Try not to bend the rules

You know how, when voting by mail, there’s that instruction to refold the ballot the same way it was folded originally?

Well, for those cursed with map-crease incompetence, that’s easier said than done.

Living near the state line: “I think my friend Robin Schlotthauer takes the prize,” wrote Carleen Hopkins. “Her house is 30 feet into Spokane County, Washington, and her driveway is in Bonner County, Idaho.”

Jan Hathaway, who lives east of Rockford has a similar story. “My house is in Washington, and Idaho divides my driveway, pasture and garden.”

Photos at the Human Rights Education Center: Mead’s Milton Asher said that when he called the Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce and asked for information about “the Anne Frank exhibit,” a perfectly pleasant woman there asked, “Is she a local artist?”

Exit poll: “Just wondering if anyone judges the relative merits of political candidates based on the driving habits of cars (and drivers) sporting their bumper stickers,” wrote Cathy Donovan.

Maybe. But most of us probably decide the old-fashioned way. You know, “Whose campaign has bugged me the least with computer-generated phone calls?”

Speaking of campaign calls, Judy McKeehan got one from Robert Redford. Sadly for her, it was a recording.

And Lori Reynolds said she would rather see a HeadOn commercial than another political spot.

True north: Nearby Nelson, B.C., has been selected to be the host city for CBC television’s annual “Hockey Day in Canada” on Jan. 13. The 13 hours of coast-to-coast broadcasting on that Saturday will put Nelson in the spotlight for something other than being home to a lot of U.S. draft evaders.

Slice answers: Who is the biggest phony in the Inland Northwest?

“The Spokesman-Review,” wrote South Hill resident Richard O’Brien. “For endorsing candidates who support the paper’s well-connected clients rather than those who would support the people of Spokane.”

But Mike Grady said the title has to go to the politicians themselves. “They are horrible.”

Today’s Slice question: I have a skating buddy named Jim who bought his Spokane house about 50 years ago for $11,000. Some of the homes near his have recently sold for about $250,000. So here’s the question.

Who around here lives in a house with the biggest gap between the purchase price and probable 2006 asking price?