Stickman: An anonymous benefactor sent Walkabout another 8,000 dog poop bags again this year. The support she gets from this one person is very admirable and keeps her doing her job, which is keeping Tubbs Hill and the dog park clean. We would never be able to afford the amount of bags she uses each year, so this is a godsend. Plus, not many people in this world would do what she does, so she is my hero in a sense. I could never do it. I guess this is just a reminder to please pick up after your animals. Thanks.

Question: Do you take poop bags with you when you walk your dog? Do you confront individuals who let their dogs poop on public sidewalks or parks without cleaning it up?

Item: A more accessible Tubbs Hill: Plan would reduce grade of trail, create wheelchair turnarounds/Tom Hasslinger, Coeur d'Alene Press

More Info: The city of Coeur d'Alene is trekking forward with its plans to alter the east side of Tubbs Hill to make the popular hiking trail more accessible for people with disabilities. The General Services Committee, a subcommittee of the Coeur d'Alene City Council, recommended Monday the city contract Welch Comer Engineers for $9,000 engineering studies to determine how to improve wheelchair accessibility on the downtown hill. The proposed project doesn't have anything to do with creating a north trail on Tubbs Hill, which is how it earned its support from the Tubbs Hill Foundation.

Question: Does Tubbs Hill need to become more accessible?

On her Facebook wall, Linda Lantzy of Idaho Scenic Images writes: “I was hoping for a sun and falling snow shot (Wednesday), but I was happy to find the snow undisturbed on this little beach off Tubbs Hill. Sorry to anyone who went after me. I messed it up real good.”

Take a walk on Tubbs Hill or the North Idaho Centennial Trail. It's almost guaranteed you'll meet someone with a dog, and many times, the dog won't be on a leash. So, man's best friend will come running toward you, the intruder, sometimes barking, sometimes growling. Here, most often, is what the owner will say:  “Don't worry, he doesn't bite.” “He just wants to play.” “He's friendly.” Somehow, in the owner's mind, that makes it OK for the dog to roam free. That makes it fine for the dog to charge up, chase after you. That makes it no problem for Spot or Rover to romp and bounce in front of anyone who comes its direction. It's not/Mike Patrick, Coeur d'Alene Press. More here.

Question: Would you have the nerve to confront a owner who is disobeying dog leash or other laws — or allowing his dog to poop in a public area without picking it up?

When the owners arrive, they usually have a dog leash in their hands. That's the part that bothers Catherine McLandress most. McLandress owns two spaniels which she walks around Tubbs Hill nearly every day, and in the last year she's noticed an alarming trend. She has encountered more and more unleashed dogs while on the downtown hiking hill's trails, she said, dogs which have attacked her spaniels way too often. Eight times in the last year by her count, three of those in the last two months. “It's really, really gotten to be a problem,” she said. And when the owners catch up to their unencumbered dogs, they're holding the very leashes that could have prevented the encounters. “I don't understand where they're coming from, but they don't seem to have any remorse for it,” she said/Tom Hasslinger, Coeur d'Alene Press. More here. (Kathy Plonka SR file photo shows dog on leash being walked on Tubbs Hill)

Question: Should Coeur d'Alene police crack down on scofflaws who allow their dogs to run free on Tubbs Hill?

After several months of study and discussion, tonight (Monday) the City of Coeur d’Alene’s Parks and Recreation Commission will officially consider a consensus recommendation to retrofit a Tubbs Hill trail to accommodate wheelchair accessibility. Last spring, the City Council separated Tubbs Hill from the McEuen Park project and formed a task force to take a comprehensive look at Tubbs Hill trails. The task force, which included representatives from the Tubbs Hill Foundation, KEA, and the disability community, met through the fall. At the final meeting in December, the group unanimously agreed to recommend that the existing east side trail become the first wheelchair-accessible trail on Tubbs Hill. Meanwhile, the task force also unanimously recommended that any further consideration of a new, north-side trail, be tabled until the east-side trail is completed/Terry Harris, KEA Blog. More here. (KEA courtesy photo)

Question: Do you agree that Tubbs Hill trails should be wheelchair accessible?

Just a short stroll from downtown Sandpoint, a dirt trail follows Lake Pend Oreille’s shoreline past groves of leafy cottonwoods that block out the sights and sounds of the bustling resort town. Instead of traffic, trail users hear lapping waves and the musical cadence of song sparrows. To the east, they can watch storm clouds gathering over the Cabinet Mountains. The privately owned trail is one of Sandpoint’s best kept secrets. But through a $1.6 million deal negotiated with the heirs of the late Sandpoint photographer Ross Hall, local cities and a nonprofit group hope to secure almost a mile of the undeveloped shoreline for public use/Becky Kramer, SR. More here. (SR photo by Kathy Plonka: Dann Hall, son of the late Ross Hall, talks about his family’s waterfront property)

Reaction?

Model Olivia Cadwell adorns the point on Tubbs Hill for Rocky Castaneda of Lake City Photography, during a recent photography session. You can see more of Rocky's Tubbs Hill photos of Olivia here.

Don Sausser, Huckleberries Eye On Sherman Avenue, spotted a small plane advertising Geico insurance as it was blying over Tubbs Hill Sunday. It also flew over Blossom Mountain. (And I spotted it a week ago en route to the Spokane airport.

Question: I consider insurance companies to be a necessary evil. How about you?

Walkabout snapped this photo of an osprey return to its nest during one of our daily trips around Tubbs Hill this spring.

Five males, including one possibly in his 30s, are wanted in connection with a robbery on Tubbs Hill Monday evening. Three teens told police that they met the five in the East Tubbs Hill parking lot at about 8:30 p.m. and joined them in hiking the hill. The victims told police that they hiked about 200 yards up the hill before they were attacked by the other males and beaten up. The victims reported that the five males talk their wallets and cell phones. According to a police news release, the suspects told their victims that their phones would be waiting for them at the base of the hill. The victims later found their phones where the suspects said they would be. No serious injuries were reported. One of the victims recognized one of the assailants from school.

Question: Have you ever been concerned for your safety while hiking Tubbs Hill?

The Council’s action (to remove Tubbs Hill from proposed McEuen Field discussion) recognized that there was a consensus that accessibility concerns needed to be addressed on Tubbs Hill. With Kennedy’s amendment, the issues relating to Tubbs Hill were remanded back to the Parks Department to draft a specific comprehensive management plan to address trail accessibility, public safety, connectivity, forest health, invasive species, and ongoing maintenance. The Department was directed to collaborate with stakeholders including the Tubbs Hill Foundation and the disability community. Kennedy’s amendment also will require a specific report back to the Council with dates and schedules for implementation/Terry Harris, KEA Blog. More here. (Courtesy photo: Stickman)

Question: Do you agree with the City Council decision to remove Tubbs Hill from the proposed upgrades to McEuen Field?

We’ve written a few times about Tubbs Hill and its intersection with the McEuen Park debate. As the concept proposal for McEuen goes to the City Council next week, the issue of Tubbs Hill is likely to be squarely at the forefront of the Council’s consideration. We’ve spent some time this past week, working with community members, talking to City Council members, and thinking a lot about Tubbs Hill. And we think we’ve discovered a clear, across-the-board, consensus as to what needs to happen. The problem, at this point, is how to make it happen. We’re increasingly of the opinion that considering Tubbs Hill in the McEuen Park context is the wrong approach. Tubbs Hill is different/Terry Harris, KEA Blog. More here. (KEA Blog photo)

Question: Do you agree with Terry that Tubbs Hill should be viewed in an entirely different context than as a part of the greater McEuen Field area?

“So,” posts Linda Lantzy/Idaho Scenic Images, “I went back (Sunday night), with a working flashlight and allowed myself more time. I like this much better, but if I'd have used the flashlight to do some light painting on those rocks during the two minute exposure, it could have been better. Sigh …”

• Thursday Poll: The voting was light (and close among top two spots), but you Merry Hucksters listed removal of the 3rd Street boat launch as the top concern you have re: McEuen Field changes. 42 of 98 (42.9%) rated the boat launch as your top concern and proposed changes to Tubbs Hill (39 of 98, 39.8%) as a close No. 2. Far back in the pack were concerns about elimination of the American Legion ballpark (only 5 of 98, 5.1%) and elimination of the softball fields (4 of 98, 4.1%). 8 respondents said they were more concerned about unspecified “other” proposed changes.
• Today's Poll: Do you agree with the decision by House Ethics Committee to dismiss ethics charges against Rep. Phil Hart?

Item: Take two brings skeptics: Citizens wear hats, wave signs protesting possible removal of Third Street launch/Tom Hasslinger, Coeur d'Alene Press

More Info: The encore presentation, in many ways, was a lot like the original. One difference this time around: Some came with hats shaped like boats and some held signs in the crowd. But after Team McEuen shared its vision of a redeveloped McEuen park with the public Thursday night at Woodland Middle School, opinions on the proposal varied, just as they had after the January presentation.

Question: Anyone attend the meeting last night? Do you want to provide a report?

• Wednesday Poll: A plurality of respondents voted that they didn't want any changes made to Tubbs Hill. 82 of 175 respondents (46.9%) don't want to see changes made. Of those who want to see changes, 37 of 175 (21.1%) want a northern trail that's handicap accessible; 29 (16.6%) want trailheads improved, 15 (8.6%) want a sledding hill on the north side; and 12 (6.9%) want trails widened.
• Today's Poll: Which proposed change to McEuen Field/Tubbs Hill concerns you most?

Tonight is the second public presentation on the park's conceptual plan, which will detail 24 itemized enhancements with the project. But since the plan went public a little over a month ago, some of the most polarizing input has been on the controversial suggestion to swap the city launch with one about a mile away near North Idaho College. “We're getting lots of written comments on the boat launch,” said Dick Stauffer, Team McEuen designer who helped craft the overall plan. “It was expected.” Meanwhile, Team McEuen is crunching the numbers on survey results still coming in. The group is nearing 1,000 written and online surveys submitted, with an approval rating on the scope of the project around 65 percent, Stauffer said/Tom Hasslinger, Coeur d'Alene Press. More here. (SR photo: Kathy Plonka)

Question: Which of the contoversial elements of the Team McEuen plan bothers you most — moving the boat launch, moving the American Legion field, changing Tubbs Hill?

Item: Mountain out of a Tubbs Hill: Lakeside trail is one of three big issues citizens have with McEuen plan/Tom Hasslinger, Coeur d'Alene Press

More Info: The proposed changes include a new, eastern trailhead that would connect a wider, Americans with Disabilities Act compliant-trail across the north face of the hill. That new trail would connect with the current west entrance. Both entrances would be beautified, with possible water and garden features nearby. The new path would connect also with a path hugging the base of the hill completing an easily-accessed half mile hiking loop for anyone who might find Tubbs Hill's current trails too narrow or difficult. And along the top of the new trail, a portion of the hill would be cleared to create a sledding hill.

Question: Are there any changes to Tubbs Hill that you'd like to see?

Walkabout: Those months also bring much less trash. The amount that gets left up on Tubbs is incredible. I picked up so much trash in the last few days I had to take a break. Glass bottles, cans, plastic bottles and cups, diapers, fish in plastic bags, blankets, towels, shoes, cigarette butts, shirts, and shorts, flip flops, and doggie poos. None is this much fun to clean up but I like how much better things look. I wish people would treat Tubbs like the special park that it is instead of a garbage dump and a toilet. A special thanks to the Parks Department who has to carry away all of this garbage!

Question: Have you noticed the trash that Walkabout’s talking about, when you’ve hiked Tubbs Hill this summer?