Pesky Critters Gummed Up By Little Trick

Gophers getting the best of you? Try dropping bubble gum down their holes. I’m not kidding. About three years ago, gophers had overrun the Kootenai County Fairgrounds parking lot. Gopher holes - and prospective lawsuits - were everywhere. Maintenance man Darrell Whitesitt tried everything to get rid of them. But nothing worked - until North Idaho Fair Manager Barb Renner heard about the bubble-gum approach. (Chewing gum won’t do.) Seems the varmints love the stuff but can’t digest it. The trick worked. And you, faithful readers, have been a little safer going to the fair.

Raccoon outbreak: Maybe Craig Tanya of Upper Hayden Lake Road should call Darrell and Barb to help him with his little animal problem. Gophers? Nope. Raccoons. Craig recently found six coons huddled in his garage - shortly after one had slashed his cat. But the Idaho Fish and Game Department wasn’t sympathetic. Hey, Craig was told, what do you expect living out there? Besides, he also was told, we don’t have the personnel to help you. Ditto, said local animal-control officers. Craig figures they all would come running if he took matters into his own hands a la Davy Crockett. He’s right. … For the first time in eight years, Pat Akers saw a cougar in her Cougar Gulch neighborhood last week. It was headed for her horses. Do you suppose it likes bubble gum?

Where are they now? When last seen, ex-Coeur d’Alene Press Executive Editor Barry Casebolt was trying to start a Post Falls newspaper - to compete with Brand X, which had dissed him. Well, Barry and wife Sarah did succeed in publishing a paper (two weeklies, in fact) - in the neighboring farming towns of Leroy, Minn., and Lime Springs, Iowa. They’ve been at it for a year. And now Century Publishing’s Mike Cadwell is moving back there to become the Casebolts’ editor. Good luck all.

The naked city: At times, the Bonner County Bee beats “Bizzaro.” The paper’s July 28 police blotter offered a complaint from a woman who had reported three naked men standing on a bridge. The Bee continued: “A deputy responded and said the men were not naked but warned them.” About what? Not to impersonate naked people? … A following item was better: “Several youths were reported to be causing a disturbance in the Pack River Cemetery at 9:52 p.m. A deputy determined it was a grave-digging crew. They were told to keep the noise down.” And badeet, badeet, that was all, folks.

Huckleberries: KMBI-FM listeners were surprised Tuesday afternoon when a newscaster reported Seattle Mariners pitcher Randy Johnson was sidelined for the season with “a bulging back in his disk.” … That Lilac City Casket close-out sale - “No Cardboard Caskets Here!” - caught the eye and funny bone of Knudtsen Chevrolet’s Dave Benedict. Dave’s all for saving a few bucks on a casket, but he can’t figure out what to do with one until it’s needed. Flower boxes? Stereo speakers? Any other suggestions? … The Coeur d’Alene Fourth of July Parade next year won’t be the same without feisty Steve Arkin leading the veterans up Sherman Avenue. A bleeding-heart liberal, Steve survived seven battles at sea during World War II and my editorials. He died Aug. 24. I’ll miss his praise and brickbats. … A motorist waiting for the light near ShopKo on July 29 restored Laura Claffey’s faith in humanity. Spotting a young boy struggling to push a girl in a wheelchair across the busy intersection, the good Samaritan left his car and helped them. He missed the light, too. But no one honked. Or flipped him off. A salute to all.

Parting shot: Razzberries to the no-account who swiped a $425 hand-sized teapot from the Gallery by the Lake on Tuesday or Wednesday. Gallery manager Kathy Flynt can’t figure out what kind of lowlife would steal from the Kootenai County Arts Council’s nonprofit gallery and the starving artists it supports. Neither can I. Call Kathy if you know the whereabouts of the missing treasure.

, DataTimes MEMO: Got a Huckleberry? Call the Huckleberry Hound Hotline at (800) 344-6718 or (208) 765-7125; send e-mail to daveo@spokesman.com.

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