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Huckleberries: With due credit, CdA Press makes headlines

Reporters Jeff Selle and Maureen Dolan of the Coeur d’Alene Press received due credit in People magazine for breaking the Rachel Dolezal story. After revealing that the local NAACP leader was white, not black, Jeff and Maureen were pushed aside as the story went viral. But People set the record straight June 20. Selle told the mag that he had always been skeptical of Dolezal’s unsubstantiated claims of harassment during her tenure with Coeur d’Alene’s Human Rights Education Institute. That skepticism boiled over, reports People, when Dolezal “reported finding a package filled with racial threats against her and addressed to her in the post office box of the Spokane, Washington, NAACP.” Selle told People: “There hadn’t been a string of hate crimes (in Coeur d’Alene) until she shows up. And now with them allegedly happening in Spokane, I said, ‘This looks fishy.’ ” Jeff and Maureen will be remembered again next year when 2015 journalism awards are handed out.

Sweet fruit, defined

“How would you describe a huckleberry to the uninitiated?” wondered Keva Wolfe of the Old School North Idaho Facebook page. A Huckleberries Online commenter pseudonymed Sisyphus responded: “A huckleberry contains the perfect mixture of tart, almost citrus, berry flavor which simultaneously summons the rich tones of deep roots in the neighboring old growth cedars and bringing down from their towering canopy the tingling starlight from overhead summertime constellations which capture our imagination as we witness the waning embers of a July campfire. When the sunlight engorges the fruit to an almost black hue, the sweetness plumps them to provide a delicate waft of scent that permeates the surrounding forest and can make the most vicious grizzly quiver with delighted anticipation.” Any other questions?

Huckleberries

Poet’s Corner: You can start at 5:30,/for the time’s in your keeping,/but whenever you start/I plan to be sleeping” – The Bard of Sherman Avenue (“Of the Ironman Starting Time”) … As the heat wave takes hold, Christa Hazel, chairman of the Coeur d’Alene School Board, Facebooks: “Exactly how old does one need to be for a muumuu to be considered age appropriate?” … Poll: By a two-vote margin, Huckleberries blog readers support a decision by the city of Coeur d’Alene to permit beer and wine sales at the Harbor House concession stand at McEuen Park (near the Third Street entrance to Tubbs Hill) … Don’t look now, but Coeur d’Alene Parking Commission may endorse a program to place wheel boots on repeat parking violators who don’t pay their tickets … A man who was house- and rabbit-sitting on Grants Court reported to Post Falls police that someone flooded the place using the washing machine hookups. Tongue firmly cheeked, a PFPD employee Facebooked: “No real suspects at this time (except possibly the rabbit?)” … Scanner Traffic (from late last Monday PM): An older male shouldering a cross appeared to be suffering as he walked along Highway 53, near Hauser, according to a 911 caller. Without missing a beat, a patrol officer responded: “He should be suffering. It’s hot out here.”

Parting shot

Tweetable: Remember Harley Brown? He’s the crackpot biker who stole the show at the May 2014 Idaho GOP guv primary debate with a bunch of one-liners, including: “I’m about as politically correct as your proverbial turd in a punchbowl, and I’m proud of it.” Well, Harley’s back for a few more seconds of fame. In a tweet last week, he wrote: “I’m officially withdrawing my 2016 Presidential bid and endorsing @realDonaldTrump. I believe he would be the best choice for many reasons.” That should put Trump over the top.

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