Legally, Segway OK’d for trail

In the parlance of Dirty Harry, you probably can scoot your high-priced Segway over to that new Prairie Trail that joins North Idaho’s Centennial Trail, if you feel lucky. A Segway is a nerdy two-wheel scooter with handlebars that stand upright. The North Idaho Centennial Trail Foundation doesn’t want to see them on the main Centennial Trail or the five-mile prairie spur along the old railroad tracks. But state law might trump its wishes. Seems the creator/promoter of the Segway was clever enough to launch a pre-emptive strike before anyone figured out that a motorized vehicle that travels up to 20 mph (according to Coeur d’Alene City Attorney Mike Gridley) might be dangerous on bike trails and walkways. He persuaded legislatures nationwide to classify Segways under the pedestrian category as “electric personal assistive mobile devices.” Sorta like motorized wheelchairs (which are fine with the Centennial Trail Foundation). Bottom line? A Segway rider might have a legal leg to stand on should he get a citation when the Prairie Trail opens. But he’d better be ready for an expensive legal fight.

Humble roots

Now you know her as Sgt. Christie Wood, the stylin’ North Idaho College trustee and CPD Blue spokeswoman. But in an earlier life she pumped gas at a service station on Highway 53, between Hauser and Rathdrum. In a recent comment on Huckleberries Online, Christie observed how times have changed. “I worked the late shift all by myself with no homes or businesses within miles of the station and never worried about being robbed or attacked.” However, she wasn’t fond of some of the jobs she had at the full-service station, for example, busting tires. “I hated that part,” she continued. “I never had pretty fingernails in those days.” In response to Christie’s post, Oxyfresh PRster Keith Erickson didn’t mention his fingernails. But he did say that he worked at the same service station, in the 1970s when it was owned by Bob Cooper. Who also owned the Rainbow Inn. What did Keith remember most about his time as a grease monkey? Gas sold for 85 cents per gallon. Sigh.

Huckleberries

No, I wasn’t the one responsible for burning the popcorn in the CDA newsroom Monday afternoon, causing The Spokesman-Review building to be evacuated and local firefighters to come scrambling. But I know who did … Both the right and left wings of Huckleberries Online weighed in when they learned that Idaho was one of the 30 or so states that doesn’t have a catchy bumpersnicker phrase for Barack Obama. The Left Bank offered “IdahObama” (Sisyphus) and “Obamaho” (Machiavelli). Right Bankers countered with “Obamination” (Duane Rasmussen) and “Nobama” (Crazy John) … If you follow the North Idaho Pachyderm link after going to the Republican Party of Idaho site and clicking on “contact,” you’ll find music reviews and info about Latin music and guitar instruction. And you thought Pachyderm Club honcho Rasmussen only listened to Lawrence Welk? … For those keeping score at home, Huckleberries Online attracted 1,186,310 page-views for the first six months of the year. If the pace continues, HBO will surpass its 2007 record of 2.25 million page views.

Parting shot

JeanC, the Moscow blogmistress of JeanC’s Cat House & Shooting Gallery, couldn’t believe her eyes when she spotted an outhouse on the Palouse at Chatcolet and Highway 95. So she turned around and went back to read the words spray-painted on it. One side read: “George W. Bush Presidential Lirarby.” On the back were the words: “CIA Office Downn Stairs.” Either some pesky Demo is out and about. Or some graffiti artists needs spellcheck.