Idaho Voices

If the Kootenai County Veterans Council gets its way, the state of Idaho will dedicate 121 miles of U.S. Highway 3 to 12 Medal of Honor recipients with North Idaho roots. The route passes through Kootenai, Benewah, Shoshone, Latah and Nez Perce counties and would honor North Idaho soldiers and sailors who were awarded the nation’s highest award for valor in conflicts from the Civil War to Vietnam.

‘Fun for the child in everyone” is the theme of Shugar Shack Chocolatier. This confectionery store plans to open late this month in the space that formerly had Pizza Schmizza just south of Riverstone Cinema. The sweet specialties include trail mix, chocolate barbecue snacks, chocolate popcorn, shugarberries, sea-turtles, pastries, gelato, holiday specials, gift baskets and American heroes. Drinks include coffee and smoothies. Customers will be able to watch the treats being made.

The committee on the 10-year plan to end homelessness in Kootenai County will have a meeting on Friday in the Community Room at the Coeur d’Alene Public Library, 702 E. Front Ave., at 7:30 p.m. The meeting will include informational exhibits by service providers, a presentation on the most recent data collected on homelessness in Kootenai County and an active dialogue with members of the faith community.

COEUR D’ALENE – The Kootenai County 4-H organization has created the Julie Wilson Memorial Fund at Mountain West Bank to assist Steve and Sharla Wilson and their family after their daughter Julie died in an accident at a home in Wolf Lodge last Sunday. The family has been involved in and supportive of the 4-H program. Sharla Wilson is the Kootenai program coordinator and Steve Wilson is involved in the annual North Idaho Fair.

Today Bill Reid (Jazz) – 1 p.m., DiLuna’s, 207 Cedar St., Sandpoint, (208) 263-0846

Sorensen Magnet School of the Arts and Humanities in the Coeur d’Alene School District will hold its fourth annual Auction and Soiree for the Kids on Friday at the Coeur d’Alene Resort. Doors open at 5 p.m. The gala will include live music, dinner and a live and silent auction with items such as a $3,000 gift certificate to Pilgrim’s Market, a $3,000 Costco shopping spree, and a winter weekend getaway to Red Mountain Resort.

Last Monday, severe thunderstorms plowed through the state of Oklahoma, spawning dozens of tornadoes. Damage was extensive and there were several fatalities. These tornadoes were produced by a special type of thunderstorm, called a supercell. A supercell thunderstorm is one that exhibits strong rotation, and it’s these types of thunderstorms that have the best chance of producing tornadoes. Tornadoes can be produced by non-supercell storms (like the type we usually see across the Inland Northwest), but these tornadoes are usually not as strong nor long-lived.

I’m not one to discuss butt-crack sightings usually. Nor is Marianne Love. But when you spot the Mother of All Butt Cracks (or is that the Father of All Butt Cracks?) … it’s hard not to say something. Marianne was swapping motor-home-tour stories with two friends in the produce department of a Sandpoint supermarket when the MOABC burst into view near the lettuce display. Now, we’ve all seen butt cleavage before, especially those who enjoy swimming at City Beach during the summers. But this one was so pronounced that Marianne flirted with the idea of documenting the length and depth of the canyon with her cell phone. Only she couldn’t figure out how the gadget’s photo feature works during the brief window of opportunity among the lettuce, onions and rutabagas. One friend recommended that she discreetly follow the guy around the store, pushing her shopping cart along, until she did sort things out with her camera. But Marianne was afraid she’d give herself away by busting out laughing. Wondered Marianne in her Slight Detour blog: “Do these people have a clue about the reactions that take place all around them whenever and wherever they bend over?” Any plumbers out there who can answer that question? On Sherman Avenue

Filings from April 9-16. Chapter 7 (liquidation petitions)

Dust storms, wind storms, torrential rains, thunder and freezing temperatures helped to usher in the first week of May. Last Monday’s fierce winds resulted in road closures, downed trees, power outages, and roof damage. Unlike damaging winds from a passing thunderstorm, these strong winds were widespread, and were associated with a 165 mph jet stream, strong cold front, and the accompanying tight pressure gradient over the entire Inland Northwest. Sustained winds between 35 mph and 45 mph were common in the lower elevations, while winds topped 80 mph on exposed ridges in the mountains. Peak wind gusts measured locally included 55 mph in Spokane, 59 mph in the Spokane Valley, and 60 mph in Coeur d’Alene. The first week of May was not only windy, but it was downright chilly. Temperatures were below normal the entire week and overnight lows dipped below freezing in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene on May 5. Heavy snows fell in higher elevations.

Coeur d’Alene Neider Limited, 570 W. Neider Ave., 37-unit apartment complex, valued at $3,500,000.

I’m guess I might as well admit it right away – I hate chicken wings. Ever since my vegetarian phase back in high school, I’ve been rather squeamish about eating chicken right off the bone. I can handle a nice, juicy white breast in its natural state if it’s done right (hello, Chester Fried!), but otherwise my domestic fowl needs all the bones and gristly bits removed before it crosses my dinner plate. I always picture the gruesome scene in John Waters’ classic “Serial Mom” when the neighbor couple is eating chicken dinner and the camera lingers on close-ups of the couple’s mouths ravaging a greasy bird, grunting and licking fingers during what turns out to be their last meal before Kathleen Turner gives them the works. Chicken wings remind me of rowdy football parties or a night out at Hooters – these things just aren’t my style.

Last week we chose to bring you news of new places to eat in Kootenai County rather than new businesses that especially offer women’s items. But perhaps the better choice would have been to make last Sunday’s new business items be the women’s stores. That might have helped solve the Mother’s Day gift quandary.

Students in the Coeur d’Alene School District will have to wait until after the June 7 school board meeting to find out if they get to sleep in Monday mornings during the 2010-’11 school year. According to a letter from the district, the district committee has been working on a “job-embedded collaboration” that will enable the “school week to include regular time for teachers to gather to discuss and plan best practices of instruction.”

Lakeland School District officials are hoping a proposed $3.25 million, two-year supplemental levy will help plug a budget shortfall, ensure existing programs stay in place and avert a “crisis” in the northern Kootenai County school system. With the current supplemental levy – a $1.95 million, two-year measure that passed with 76 percent approval – expiring this year and state funding slashed by about $2 million, a supplemental levy is needed now, said Tom Taggart, the district’s director of business and support services.

The North Idaho Just Between Friends Spring/Summer 2010 consignment sale will be held at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and next Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission to Saturday’s sale is $2 per person and children age 12 and younger are free. Admission on Sunday is free and many sale items will be 50 percent off.