All Kevin Sperber, of St. Maries (not Spearbear, as reported in the Bonner County sheriff's dispatch record and repeated here), wanted Tuesday morning was a full tank of diesel for his log truck and a pop for his morning caffeine fix. He went into Blanchard E-Z Stop to pay for both with a credit card. The next thing he knew, he was wanted by the Bonner County law and spotlighted in Huckleberries on Thursday as a trucker who'd stiffed the station for $172 worth of fuel. Indeed, Kevin drove off without officially paying for the diesel. As a result, he landed on the blotter as a possible grand theft suspect. However, he did try to pay for it. Alas, a glitch happened somewhere between the tanks outside and the register inside because the credit card slip he signed without scrutinizing it charged him only for the soda. A half hour later, he received an S.O.S. call from his wife, Shirley, via cell phone, asking if he'd forgotten anything at the quick stop. He said he hadn't. When he learned about the problem, he immediately returned to Blanchard to pay for the fuel with his credit card. In the interim, someone had sicced the cops on him. An E-Z Stop clerk told Huckleberries on Thursday that the episode that landed Kevin's name on the blotter was "simply a big mix-up." Case dismissed.

• I'll be blogging live from my wife's Shabby Sweethearts Shabby Chic and Open Market Sale from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today and Saturday at the Mica Flats Grange, Highway 95 and Kidd Island Bay Road, south of Coeur d'Alene. Stop by and say hello.

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