Actor Stein Raises A Toast To Sandpoint

By now, you know TV actor Ben Stein often jets between Los Angeles and Sandpoint. He’s smitten by Sandpoint and regularly reports his impressions of it in his popular American Spectator column: “Ben Stein’s Diary.” In the February issue he writes of Edgewater Hotel owner Allen Cox’s death in an automobile accident this winter. Reminisces Stein: Cox was “an eccentric but likable fellow. He was always friendly in the tiny lobby.” His diary also tells of a speech he made to the Sandpoint chamber about why he loves the town: “No Chanel and no Tiffany, but friendly, outgoing people. The kind of people you dream about as your neighbors.” (My dream neighbor loans tools and doesn’t let his dog poop in your yard.)

Laughing away troubles

Brenda and Larry Stinson lost a lot in the Great Flood at Cataldo. But not their sense of humor. Recently, they installed a furnace in their 1928 home along the Coeur d’Alene River - after years of heating with wood only. In fact the bill for the appliance arrived the day the water hit. Mischievously, Larry called the furnace dealer and complained: “This thing isn’t working - it’s bubbling.” … Then, Larry phoned his insurance agent to report that his boats had sunk. When the agent asked where they went down, he answered: “In the garage.” … The level of previous floods are recalled by marks and dates in the Stinsons’ barn. Most are a couple of feet off the ground. But Larry had difficulty finding the water line for the granddaddy of them all: the flood of ‘74. He’d set his sights too low. It was at eye level - 5-1/2 feet - same as this year’s.

Fan mail

A caller was upset that I used “butterball” to describe the female lead in a Coeur d’Alene North sexcapade (Huckleberries, Feb. 19). Remember? Madame XXX was arrested by Coeur d’Alene police after she and two companions illegally entered an unrented condo and filmed a Horniest Home Video. My caller asked: Whydidn’tya describe the others? Answer: I couldn’t. Ms. Butterball refused to identify her partners or fink on them. … Vertically challenged Gov. Phil Batt gets no respect. While praising him Monday for a controversial agreement on nuclear waste, U.S. Sen. Larry Craig said: “He’s a tough-minded little guy.” … By the way Roll Call lists Craig’s seat this year as a “safe” one for Republicans.

Huckleberries

Where are they now? Virginia Balser, formerly a tough-minded magistrate who sometimes reduced punks to tears, still is getting her hooks into people. Now, she’s a massage therapist, though. And she makes house calls. … Bumpersnicker on blue Ford pickup spotted on I-90 near Wolf Lodge Tuesday: “If you object to logging, try using plastic toilet paper.” … Then, there’s the bumpersnicker on a little white Ford Aspire: “I am not a dumb blonde - I’m knot! I’m knot. I’m knot.” … Hey, be careful when you drive past The Spokesman-Review building on Northwest Boulevard. CPD Blue regularly hides across the way. On Thursday two of them were swarming all over speeding motorists. … A newspaper ad published by a family practitioner from Post Falls has me curious. How in the world do you perform “scalpel-less” vasectomies? … Kootenai County Sheriff Pierce Clegg couldn’t help but be tempted when he spotted primary opponent Tom Dickson up a (Latour) creek without a paddle. Dickson’s home was surrounded by water. But Pierce offered him a helicopter ride out anyway. Attaboy. … Deep Thoughts by D.F.: Anyone with an ounce of sense knows Latour Creek floods annually - this year worse than others. So, why do the heads of the county’s disaster services (Bill Schwartz) and building department (Dave Daniel) live nearby?

Parting shot

Hmmm. Larry Craig isn’t choosing sides in the GOP’s not-so-great presidential race. But Mr. Conservative expects great things from Lamar Alexander. During a recent interview, he didn’t say much about Dole. But an aide muttered: “Saltine cracker.”

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

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