ….wait for it….in contempt. Mr. Hazel’s comment doesn’t make a case that it was a mistake, but that it was a boneheaded mistake. The cost in attorney time to request the refund is far more than the amount requested. It ain’t about the money.

Question: What is the attempt by Bill McCrory’s attorney to get back the witness fee from Christa Hazel really about?

Herb: I realize that with politics in the forefront, my bitch isn’t probably going to resonate. Still, I am tired of hearing college graduates, (many of them) football players and even commentators, use “you know,” 14 times in one sentence. Next time you listen to an interview with an athlete, or even news anchors, listen for, “You know.” I realize that being broadcast trained, that my ear is more attuned to these nuances, but when the same phrase occurs over and over and over, you know, it’s irritating, you know.

Question: Are there any repetitive phrases in modern communication that bug you?

• Re: North Idaho College trustee debates: Nilson versus Howard/Hucks Online
  

McGruber: Watch the forum unfiltered like I did for a better feel for the exchanges. And why is it odd to refer to the students as customers of the college? They determine what courses have value by what courses they pay to study. Doesn’t that make them customers? And isn’t a career or job the ultimate goal of getting higher education? Unless of course you’re going to be a perennial student or aspire to a career in acedemia.

Question: What do you make of the concept that college students are customers?

Re: North Idaho College trustee debates: Nilson versus Howard/Hucks Online

Phaedrus: Because Nilson did not go to college he seems to have a chip on his shoulder and is not just in favor of pro-tech education, but is actually against non-tech higher education. Students go to college for an education, not just jobs; if it was up to Ron we’d have a community of welders and mechanics and nothing else.We need pro-tech education, it’s good for the community, but it shouldn’t be the sole purpose of our local college. I fear with Nilson and Ketchum it will become their sole focus.

Question: Does North Idaho College need to bolster its pro-tech program?

Signe Wilkinson/Philadelphia Inquirer

• Opening: Christie Wood says she’s been board chairwoman for last 2 years. Also, she’s the only candidate who has been a student at North Idaho College. (For OTV: Christie’s golden locks are flowing over dark jacket and light brown blouse.) She talks about the challenge of handling $4 million in state cutbacks at a time that it’s growing rapidly.
• Opening: Dr. Robert Ketchum: He points out he’s been in education for 35 years — and that he developed the work-force training center. His key focus will be to bring the college and business together. He was an active accreditator of other colleges throughout NW.
• Q1 (which capital project needed next): Ketchum: We’re aware that college has been asked to build a joint-use facility on the corridor site. I’m very committed to pro-tech. My heart is with pro-tech expansion on the prairie near KTEC site. Wood: NIC & its sister schools of UI & LCSC have made the joint-use facility the top priority, including a one-student resource center.
  
• Q2 (What would you do to put more of community back into community college?): Wood: We’re very involved in the community. We have flexible scheduling, outreach centers, work-force training, musical programs, theater, etc. NIC is a hub for Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls, and outreach centers. We’re entrenched in this community. Ketchum: We brought in $4M in customized work-force training in my 19 years as work-force training center. 
• Q3 (which would you cut — pro-tech program or drama?): Ketchum: Pro-tech is a separate system that relies on state funding not local money. So it’s a moot question. It’s important for public to understand how Idaho has structured for pro-tech. Wood: NIC has strong commitment to pro-tech programs. State has allocated $3.9M for pro-tech while NIC has allocated $1.2M. We’ve doubled our nursing. We have a $650,000 grant for medical records program.
• More below:
  

• Ken Howard will be debating Ron Nilson first tonight; Luke Malek will be moderator of Kootenai County Young Professionals.
  
• Ron Nilson has on dark gray suit & red power tie; Ken Howard has on lighter gray shirt and earth-tone green tie. 40 people present at Post Falls City Hall. Program will run again of public access Channel 13 at 8 p.m. Wednesday and 3 p.m. Sunday. Or be available on demand at city of Post Falls Web site. Questioners will be Maureen Dolan/Press, Taryn Hecker-Thompson/former SReporter/Inlander free-lancer, and Fatima Madrid/NIC VP.
• Opening statement: Nilson has a habit of referring to himself in 3rd person and asking himself questions to which he responds. Says he’s running for “students and ALL taxpayers of North Idaho.” He points out that he’s the leader of a consortium of 47 businesses and considers jobs the biggest issue b/c good jobs begin with education.
• Opening statement: Howard considers the college to be the heartbeat of the community.
•  1st Q (which capital project is needed next): Nilson: 1. cleanup of expanded property, and 2. parking. He launches into criticism re: lack of plan for Education Corridor. He points out that the college partners for NIC haven’t offered any money to help build capital projects. Howard: We have had 37% increase in student populations in recent years. We need to be nimble and react to growing needs of students.
• 2nd Q: (What would you do to put “community” back into community college?): Howard: Not sure the community isn’t there now. (BTW, this is one of Nilson’s favorite mantras for campaign.) Nilson: Sez he was NIC’s No. 1 customer in 4 of last 5 years. I’m not the only one saying there’s a disconnect. 47 other CEOs are saying that, too. Questions starting classes that have no practical relevance to the community.
• 3rd Q (If forced to choose between pro-tech program and one in drama, which would you cut?): Nilson: North Idaho ranks last among 3 community colleges in state in pro-tech programs. I have to make decision on present jobs that are going unfilled. Howard: My instinct is to say I’d favor professional technical. Drama seems to be superfluous. But that’s too superficial (of an assessment). There are many factors involved. It’s not just about job opportunities but job opportunities that offer decent wage.
• More below
  

Chloe Hager, 20 months, shows her dog Patsy at the 5th annual Bow Wow Ween at Meadow View Growers in New Carlisle, Ohio, Saturday. Chloe and her pet came dressed as giraffes. (AP Photo/Springfield News-Sun, Marshall Gorby)
 

I didn’t realize that the Spanish-American War caused the beginning of the end for Fort Sherman, the current site of North Idaho College. According to Louise Shadduck’s “At the Edge of the Ice: Where Coeur d’Alene and its People Meet,” Fort Sherman troops were called to serve in the Spanish-American War in 1898, effectively ending the need for the fort where Lake Coeur d’Alene and the Spokane River meet. The fort officially closed 5 years later. I read part of Louise’s book several years ago. And am going to slowly plow through it again. Do you know much about local history? Now, with a week and a day left until the general election, I’ll play today’s Wild Card …

A friend sent me an e-mail early Friday morning. It said, “I rarely envy other people’s jobs, but how cool is it to have your photo next to Clint Eastwood’s on the cover of the Today section?” I jokingly wrote back, “Yes, it was great working with him.” But that gave me an idea. What if a few of Clint’s various productions had been set in Spokane? How would the stories have been different? Just imagine. “Rawhide”: Instead of working on cattle drives, Rowdy Yates would have worn a hard hat and toiled on a road construction crew. “Head ’em up. Move ’em out.” “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”: A county commission’s meetings brought to the big screen. “There’s really not too much future with a sawed-off runt like you”/Paul Turner, SR. More here.

Question And what if Clint Eastwood’s various productions had been set in Coeur d’Alene or some other North Idaho site. How would that have affected the story line?

Diego Sanchez, right, chokes Paulo Thiago, of Brazil, during a UFC mixed martial arts match in Anaheim, Calif., Saturday. Sanchez won by unanimous decision. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Top Cutlines:

• 1. Hurt over not receiving his own pink panties, a jilted Todd Palin attacks Sheriff Joe with favorite Alaskan Eskimo wrestling move, the “snowball” — Stacy.
• 2. Rep. Hart gets his friend in a half-Nelson until she agrees to debate Rick Currrie — JohnA.
• 3. (tie) “If you don’t ask, I won’t tell” — Formerly Sandpoint; and: The way the Brannon vs. Kennedy suit should have been settled — CindyH.
• HM: Gary D. Rhodes
  

• 5:16 p.m. A deer is trying to cross n/b H95 @ M/P 437 (Boekel Road).
• 5:12 p.m. A dark blue pickup tried to ram another vehicle on I-90 @ M/P 6 (near H41) and is passing on shoulder of the freeway.
  
• 4:25 p.m. EMTs are asked to do a welfare check of a diabetic at Safeways/Midtown.
• 4:19 p.m. A tree has fallen across the road blocking H97 @ M/P 85.5 (Gotham Bay).
• 4:18 p.m. A tree has fallen along I-90 @ w/b M/P 31 (Fourth of July Creek), sending debris & branches into slow lane of travel.
• More below
  

• Weekend Poll: In a surprise, incumbent Kootenai County Commissioner Rick Currie, a write-in candidate, defeated Jai Nelson handily. Currie attracted 164 of 278 votes (59%) from Hucks Nation to beat GOPrimary winner Jai Nelson in our straw poll. Nelson won 72 of 278 (26%) votes. 38 of 278 (13.67%) said they don’t plan to vote for either candidate. And 4 people were undecided.
• Today’s Poll: Who will get your vote in the House District 4A race between incumbent Republican Marge Chadderdon and Democrat Mike Bullard?
  

The Gem State made national news over the weekend after a staffer for the Idaho State Tax Commission attempted to shut down a pumpkin stand being manned by two children in Lewiston.  Monday, a spokesman for the agency wouldn’t comment on the incident, but did say that administrators will be reviewing the situation to determine if the staffer acted appropriately. Dan John, spokesman for the commission, told IdahoReporter.com Monday that he had no comment on the action of the staffer.  When asked if any formal complaints had been filed in the case, John said “not that I know of, but I really can’t comment on it at this time.”  Though no official action has been taken against the staffer, it hasn’t necessarily been ruled out.  ”When we get allegations, we always check them out,” John explained/Dustin Hurst, Idaho Reporter. More here.

• Cutline: Jacob Charais, 6, and his little sister Sami-Lou, 4, sit in front of their pumpkin stand at their home in Lewiston, Idaho on Friday (AP Photo/ Lewiston Tribune, Kyle Mills)
• Original: Tax revenuers shut down pumpkin stand/Lewiston Tribune
  

Question: Should the state reprimand the staffer who bought the Tax Commission a million dollars in bad publicity for the sake of collecting $10 in taxes?

“I was going to visit Rodney Wolfe at Kootenai Medical Center, but they said no,” writes Ralph Bartholdt, Skookum Photography. “They said critical and that’s all we can tell you. What newspaper do you work for? I don’t, lady. I’m a pal, I said.” More here.

• Certifiably crazy/A Butterfly Moment
• Baseball in October/Accidental Rabbit Trails
• Book Review: ‘Broken Government’/Arch Druid
• Officer-involved shooting/Community Comment
• The weeks that were/Dogwalk Musings
• Women with no names/From A Simple Mind
• Monday Local Music Shindig: We As Humans/Get Out! North Idaho
• 109 tweets a day … oh my!/Jamie Lynn Morgan
• Ack! Cold, wet, & icky/JeanC’s Cat House & Shooting Gallery
• 3BT: Win the essay, University of Gray, stir-fried noodles/Kellogg Bloggin’
• Finally, a new computer/Live, Love, Laugh, Hope
• Ace Walden: A life well-lived/More Main Street
• 5 for Friday: The problem with Westboro/Rants, Raves, & Random Thoughts
• Snow lie — on de mountain/Slight Detour
• Fly fishing on Twin Lakes/Taryn A. Hecker Photography

Hucks Online numbers (for week of Oct. 17-23): 54,528/33,784

On Friday evening, Hucks Online reported that a Lake City High administrator in a “pink silk cap” had waylaid Idaho 1st Lady Lori Otter, Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna, & Senate Education Committee Chairman John Goedde after the GOP bus tour pulled onto high school grounds at the end of its North Idaho tour. Now we know the female administrator was high school principal Deanne Clifford. But Hucks Online is strill trying to find where the “pink silk cap” came into play. Obviously, Lori Otter (above on bus) was wearing Nike head wear that’s not made of silk. And Deanne Clifford was wearing a light-pink baseball cap with darker-pink lettering. So let’s drop “silk” from the description originally provided, OK?

Question (for OrangeTV): Can you break down the 1st Lady’s non-red carpet look on the bus tour? (I think she pulls it off, but I’m not Joan Rivers.)

It’s the write-in candidate by a whisker. Voters at cdapress.com have chosen Republican Howard Griffiths to upset state Rep. Phil Hart by a 469-437 margin. A whopping 251 voters said they’ll vote for neither. The online polls are non-scientific. Particularly with online political polls, readers should know that anyone, anywhere in the world, can vote. Yes, kind of like Coeur d’Alene city elections. That’s a joke/Coeur d’Alene Press. More here.

Question: Surprised?

On the other hand, while I am losing hair on the top of my head, tiny hairs are popping out at other unfortunate places on my face, which are embarrassing to mention. It seems unfair to have to pluck once a week the very substance that I’m panicking about losing in another location. All I can say is, if I develop a bald spot I might be able to comb my uni-brow over the top of my head to cover it up. Hair is one of those things that cause a lot of angst over our lifetimes, and that’s a pity considering we don’t really have a lot of control over it/Kathy Hedberg, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

Question: Do you fret much over your hair … or lack thereof?

For just this week I’m changing the name of this column from “Get Out” to “Stay In” and covering something I rarely get a chance to talk about: pizza delivery. It’s the perfect solution to lunch or dinner during times of inclement weather or just times when you just plain can’t muster enough get-up-and-go to fix your wig and make a public appearance. Our area has no shortage of pizza places that will come knocking on your door in (hopefully) speedy fashion with a (hopefully) piping hot pizza pie for a (hopefully) relatively small amount of cash/OrangeTV, Get Out! North Idaho. More here.

Question: How often do you order through a parlor that provides delivery service? Is there a pizza biz that provides better service than the others?

Tracy Price takes part in the annual Zombie Walk on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, on Saturday. Hundreds of people dressed as zombies took part in the annual Ottawa Zombie Walk to Parliament Hill. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Pawel Dwulit)

Question: Have you decided which disguise you’re going to use for Halloween Sunday?

OK! We’re quickly getting to the point of no return with this State Rep. Phil Hart story. First, the guy didn’t pay his income taxes, contending the laws governing taxation are improper, illegal or something. Anyway, seems Hart owes some $700,000 in unpaid taxes. Ever think of how much money someone must make to equate to $700,000 in unpaid taxes, penalties and fines. How the government is expected to function without tax dollars … well, that’s apparently not a concern for this three term legislator. But, now, the kicker … From what we read, this alleged tax-dodging soul stole the logs used in building his home out there in rural Athol. According to news account, he went onto state lands and cut down a bunch of trees – from property earmarked as school endowment money. This endowment money, from what we understand, is timber set aside, the sale of which goes into funding for public education – not for some snook to come in, cut it down and build a house/Editor Tom Burnett, Rathdrum Star. More here. (Photo: Howard Griffiths)

Question: Will Kootenai County Republicans try to vote Tom Burnett out as Rathdrum Star publisher for not supporting Phil Hart over a write-in?

I’d wager that not many people around the country followed the NBA’s preseason.  If you have, however, you would have known that one of the most impressive players in the entire league was former Zag, Austin Daye.  Daye has been sensational in his second year with the Detroit Pistons, doing a little bit of everything and showing great improvement from his rookie season.  He averaged 15 points and five boards a game for Detroit and has impressed the Pistons so much, that he will open the season as their starting power forward/Zach Bell, SB Nation. More here.

• Cutline: Detroit Pistons’ Austin Daye (5) looks for a shot against Atlanta Hawks’ Jordan Crawford in the second half of an NBA basketball game last Monday in Auburn Hills, Mich. Daye scored 14 points in the Pistons 94-85 win. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
  

Question: With Rodney Stuckey, formerly of Eastern Washington at guard, and now Daye at forward, is it high time for Inland Northwesterners to become Detroit Piston fans?

A Moses Lake man is trying to send a message to the federal government, one potato at a time.Chris Voigt, Executive Director of The Washington Potato Commission, is on an all potato diet for 60 days. He says the stunt diet is an attempt to get the USDA’s attention at a time when potatoes have been eliminated from the Woman Infant Child program. Voigt consumes about 7 pounds of potatoes every day, the equivalent of about 20 tubers/Sally Showman, KXLY. More here.

Question: How many potatoes do you eat in a given week?

Kootenai County Republicans will probably vote to oust Matt Roetter as state committeeman when they meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Judging from the minutes of the Sept. 28 meeting, Roetter doesn’t appear to have many friends among the Elephants: “Chairman Tina Jacobson read a letter from the Idaho GOP Chairman, Norm Semanko concerning the Republican Party’s position on write‐in candidates. The concern at hand is the Kootenai County Republican Party State Committeeman’s public support for a write –in candidate in the General Election against the State of Idaho Representative in District 3B (Phil Hart). A question arose on what should be done to the Board member who openly supports a write in candidate. More below:

Question: Isn’t it strange that local R’s choose to remove Roetter rather than deal with Hart’s ongoing trouble with the IRS & Idaho Tax Commission — and timber theft?

On his Get Out! North Idaho Facebook site, OrangeTV offers this bit of Food Porn from Baskin-Robbins, decorated by Katrina. The ice cream store posts: “We can make the creepiest Halloween cakes around! They are sure to please all of your ghouls & goblins.”

Question: What’s your favorite treat at Halloween?

As you may recall, Christa Hazel demanded a witness fee and mileage when she was subpoenaed by attorney Arthur B. Macomber to testify in the contempt of court case filed against Macomber’s client, Bill McCrory (as a side show in the long-running Jim Brannon lawsuit against Mike Kennedy). Judge Charles Hosack dismissed those charges. Now, Macomber has sent a letter to Christa asking that she return the witness fee because she didn’t have to testify or drive to the courthouse. And Christa, through attorney husband, Joel Hazel, is telling Macomber to pound sand. Responds Joel Hazel to Macomber: “It is certainly not my wife’s fault that you mistook a 4 p.m. status conference for a trial (Never in my 16-year law practice has a court set a trial at 4 p.m.)” Joel goes on to say his wife endorsed the witness fee check and turned it over to Mike Kennedy’s defense fund. So she doesn’t have the $21.46 to turn over to Macomber. “As such,” writes Joel, “the $21.46 will not be returned.” I’ll have links to letters in a few moments.

Question: Should Christa return the witness fee?

Huckleberries hears … that GOPrimary winner Jai Nelson (shown Friday at Spirit Lake City Park for GOP bus tour) has turned down an invitation from the Coeur d’Alene Indian Tribe to appear at a candidates’ forum at the Wellness Center in Plummer at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Write-in candidate Rick Currie has accepted an invitation. Seems the invitations went out late. So Nelson can’t be blamed for having a conflict this late in the campaign season. Still, it would have been good to see a debate between Currie and her. Others invited to the forum are: Benewah County Commissioner Christina Crawford, D-Tensed and her challenger Phil Lampert, R-Plummer; Rep. Dick Harwood, St. Maries-R, and his opponent Jon Ruggles, Shoshone-D; and Incumbent Mary Lou Shepherd, D-Wallace and her opponent Shannon McMillian, R-Wallace are expected to attend the event.

• 12:04 p.m. A green vehicle reportedly is speeding @ around 100 mph w/b on Seltice Way from Grand Mill/CdA.
  
• 11:40 a.m. KCSD is calling Coeur d’Alene police to jail to charge inmate with escape try.
• 11:30 a.m. Resident is in KCSD lobby to report neighbor’s use of explosives in research.
• 11:06 a.m. Utility company is venting gas pipes in Stevens/Clagstone area of Athol, causing noise that sounds like jet engine for an hour.
• 10:33 a.m. 4 males in 3200 block of Government Way are close to blows.
• 10:32 a.m. Female reports that her husband was temporarily unconscious on Lookout Drive/CdA. But she believes he may have been faking it to avoid a dispute w/her.
  
• 10:22 a.m. An 18-wheel semi w/engine trouble is blocking w/b I-90 exit @ Sherman/CdA.
  
• 10:21 a.m. CPD Blue reports he’s en route to a private school (Tutoring Club) near Costco to handle an out-of-control student.
  
• 9:53 a.m. Motorist reports that he doesn’t need an ambulance while exiting a rollover involving a pickup pulling a trailer on Greensferry, one mile from Riverview/PF.
• 9:36 a.m. Christ the King school on Pennsylvania/CdA reports vandalism.
• 9:31 a.m. Darren reports seeing an abandoned vehicle w/West Virginia plates while hunting in woods around Spirit Lake.
• 9:30 a.m. Anonymous Post Falls resident reports that neighbor has stored 2 vehicles in driveway w/license plates that expired a year ago.
  

A Lake City High Principal Deanne Clifford tells Republican congressional candidate Raul Labrador and others on the GOP bus tour, including 1st Lady Lori Otter and Senate Education Committee Chairman John Goedde that they can't campaign on school grounds Friday evening before the football game with visiting Sandpoint. Earlier story here.

Betsy Russell/Eye On Boise profiles the race for governor between incumbent Republican Butch Otter, Democrat Keith Allred, and three others. You can read about it here. And you can read Betsy’s profile of the 1st Congressional District race here.

• Idaho Records/Sherry Adkins, SR
• Mountains to see first big snow of season/Mike Prager, SR
• BCS standings put Boise State No. 3 behind Auburn, Oregon/KTVB
  
• Ex-Timberwolf Hout stars as a Boise State linebacker/Chadd Cripe, Statesman
  
• Montana arrested in 1986 murder of Spokane woman/Helena Independent-Record
• Minnick pledges to remain as independent as Idaho/Kevin Richert, Statesman
• Ex-governor Kempthorne endorses Labrador/Brad Iverson-Long, IReporter
• Stennett tops choices to replace her late husband/Twin Falls Times-News
• Last-minute money flowing, Otter loans campaign 200K/Betsy Russell, EOB
  
• Spokane mini-van converted to haul stolen gasoline/Spokesman-Review
• Scuba divers carve pumpkins underwater in Coeur d’Alene/KXLY
• With wolf battle raging, battle over bull trout looms/Rocky Barker, Statesman
  

Sarah Palin received an unlikely gift from a famous admirer over the weekend: A pair of pink women’s underwear. The underwear was from Maricopa County, Ariz. Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who met the former Alaska governor at a Tea Party rally in Phoenix on Friday. Arpaio announced the gift on Twitter. “Just got done welcoming Sarah Palin to our County. Had a nice chat and gaver her a pair of pink underwear,” he wrote. The gift isn’t entirely out of left field. Arpaio has garnered national media attention for his controversial  methods of prisoner treatment, which he employs at the Maricopa County jail. Among them are restricting inmates to two meals a day, housing inmates outdoors, and requiring inmates to wear pink underwear/Christina Wilkie, The Hill. More here.

• Cutline: Former GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, right, holds her son Trig Palin, as she talks with Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, left, as Palin was the surprise guest at a Tea Party Express rally that drew about 1,000 people at the Arizona Capitol Friday in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
  

Question: Yeah, yeah, I know that Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff Joe Arpaio is famous for making inmate wear pink underwear. But is this an appropriate gift to give Sarah Palin?

Republican Cliff Hayes, pictured, is challenging 15-year incumbent Democrat Dan English for the position of clerk, which oversees the elections office, county assistance, District Court, auditor and recorder. Hayes said the lawsuit shook voter confidence and he’d like to restore trust. After 22 years as Post Falls’ police chief, Hayes believes he has the administrative ability to do that. … English, however, said while the lawsuit revealed some areas where the elections office could improve, the election was conducted in good faith and the law was followed to the best of his staff’s ability. State and local elections law includes numerous procedural requirements, he said/Alison Boggs, SR. More here.

Question: Did the court case involved in Jim Brannon’s lawsuit against Mike Kennedy shake your confidence in the county clerk’s office or reinforce your confidence in it?

• Originally posted at 6:13 p.m. Friday, Oct. 22
  

Seems the GOP Bus Tour had an unhappy ending as it swung into the Lake City High parking lot a few minutes ago for the final step of an all-day tour in North Idaho, prior to the football game between Sandpoint and the host Timberwolves. The governor, his First Lady, and other top elected officials had barely set foot on the ground when they were told by a school administrator in a pink, silk cap that they couldn’t campaign on school grounds. A Berry Picker assumed that the administrator didn’t know she was talking to the governor’s wife, Lori, Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna, or Senate Education Chairman John Goedde. At her insistence, the GOP officials moved their campaign signs across the street from the north end of the football field parking lot and joined well wishers for hot dogs in the corner of the lot. (Photo: Lt. Gov. Brad Little holds a “remember to Vote” sign as he tours North Idaho aboard the GOP express Friday)

Question: Did the Lake City High administrator react correctly when the GOP bus tour pulled onto school grounds Friday evening?

Keith Erickson and I swapped tales online about Mike Anderson following the ex-Kootenai County commissioner’s unexpected death this month. Keith remembers how Mike walked out with him after Keith questioned the appropriateness of an executive session called by the two Republican commissioners in the early ‘90s. Moi? I recall Mike’s incredible eyesight. In his unsuccessful re-election bid (1994), Mike’s residency was an issue. Rumors had it that he wasn’t living in his commission district. So late one night, I decided to verify his residence. I found a pickup with Anderson signs on both sides in the alley behind his house, drove around front to double check the address, and then went home, satisfied. As I walked through the door, the phone rang. Mike was on the line. He wanted to know why I was sneaking around his house/DFO, Huckleberries. More here.

• Weather: We’re overdue for stormy weather/Michelle Boss
• Sandwich chain brings ‘perfect bread’, 2 names/Nils Rosdahl
• Restaurant: Stay in (and order some pizza)/Patrick Jacobs
  
• Boise: Gubernatorial race rivals spar over ‘letter-marking’/Betsy Russell
  
• Sandpoint: Proposed bus system would become asset to city/Patty Hutchens
• Gardening: Perfect condition for mushrooms/Pat Munts
  

This isn’t the highest quality of photo. But the material in it makes it worth publishing. Here, Democratic Congressman Walt Minnick gabs with Republican Gov. Butch Otter in a pre-game event in Moscow this weekend prior to the Homecoming Game between the University of Idaho and New Mexico State.

Question: What do you think Butch Otter is saying to Walt Minnick?

Re: Fire destroys Coeur d’Alene bar Willies (formerly Eduardo’s, Peabody’s, etc.)

OrangeTV: Anyway, I never really hung out at Willie’s, but it’s always sad to see a building with a lot of local history go up in flames.I spent many lunchtimes there in earlier times for Eduardo’s all you can eat taco bar. Also, I remember that Peabody’s was the hottest spot in town during the ‘80s before I was old enough to even try sneaking in. I have vague memories of one of my mother’s friends managing the place when I was even younger, but I don’t think it was called Peabody’s at the time. Or maybe it was. Anyone know the building’s history prior to Peabody’s?

Question: Do you have a connection to the building that burned over the weekend on Lake Coeur d’Alene Drive that housed Willie’s (and before that Eduardo’s & Peabody’s)?

Re: Amidee “Ace” Walder, 103, community leader, R.I.P. (includes Hucks Online Q-&-A with Ace 3 years ago, after birthday No. 100.

Ace Walden: Ace Walden was Coeur d’Alene. A fine man and a fine example of a good community benefactor - in all ways. I cherish the fact that I had the chance to meet and get to know both he and Louise Shadduck even in the limited way that I did. They are both irreplaceable people but their legacies are cemented in this community forever.

• Long-time Rotarian, North Idaho College booster Walden dies at 103/Bill Buley, Press
  

Question: Feel free to post your fond remembrances of Ace Walden under this thread.

Re: Idaho Tax Commission revenuers bust pumpkin stand

EndlessLosses: I’d PRAISE the tax inspector for doing her job — give her a raise! Pay your damn taxes. I’m so sick and tired of seeing my neighbors thinking that under-the-table cash transactions for firewood, snowplowing, truck gardening, etc. are tax exempt business activities. Yet they’d be the first to get their panties in a wad if some moneybags was not paying taxes. It doesn’t matter if the amount of taxes are small or large - the law is the law. I’m also sick and tired of the Idaho legislature providing loophole exemptions. Close the loopholes.

• DFO: On my way to work, I heard Mike Huckabee of the “Huckabee Report” give his “Huckabee Zero” to the revenuers in this case.
  

Question: Anyone out there willing to agree w/EndlessLosses that the 2 revenuers were just doing their job when they shut down the kids’ pumpkin stand in Lewiston?

Re: Escapee: Pitbull next door is achangin’

Mr. Bloggy: It is increasingly sad to Mr_Bloggy how HBO’s favorite son, and whisker’s breadth winner of a hotly contested city council race, MK, has continuously refused to wear, like a conquering Christian soldier, the mantle of leadership and justice and sponsor an ordinance that outlaws the Bully breed and protects the innocent and vulnerable citizenry he represents. Until the electorate elects leaders with the courage and foresight to protect their babies, toddlers (always modified by Bullies as “fat and tasty” toddlers), and children and the elderly from the malicious, malevolent mayhem and maelstromic mishappery brought crushingly and tearingly upon the vulnerable body politic. If not now, when? Every year delayed is seven years for a dog. Think about that.

Question: Have you ever had a close encounter with a pitbull?

Signe Wilkinson/Philadelphia Inquirer

I went to see “The Laramie Project” at North Idaho College instead of watch the last innings of the New York Yankees’ season after work Friday. About 250 others had the same idea, inspired by the presence of the Westboro Baptist Church picketers earlier in the day. Director Joe Jacoby and I agreed in a short conversation before the production that Westboro may be one of the best things to happen to Coeur d’Alene for some time in terms of drawing people together to support human rights. Attendance was double Thursday night. The play is compelling, thought-provoking, and very well done — the best NIC production I’ve scene. I learned a bit more about Matthew Shepard — and might see it again. You should, too. (The play is scheduled at 7:30 next Thursday through Saturday. Admission is free.) Now, for your Wild Card …

Huckleberries Online has learned through several sources that long-time Coeur d’Alene community leader Amidee “Ace” Walden, 104, died in his sleep Saturday morning. Shown above 13 years ago, Walden reminisced about the lifetime he has spent in Coeur d’Alene, for SR photographer Jesse Tinsley and former SReporter Julie Titone. At the time, Ace recalled selling newspapers on Coeur d’Alene’s downtown streets in 1913.

• Here’s a Q-and-A that I did with Ace 4 years ago after he turned 100
  

Washington State wide receiver Jared Karstetter (84) catches a touchdown pass in front of Stanford cornerback Johnson Bademosi (27) during the second quarter of an NCAA college football game in Stanford, Calif., Saturday.  Washington State fell 38-28 to No. 12 Stanford. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

• 2-fer: UI-New Mexico State ESPN boxscore here, and: Dickson fractures leg in Idaho win/Josh Wright
• 2-fer: Eagles on short end of key plays by Stanford/Vince Grippi, and: Stanford 38, Washington State 28, and: Pac-10 scores
• 2-fer: It’s the Big Sky, not the Big Easy/John Blanchette; and: Eastern Washington 28, Sacramento State 24
  

Jacob Charais, 6, and his little sister Sami-Lou, 4, sit in front of their pumpkin stand at their home in Lewiston on Friday.  The Idaho State Tax Commission wants them  to close their pumpkin stand at their family home.  Their parents, Dan amd Kami Charais, were contacted by a tax commission representative and told to stop selling pumpkins. Original Hucks post here. And: Full Lewiston Tribune story here. (Lewiston Tribune photo: Kyle Mills)

• Idaho makes national news by shutting down pumpkin stand/Dustin Hurst, Idaho Reporter
  

Question: What do you think the Idaho Tax Commission will do about the outrageous conduct of its reps in this situation, now that the public has found out about it?

The Coeur d’Alene Fire Department was dispatched to a structure fire at E. 300 Coeur d’Alene Lake Drive early Saturday morning. When fire crews arrived they found Willie’s Restaurant and Bar completely engulfed in flames. Crews were able to extinguish the fire, however the building is considered a total loss/KHQ. (More story + video here)

Item: LCDC details $9 million in Education Corridor work/Tom Hasslinger, Coeur d’Alene Press

More Info: Building out the education corridor’s infrastructure around the North Idaho College campus could cost around $9 million, engineers calculate. That price would bring in ample enhancements: One mile of expanded streets — namely a built-out Hubbard Street, Mullan Road and College Drive - bike lanes, traffic-calming roundabouts and two new signals, and a mile and a half of connecting bicycle paths to the Centennial Trial.

Question: Is the cost and planned improvements reasonable?

Coeur d’Alene police are trying to figure out who would spray graffiti on the 9/11 heroes memorial. Vandals started their spree down the street from the memorial near I-90 then targeted the memorial.The Coeur d’Alene Fallen Heroes Memorial Plaza was built by community groups, including local police and firefighters. Two years ago, it was hit by arsonists and this week’s graffiti has the community fed up.“To have it disrespected like this is, well, it takes the wind out of your sails,” Coeur d’Alene Firefighter Matt Tosi said.“I can’t believe that kids would do that,” Lisa O’Conner said/Tania Dall, KXLY. More here.

Question: Have you visited the Coeur d’Alene Fallen Heroes Memorial Plaza behind the fire station on 15th Street?

Maybe I’m out of step with society, but I don’t care much for the trash talking that goes on in sports. It doesn’t strike me as something that fits with the ideals of sportsmanship and fair play. You can imagine how disgusted I was at my daughter’s recent soccer game to hear 4 or 5 members of the opposing team talking trash throughout the second half of the match. They had taken a lead of 5-1 and apparently felt comfortable enough to start in with the insults and name-calling. Yelling at the goalie, “You’re the worst goalie ever,” and “We can score on you all day long.” Taunting the forwards, “I’m going to do cartwheels and you still can’t score on us.” Stealing the ball away from a midfielder with a nasty, “You suck”/Idaho Dad, A Family Runs Through It. More here.

Question: Are girls meaner today than they were during your formative & teen years?

This is the little female Pit Bull that lives next door to me. She’s been a sweet girl; when I walk out to my mailbox, she runs along the fence and greets me. We even play a little bit; I’ll run my foot along the chainlink fence and she’ll chase it back and forth. I’ve scratched her ears and petted her, and she’s a good dog. At the same time, I realize she’s a Pit Bull. The young guys who live next door evidently have a couple of jobs each, and a lot of the time, no one’s there. And when they’re gone, the Pit Bull is kept inside their mobile home. I’ve heard her barking in there. I remarked to one of the guys who live there, that she’d go absolutely crazy on the Ocean Beaches, and was told they’d never taken her to the beach, or much of anywhere else. She’s cooped up practically all day long, from what I see. And she’s changing/Escapee, Atmospheric Ruminations. More here.

Question: Would you mind living next door to a pitbull?

Also there is the written code is, no one leaves camp until all have gotten their elk. The ones who have gotten their elk and deer become drivers for the others. Which the King has become, as he got his last week. So now he drives the hunter to the top of the ridge, and then goes down to the bottom and waits for the hunter to come out and give him/her a ride back to camp. And if the hunter gets his, then the King finds a way to get as close as he can to the kill and help bring the animal to camp. The King has the hunter who is 87. Who he admires his stamina, as this man handles the trails like a 20 year old. So the King has had the best time of his life/Cis, From A Simple Mind. More here. (Photo: The King with a moose earlier this fall.)

Question: What do you enjoy most about hunt, besides bagging your big-game animal?

Coeur d’Alene football coach Shawn Amos was looking for a better start Friday than the week before. Amos got that and more as his visiting second-ranked Vikings started fast and ended strong in a 41-14 win over Post Falls in a 5A Inland Empire League game before an estimated crowd of 2,000. The win sets up a showdown next Friday between city rivals when Lake City (6-2, 2-0) visits CdA (7-1, 2-0) for the league championship and playoff seeding. The teams will turn around and play again in a state playoff opener the following week/Greg Lee, SR. More here. And: SWX video highlights here. (SR photo: CdA’s Joe Roletto knocks down a long pass intended for Post Falls’ Jordan Pastras late in first half.)

• Coeur d’ Alene 41, Post Falls 14
• Kamiah 54, Kellogg 6
• Lake City 27, Sandpoint 7
• Lakeside 74, Clark Fork 28
• Lewiston 33, Boise 20
• Moscow 35, Lakeland 14
• Priest River 44, St. Maries 12
• Timberlake 21, Bonners Ferry 6
• Wallace 46, Mullan 0

Complete Idaho & Washington high school football scores

Signe Wilkinson/Philadelphia Inquirer

• Wednesday Poll (didn’t have one Thursday): It’s obvious that the Wednesday poll got hijacked. It shows that 235 of 326 (72%) of the votes were for Democrat Keith Allred. 84 of 326 (26%) were for incumbent Republican Butch Otter. Independent Pro-Life got 5 votes, and Independent Jana Kemp received 2. Otter should win Kootenai County easily.
• Today’s Poll: Who do you favor in the contested Kootenai County commissioner race: write-in candidate Rick Currie or Jai Nelson?
  

The Westboro Baptists have come & gone, possibly to return next week for the closing night of Joe Jacoby’s “The Laramie Project” at North Idaho College. Meanwhile, the GOP Bus made stops in Naples, Priest River, Spirit Lake, Rathdrum, Athol, the Kootenai County GOP HQ, and then the ill-fated one (see below) at Lake City High. I think I know who the LCHS administrator is that confronted the happy elephants but I’m not totally sure. I’m headed home to catch the end of tonight’s game between the Yanks & Rangers. But I’ll leave this Wild Card behind …

On her Facebook page, Cindy posts this question, noting that she saw this sign on Spokane’s north side while out and about today.

Question: How about if your neighbors wanted to warn people about YOU, what would THEIR sign say?

The Idaho State Tax Commission has called for the closure of a family’s pumpkin stand on the 1000 block of Eighth Street in Lewiston. A representative of the tax commission stopped by the home of Dan and Kami Charais Friday and asked for the stand’s closure. The Charais’ 4- and 6-year-old children are operating the stand to raise money for school sports. The tax commission representative who stopped by the home said she was not at liberty to talk about the incident when reached by phone this afternoon/Lewiston Tribune. More here. (AP photo for illustration purposes) H/T: Lew2NL.

Question: How come the Idaho State Tax Commission has time to shut down a kids’ pumpkin stand when it can’t seem to close the loopholes in sweet deals for major corporations?

• 5:49 p.m. Larry Schlappy, a 53YO St. Maries resident, was flown to Sacred Heart after his van was hit by a logging truck on H3 this morning. ISP report here.
  
• 5:28 p.m. Patrol officer reports 3 fires burning near new bridge on E. Fernan Lake Road.
• 5:09 p.m. Mother in 8600 block of Maple Street reports her son is bleeding from the head after a neighbor kid hit him with rocks.
  
• 4:54 p.m. A vehicle is on fire @ Atlas & Seltice Way/CdA.
  
• 4:50 p.m. 4 teens are sitting in median near bridge @ the state line.
• 4:45 p.m. Mitch Michael resident reports a group of 10YO boys are throwing rods at one another near Coeur d’Alene Tribe long house/Worley.
• 4:44 p.m. 30YO female with history of domestic violence won’t leave home in 1500 block of E. Mullan/CdA.
• 4:19 p.m. A patrol officer is involved in 3-vehicle rear-end crash that’s blocking H41 @ M/P 7 (Ohio Street). A female is complaining of knee injury from crash.
• 4:18 p.m. Ironwood doctor’s office reports possible child abuse.
• Much more below
  

Kristen Armstrong plays with her son Lucas at their home in Boise today. Armstrong is returning to pro cycling in hopes of joining the U.S. team for the 2012 London Olympics. Story here. (AP Photo/Matt Cilley)

• Idaho schools race draws independent funding/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise
• U.S. Senate candidate Sullivan talks economy, jobs for Idaho/KXLY
• Creach family launches private investigation into pastor shooting/KREM
• Kootenai County comprehensive plan redux/Terry Harris, KEA Blog
  
• Otter: Idaho up to its neck in ‘wolves … grievances’/Kevin Richert, Statesman
• Early voting mishap shakes confidence in Canyon County/Associated Press
• Scott seeks 6th term as Bonner County clerk/Bonner County Bee
• Sandpoint OKs parking ticket increase/Cameron Rasmusson, Bee
  

A humanoid robot code-named HRP-4C , center, performs with dancers at DIGITAL CONTENT EXPO in Tokyo Saturday. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Kyodo News)

Top Cutlines:

• 1. In a brave performance, Robin Williams reprises two previous roles (Bicentennial Man and Mrs. Doubtfire) for his new movie — Nic.
• 2. Dorothy and Toto are shocked when the Tin Man finally reveals his true self — JohnA.
• 3. Robert Palmer, does a futuristic video remake of his 1988 hit; with ‘Roberta the Robot’ declaring:”I-am-sim-ply Irr-e-sist-ible” — Kage Mann.
• Another Dimension: Mr. Bloggy
  

Ralph Bartholdt writes of decoy carver Frank Werner of St. Maries in his latest Skookum Photography post here.

• 10 things I did yesterday/A Butterfly Moment
• Trash talking 9YO girls/A Family Runs Through It
• Tea Party: The confused & the ignorant/Arch Druid
• Living next door to a pitbull/Atmospheric Ruminations
• Wacky election year/Bay Views
• Wacky Westboro/Community Comment
• My time is just about up/From A Simple Mind
• Feeling of fall/Gathering Around the Table
• Horrible Halloween happenings 2010/Get Out! North Idaho
• Facebook yes, Facebook no/Jamie Lynn Morgan
• 3BT: Back with Giants again, duck frenzy, Carey/Kellogg Bloggin’
• Words to no where/Nuts & Nonsense
• Last Friday/Slight Detour

Hucks Online numbers (for Thursday): 9181/5851, (for Wednesday) 10474/6311, (for Tuesday): 9793/5832

The two local teams that comprise the Snake Pit Venomous Vixens will be strapping on the skates this Sunday to take on one another in a pre-Halloween bout at Skate Plaza. All the information you need is above. Enjoy.

Luke Malek & Alison McArthur of the Kootenai County Young Professionals are looking for questions to ask North Idaho College trustee candidates at a televised forum from 6 to 7:30 Monday at Post Falls City Hall. I plan to live-blog the event, which will feature separate debates between, first, Christie Wood and Robert Ketchum, and then Ron Nilson and Ken Howard. I’ll forward the questions to Alison by 10 a.m. Monday. Luke will serve as moderator of the event.

Question: Do you have a question you’d like to see answered by NIC trustee candidates?

That musical tribute to Lawrence Welk caught my eye as I was reading down my Facebook wall — the one that Wallace’s Sixth Street Melodrama is opening next month (dates & times here). Over the years, I’ve learned to enjoy country Western, Jazz, and even musicals. But I’ve never acquired a taste for Lawrence Welk or rap. I remember the mind-numbing hours that I spent with my mom, dad, & siblings around the old TV set on our dairy suffering through Bobby & his dance partner (whatshername) and others (although the Lennon Sisters were pretty dang cute). I still cringe when I run across an old showing of Lawrence Welk & Co. will clicking through the channels. I wish the Sixth Street Melodrama well. But I’ve passed on Lawrence Welk & liver since I left home at 16.

• Cutline: In this 1955 photo released by ABC, the Lennon sisters appear on The Lawrence Welk Show. From left are Peggy, Dee Dee, Janet, Kathy and Lawrence Welk.

Question: Are you a Lawrence Welk fan?

Lt. Gov. Brad Little is checking in with Huckleberries Online as bus tour passes Silverwood:

• DFO: What’s your impression of North Idaho?
• Brad Little: It’s beautiful.
• DFO: Is this the first time you’ve seen Priest River, Spirit Lake, & Rathdrum, & Athol?
• Brad Little: I’ve had several statewide positions, so visited here a number of times. This summer was first time I was at Upper Priest Lake. We come up here as legislators all the time during the North Idaho tours. I also went to school at University of Idaho.
• More below
  

Here’s another Crazy Homeschool Mama Twitter photo of the state’s top elected GOP officials stopping at Spirit Lake City Park to address about 100 people on hand to rally with them. At last report, they’d stopped for lunch at the Golden Spike in Rathdrum, where Rally Right holds its meetings.

How often do you see PETA and the Idaho Transportation Department in the same sentence, let alone the same news story? People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals regularly lobbied the ITD regarding the issue of leaving animals in hot cars, and earlier this month, Edward Pemble, ITD’s driver services manager informed the activist group that a warning will be added to the Idaho driver’s manual about the danger of leaving cats and dogs in parked cars. “Death from heatstroke is slow, agonizing and terrifying,” said PETA vice president Daphna Nachminovitch/George Prentice, Boise Weekly. More here. (SR file photo: Officer Ashley Brown of SCRAPS puts a notice in a car after she freed the yorkie from the parked car in front of Valley Village in Spokane Valley this summer.)

Question: Do you take your dog with you when you’re traveling somewhere? What do you do with your dog when you have to stop somewhere to shop?

Large crowds of counter-demonstrators turned out in the early morning darkness in Coeur d’Alene today to answer the small group of protesters from Westboro Baptist Church that plans a second day of denouncing gays, soldiers, Jews, the United States, and private and public colleges and schools. The seven members of the extremist group from Topeka, Kan., were out holding signs at the corner of Fourth and Dalton streets, next to Coeur d’Alene High School, by 6 a.m., while at least 50 counter-demonstrators met them with messages of their own. “I don’t like the way they treat veterans at the funerals,” said Greg Prado of Hayden, a Marine who served in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Prado attended with his son Cade, 6, and wife Amy/Alison Boggs, SR. More here. (SR Photo: Kathy Plonka: Scott and Michelle Hoagland, of Coeur d’Alene, give free hugs during the protest of the Westboro Baptist Church at North Idaho College on Friday.)

Question: What is the best way to demonstrate against hate?

Montana Actors’ Theatre is doing the Time Warp again … again. For two nights this weekend, the local troupe of thespians will once again don fishnets for the return of “The Rocky Horror Show,” the risque rock ‘n’ roll musical comedy that proved a smashing success for the company last year over Halloween weekend, filling the 1,100-seat Wilma Theatre for four performances in two nights. While encore productions often prove risky in the theatre world, this one should be a no-brainer. After all, “The Rocky Horror Show” owes its enduring popularity to repetition and familiarity as much as to its content/Joe Nickell, Missoulian. More here. (AP Photo: Joan Jett, left, Tom Hewitt, center, and Daphne Rubin-Vega, stars in “The Rocky Horror Show” pose in a 2000 promotional photo.)

• OrangeTV: I went for the first time at the Magic Lantern when I was 12 and won the “best virgin” contest. I probably went back 60-70 times after that. It was one of the most fun and entertaining things to do on the weekend in Spokane, and I was sad when they quit showing it every Friday and Saturday at midnight. Since then, I usually catch it 2-3 times every Halloween. It’s a true classic that I don’t think I’ll ever tire of…

Question: The popular TV show ‘Glee’ is also airing an episode on the ‘Rocky Horror Show’ soon. I’ve never seen it. Have you? Are you a fan?

Gov. Butch Otter speaks to a constituent moments ago during a stop by the GOP bus at Spirit Lake City Park. Crazy Homeschool Mama took this photo. She announced via Twitter that she talked to the governor about the wolf problem.

• Cartoon: Zero emissions … really?/Milt Priggee, Seattle P-I
  
• North Idahoans stand against hate message/Alison Boggs, SR
• Westboro protest costs police $10,000/Meghann Cuniff, Sirens & Gavels
• Plane’s pilot talks about crash in Colville/KHQ
• Poaching charge against anti-wolf advocate dropped/Associated Press
• Liberal Montana blogger raises ire of gay activists/Matt Gouras, AP
  
• Thompson Falls reports rare western scrub jay sighting/Vince Devlin, Missoulian
• Orbusmax Special: Washington high school refs may be flagged for pink whistles here
  

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, left, is joined by Bill Baroni, deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, as she discusses the deployment of the first Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) unit at John F. Kennedy International Airport Friday in New York. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)

Question: Do you believe, as I do, that the full body scans at airports are a violation of our 4th Amendment rights?

“As a proud Vandal grad who was born in Idaho and still has plenty of Idaho family roots, I’m honored to endorse Butch Otter for governor of the Gem State. Whether serving in Congress or the governor’s office, Butch has been a voice for ‘common-sense conservatism.’ He’s been a strong advocate for fiscal discipline and energy independence. As governor of Alaska, it was a pleasure working with Butch as both our states bucked a growing federal government power grab in disregard of the Tenth Amendment. Butch has served Idaho with distinction as governor, and Idaho can’t go wrong re-electing him this November”/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here.