Idaho Voices

BLANCHARD – The Blanchard Community Center, 685 Rusho Road, will offer an “Extreme Love From Around The World” cooking class Monday, from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Participants will learn how to prepare Soupe l’Oignon au Sherry Gratinee; Transylvania Schzeckly Goulash; Chicken Breast Aphrodite with fine herb sauce; Seafood Newburg in Vol au Vent; and Huckleberry Flip. Cost is $25 per person. For reservations and more information, call (208) 437-0426.

I remember last winter, when it seemed as if every column I wrote each week had something to do with snow and cold. Leave it to Mother Nature to balance things out, as I write another column about above-normal warmth and the lack of snow this season. For Spokane, January has gone down in the record books as the eighth warmest since 1881, and the fourth least snowy (1.4 inches). Surprisingly, though it probably seemed like a distant memory after January 2008 and 2009, January 2006 was the seventh warmest, with an average temperature of 35.5 degrees, compared to this January’s 35.1 degrees. As far as snowfall was concerned, only January 1900 (trace), 1994 (0.9 inch), and 1934 (1.3 inches) were drier. Our neighbors to the west were even toastier. This year Seattle saw the warmest January on record, with average temperatures warmer than a typical March.

Come to downtown Coeur d’Alene the second Friday of most months and you see a lively place with special events, usually an art walk that involves the many galleries and related shops. And this week the event will push Valentine’s Day with a Chocolate Walk. Taking advantage of this is the Northwest Artists Co-op, which opens Tuesday in a new location at 509 Sherman Ave. Formerly the home of the Tiffany Blue store (which moved west on Sherman), the 2,200-square-foot space is twice the size of the co-op’s previous location at 217 Sherman. More on this later.

Today A Touch of Jazz (Jazz) – 1 p.m., Di Luna’s, 207 Cedar St., Sandpoint, (208) 263-0846.

Bryan Elementary students’ fundraiser for Haiti’s earthquake victims raised more than $740. The students collected spare change and left a change jar at the school office. The money is being donated to an orphanage in Haiti.

You really don’t have to tell a private eye how you voted, no matter how persuasive he may sound on the phone or in person at your doorstep. As you know from reading this column, Confidential Investigations sleuth Erin Jenkins is checking out some Mike Kennedy supporters who voted absentee on behalf of losing candidate Jim Brannon. Huckleberries has already told you about Jenkins calling Monica Paquin, who’s living near Montreal while she works for a Palouse company. Afterward, Jenkins called one of my blog denizens, pseudonymed CoeurGenX. When asked for whom he voted, CoeurGenX blurted out: “Mike K, of course.” Then, CoeurGenX said he asked Jenkins if his company had picked up a permit to do business in Coeur d’Alene, as his company has twice been warned to do by City Clerk Susan Weathers (as reported on Huckleberries Online). Bottom line? You don’t have to tell anyone how you voted, even a private eye. But I’d love to hear from you if Confidential Investigations calls and asks. But for God’s grace

Thursday Cornmash (Rockabilly) – 9 p.m., The Moon Time, 1602 Sherman Ave., Coeur d’Alene, (208) 667-2331.

Filings from Jan. 14-20. Chapter 7 (liquidation petitions)

Presumption of innocence. It is the foundation of our legal system and is a right granted to every citizen regardless of age. But as Sandpoint High School students lined up to enter their Winter Ball last weekend, each and every attendee was required to submit to a breath analysis test – regardless of whether they appeared to be under the influence of alcohol.

Coeur d’Alene Schuon Manufacturing Co., 5889 N. Engineer St., commercial, addition, valued at $491,265.

Fearlessly, I decided Monday to check out our newest cafe in town. Formerly known as Terry’s Cafe, it has been transformed into a clean, pleasant eatery, now known as The Bay Cafe. After introducing myself to Dean Knowles and his trusty sidekick Sherry, I asked about their backgrounds. Dean, it turns out, has spent the last six years cooking at Jimmy C’s, while Sherry worked at the same place for two years. Doing his own thing appealed to him, and a new look in Bayview is born. Visiting with waitress Sherry, it hit me that Dean cooks everything from scratch; if he were a chicken, he would lay his own eggs. A purist to the hilt, when he serves biscuits and gravy, you get homemade biscuits and gravy.

For 01-31-2010

BOISE – Former Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne has emerged back on the Idaho political scene, endorsing 1st District congressional candidate Vaughn Ward, introducing Ward at a Statehouse press conference officially announcing his candidacy, and traveling with him around the state for two days of Ward’s four-day, 18-stop announcement tour. “Eighteen years ago when I was a candidate running for the U.S. Senate, I asked Sen. Jim McClure if he would be my chair,” Kempthorne explained. “He, at the time, had recently left public office. He said, ‘Now that I’m a citizen, I can do this.’ I have never forgotten that. Now that I’m a citizen, I can do this.”

An eatery can throw bales of money toward fancy décor, high-gloss gourmet menus and endless advertisements, but word of mouth has always been the great equalizer, capable of making or breaking a restaurant. These days, consumer opinion is proliferating probably more than ever in the form of amateur reviews written by Joe and Jane Average and posted on Web sites like Trip Advisor, Yelp and Virtual Tourist.

SANDPOINT – Idaho Lights, a retail lighting store, plans to host the grand opening of its art gallery on Feb. 18 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the lighting store, 402 Cedar St. in Sandpoint. The event will feature local artists, along with acoustic guitarist Holly McGarry. Wine by Pend d’Oreille Winery will be available.

As we close out the month of January, it looks like the month will definitely go down in the record books as a warm one. Temperatures over the last 30 days averaged nearly 8 degrees above normal. Final snowfall totals are not yet available as I write this, but below-normal snowfall looks like a pretty obviously bet, as well. Once again, folks east of the Rockies are not having such a quiet winter. Heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain affected locations from New Mexico all the way east into North Carolina this past week. Many locations saw a combination of the wintry precipitation, making travel hazardous. Across the Northern Plains, it wasn’t so much the snow, but the bitter cold air, which in combination with brisk winds sent wind-chills as cold as 25 below zero.