Thanks for memories, CdA police
Coeur d’Alene police finally caught up with that desperado who has bedeviled lakeshore owners trying to construct buildings or docks in the wrong places for years. Attorney Scott Reed, 81, who walks with a cane, was nabbed by five CPD Blues, two with guns drawn, when he exited a second-floor restroom of the Bank of America building Wednesday, Dec. 23, where he has had an office for decades. Seems Scott had arrived before others in the building per usual and inadvertently set off a burglar alarm as he puttered around the office. In a letter written later to police spokeswoman Christie Wood, Scott explained he “was wearing cutoff jeans and a sloppy shirt and certainly didn’t look professional.” Scott was also wearing handcuffs by the time the CPD Blues figured out he wasn’t a threat to the well-being of our republic. Scott wasn’t perturbed by his brush with the law. In his letter, he said: “I am at an age where nothing very exciting ever happens and this certainly was memorable.” Also, he felt complimented that “someone in my condition walking only with a cane was thought physically capable of robbing a bank.” Finally, graciously, he applauded the caution of the cops, noting that the recent murders of Washington officers and the increase in crime locally has proven that “advanced age is no assurance that (an) elder is not carrying a gun.”
Book ’em
Early Wednesday afternoon, Scott “Sticky Fingers” Reed was still enjoying his brush with the law (particularly the idea circulated by friends that they should turn him in for a reward) when he experienced a sense of déjÀ vu. Seems he and wife Mary Lou were walking to the Olympia restaurant on Lakeside to eat when a half dozen police cars zoomed by and stopped at Washington Trust bank. Scott didn’t know at the time that the bank on Lakeside had just been robbed. The octogenarian watched from inside the restaurant as the officers fanned out. He told Huckleberries Online: “I decided not to go out and reintroduce myself.” Also, he quipped, “I kept my walking cane out of sight. The robber got away with the money without a gun. I guess it’s possible to rob a bank with a walking cane.”
Huckleberries
Poet’s Corner: There is an icy sidewalk/that’s slick as polished glass;/I saw a lady slip there/and fall upon her…/handbag – The Bard of Sherman Avenue (“A Tasteful Winter’s Verse”) … In his Slate online column, Bruce Reed, tongue firmly cheeked, said of father Scott’s encounter with the long arm of the law: “One officer surveyed the messy office and declared that the place looked like it had been ransacked.” P’haps a messy office has become a primary offense in Coeur d’Alene? … As you know, the grand jury refused to indict local businessman Adam Johnson in the Sherman Avenue shooting that left two Moses Lake men wounded. But Huckleberries Online readers weren’t impressed. In a poll, 34 percent of the Merry Hucksters said Johnson was lucky he didn’t kill anyone. Another 25 percent said he should stay out of bars … The most delicious rumor out there re: KXLY’s makeover has Nadine Woodward, who left KREM2 on less than amiable turns last fall, joining the morning show with Bud Nameck. Totally speculation at this point.
Parting shot
The latest wacky conspiracy theory from Mary Souza and her OpenCDA.com blog? In a comment below a recent post, Souza claims: “Now (Mayor Sandi Bloem) has to ignore the major faux pas by Councilman Kennedy that has resulted in two radio personalities getting fired.” Seems Mike Kennedy gave in jest KVNI morning hosts Norm McBride and Chris Wagar a six-pack of Guinness beer during his appearance on their show Tuesday, Jan. 5, stating he’d be back later to knock back a few brewskis with them. The pair were fired later that day. Both told Huckleberries the next day that their firing by mother ship KXLY was the result of sour economics, not Mike’s beer.