It’s official: Idaho’s quarter among the worst

I’m not one to say, I told you so (and if you believe that you’ll believe anything), but didn’t I tell you that Idaho’s state quarter was among the worst in the nation? Now we know how lousy our quarter with the giant peregrine head poised over a smaller Idaho outline actually is. In a nationwide poll taken by Wallet Pop blog, Idaho’s quarter was ranked worst in the nation with only 38 percent approval among the 65,000 respondents. That’s 7 percent less than the two quarters that finished second and third from the bottom with 45 percent approval apiece – Pennsylvania and Michigan. Rounding out the bottom five were New Hampshire, 48 percent, and New Mexico, 51 percent. Alaska may have joined the union late. But it was at the top of the quarter rankings with 94 percent approval. The Alaska quarter features a grizzly bear with a salmon in its mouth in an outdoor setting with the words “The Great Land” on the side. Maine was second best and Kentucky third. Other Northwest states outshined Idaho’s peregrine head, too. Washington had 84 percent approval; Oregon, 87 percent; Wyoming, 53 percent; and Montana, 61 percent. In other words, we gave the nation our bird, and Wallet Pop Nation reciprocated in kind.

Rexburg blues

You’ve heard that youngsters in the Rexburg School District chanted, “assassinate Obama” on a school bus. But did you know that for some in the town those apples didn’t fall far from the tree? A woman who teaches there posted the following comment at Huckleberries Online: “Working with teenagers, I hear catty girls talk about other girls in a very mean way on a daily basis. I think “Mean Girls” was based on this community. Before the election, I constantly heard horrible, negative remarks about Obama. Things like baby killer, he is black, he is stupid, he doesn’t deserve to win, my parents will move out of the country if he wins, and worst of all, he is a Democrat. I often heard from students that he should be shot before he gets in office. It sickened me but at the time I thought that they were just trying to get to me because of my Obama sticker on my desk. Seriously, what eighth-grader cares about politics? Most don’t pay attention in class anyway so I wonder where they hear these things?” Any guesses?

Huckleberries

County Clerk Dan English, the only elected Demo serving at the courthouse, wonders about the hubbub created in Boise this month when UIdaho football coach Robb Akey used the term “donkeys” to refer to the Boise State Broncos. BSU prez Bob Kustra addressed the outrage by issuing a statement that said “donkey” was the “ultimate insult on the Bronco mascot” and called for civility. Now, Clerk English again: “All I can say is that when I hear the term donkey I actually think of it as a term of endearment” … BTW, Berry Picker Henry “Digger” Johnston wonders why Kustra didn’t issue another statement condemning the display by the Boise State Donkey player who launched the pregame warm-ups at the Kibbie Dome by beating the Vandal logo at midfield with a sledge hammer? … Rumorama: OrangeTV reports at his Get Out! North Idaho blog (getoutnorthidaho. blogspot.com) that the infamous Torch Lounge might season its bikini fare with drag queen cabaret shows next year … Chief Jack Krill of the Timberlake Fire Protection District has some top-notch photos of that mountain goat that broke into that Athol home. Check out the fire district’s Web site: www.timberlakefire.com/ goat.html.

Parting shot

Is it just me, or is there something wrong with an obit for ex-Shoshone County sheriff Frank Crnkovich that fails to mention that he faced and beat corruption charges as a result of the infamous 1991 FBI raid in the Silver Valley? In the Shoshone News-Press, Crnkovich, 75, who died Nov. 19, was treated as a model cop. Quoth one friend of his: “Well, he’s probably one of the greatest sheriffs we’ve had, and will probably ever have. He was a man’s man. He was kind of like a John Wayne, so to speak. When you met Frank, you knew Frank was in command. And you knew what he said was right. He was as good as they come.” Mebbe all that’s true. But there’s a big hole in the story re: his re-election loss to former Undersheriff Dan Schierman and the fight to clear his name. Schierman was the whistle-blower in the FBI raid. A newspaper shouldn’t whitewash local history.