Uncle John Kills Chances For Vikings
Ballplayers are superstitious. So, Coeur d’Alene High brothers Jason and Nick Rook were concerned when Uncle John (K103-FM) Rook drove to Boise Thursday to see the state baseball tournament. The Viks haven’t won this year with John in the stands. In fact, John’s absence over the last six regular games coincided with a win streak that carried the Vikings from last place to the state tournament. At Boise, the young Viks won two tough games before Uncle John’s jinx kicked in again. Lewiston beat them in the finale. Oh well, no one expected the Viks to go that far - particularly with John watching. Wait’ll next year.
My tummy hurts: Coeur d’Alene Police Chief Dave Scates had the perfect excuse to skip jury duty last week and watch son Mark pitch in the state tournament. His department had handled each case he was called to hear (read, conflict of interest). … Another sign that the tourists cometh: Home owners in the 200 blocks of Military and Park again have erected signs declaring the public alley between them a private driveway. At least this year, the signs are propped on fancy white posts. Nice touch. … A young colleague caught my attention last week by slamming her phone and spouting angrily about attorneys. I didn’t know what the problem was until I found out that she’d just finished talking with ol’ journalist baiter Tom Mitchell. I met Tom in fall 1984 while covering the Blue Flame Co. trial. Tom was tough on reporters then; apparently, he hasn’t lost his growl.
Alleluia chorus: North Idaho College faculty serenaded graduates with song to the tune of The Beatles “Hard Day’s Night”: “You’re leaving NIC, after working like a dog/You’re leaving NIC, no more breathing Hedlund smog/Though we’ll miss you next year, we won’t shed a tear/Because we know you’ll be ok-a-a-y.” … Hagadone Directories publishes the best phone book in North Idaho - errors and all. In the latest edition, Lewis-Clark State College is missing from the public-school listings up front. … The Shoshone News Press accidentally dropped the “S” from its middle name in a help-wanted ad for a reporter, sending prospective scribes scrambling to the town’s “new press,” the Idaho News Observer. … Bumpersnicker seen on Chevy pickup traveling U.S. Highway 2: “Welfare should be as difficult to get as a building permit.”
Huckleberries: At a Hayden Avenue garage sale earlier this month, an urchin rolled off on skates toward the busy road promising to be right back. And three grandmothers, including one that wasn’t his, chimed automatically: “Be careful!” … Rustler’s Roost bounced back from the hepatitis scare (as many hoped it would) with a sign advertising: “Heavenly portions for your beastly appetite.” … It’s the Genes: Tyler Fouche isn’t the only one in Dr. Bill Fouche’s family susceptible to medical emergencies when family vacations are on the line (Huckleberries, May 22). The family canceled a ski outing last winter because Doc Fouche busted a kneecap. … It’s the Genes II: Tom Taggart had a tough race the first time he ran for office - as did his daughter Lindsay, now president-elect of the Lake City High junior class. If her political career continues to parallel dad’s, Lindsay’s next campaign should be easier. … I generally appreciate the Davis Donut reader board messages - even when they’re obscured by lack of a few letters like one last week: “Flatters look like friends as wolves like dogs.”
Parting shot: Hmmmm. There’s an interesting battle brewing between David Bond, columnist for Brand X, the Coeur d’Alene Press, and his next-slip neighbors at the Silver Beach Marina. Seems Bond’s tabby Drydock relieved himself on the adjacent boat and disappeared - amid unneighborly death threats. Bond spilled diesel on the fire a week ago in his column by describing the $93,000 vessel owned by Hal Campbell of Post Falls and another man as “a litter box.” Hal phoned in a few words in kind for Bond’s tub. The waterfront finally seems to be heating up after a long, wet spring. Stay tuned.
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The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = D.F. Oliveria The Spokesman-Review