Sandpoint’s Tale Of The Ring Turns Out Rosy

Flash: Dee Boeck and her three rings have been reunited. Dee? She’s a Sandpoint High counseling secretary who lost her engagement ring and two others during a July bike ride to Bottle Bay. Dee didn’t mention the lost rings to her husband and fretted until mid-September when friend Jana Shields pranced into her office with a bouquet. The three rings were in the middle of it, pinned to a sunflower. Shields’ neighbor had found them. Dee cried. But still didn’t say anything to her husband of 24 years. She let him find out about the caper the same way I did - by reading all about it in the Halloween edition of SHS’ outstanding newspaper, the Cedar Post. Better late than never?

Silly season:

Walt Minnick, the answer to a future trivia question - Who did Larry Craig beat in his 1996 U.S. Senate race? - thinks efforts to privatize public lands would be “the ultimate in gun control.” That’s because, he told Our Woman in Boise, you’ll still have your gun but you wouldn’t have anywhere to shoot it. Ba-dumbump. Onward. … Hey, if Minnick wants to challenge as a Democrat, how come he has “Walt Minnick: As INDEPENDENT As Idaho” slapped all over the front of his brochures and an itty-bitty “Independent/ Democrat” in the corner? … Wannabe Clay Larkin put down the media superbly at a Post Falls candidates’ forum: “When you become a candidate, you get all kinds of questionnaires from the media; whereas before, you’re lucky to get your paper delivered.”

Silly season II:

Mike Sperle should be so lucky. First, the CdA Press didn’t contact him for a profile of his Hayden mayoral race with ex-Councilman Gordon Andrea - although Mike’s listed in the phone book. Then, Brand X reported that Andrea was running against Robert C. Spurr, a council candidate … Quotable Quote: At the Post Falls forum, emcee Howard Hughes said as he gestured to Mayor Jim Hammond, Councilman Scott Grant and three wannabes: “Without them, we’d be stuck with what we have.” … If Chuck Peterson hands you his business card, keep it. It’s an antique - dating back to the 1960s and the first of his five terms as Wardner mayor. … (By the way, don’t use the word “ramshackle” to describe any building in Chuck’s town. The Huckleberry Hound once did, and hizzoner’s never forgotten or forgiven it.)

Huckleberries:

ITD District Engineer Tom Baker hurt only his pride when he tumbled off the stage during a panel discussion on roads in Bonners Ferry recently. With Gov. Phil Batt looking on, Baker scooted his chair too far back and over he went - to appreciative laughter. Where’s “America’s Funniest Home Videos” when you need it? .. Bumpersnicker on a white Aerostar at CdA High: “My money and my son go to Ricks College.” … And more Girls’ Names: The Next Generation from Idaho Vital Statistics 1993: Cyx, Chryseis, Haven, Osha and Mystery. … Fall back, back: In its edition of Saturday, Oct. 12, Brand X reminded subscribers “to turn the clock back one hour to plain old Mountain Standard Time.” … After touring for his book, “Every Knee Shall Bow,” S-R colleague Jess Walter advised budding authors: “Sign a lot of books. Bookstores have to sell the books you sign; they can’t be sent back to the publisher, and so you get royalties for them.”

Parting shot:

If Post Falls Mayor Jim Hammond loses his reelection bid Tuesday but refuses to concede, be patient with him. Four years ago, Hammond was jolted when early returns showed he’d gotten only 14 votes of the first 327 cast. Later, we learned that the ballots had been divided into three stacks based on votes for the mayor candidates. The clerk’s office had counted the two smaller stacks and had just begun tabulating Hammond’s when deadline-pressed reporters insisted on a partial count. And they got it: Buck Wilhelm 219, Charles Kupfer 108, and Hammond 14. Ultimately, Hammond won easily. But the snafu remains one of my fondest election-night memories.

, DataTimes MEMO: Gotta Huckleberry? Call the Huckleberry Hound Hotline: (800) 344-6718 or (208) 765-7125.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = D.F. Oliveria The Spokesman-Review