They Really Should Stop Meeting Like This
What are the chances of meeting Los Angeles Dodgers announcer Vin Scully twice in three days in locations 1,200 miles apart? Well, North Idaho College instructor Nils Rosdahl beat the odds Aug. 1-3. First, Nils spied the famous broadcaster in the lobby of Chicago’s Hyatt Regency Hotel. Nils was attending a journalism instructors conference; Scully was checking out of the hotel for a vacation after game one of a four-game set between the Dodgers and Cubs. Two days later, Kootenai Medical Foundation director Jim Faucher excitedly pointed Scully out to Nils after Mass in Coeur d’Alene’s St. Pius X Catholic Church, of all places. And should you happen upon him? Nils suggests you call him “Vin,” not “Mr. Scully.”
Dumb criminal tricks
Ricky LeRoy Mueller, 20, of Spokane, didn’t land in the crowbar hotel for being a rocket scientist. First, he allegedly robbed Woods Meat Processing in Sandpoint - a bungled crime in May that netted $2 and reads like a Woody Allen routine. Now, Ricky’s back in the slammer. Seems when he tried to enter a plea to the armed robbery charge Friday, authorities suspected he was high on marijuana and methamphetamine. He was then asked by 1st District Judge Jim Michaud to take a urine test. En route to “pass water,” Mueller advised his girlfriend not to wait for him. He was smart enough to know this was one test he wouldn’t pass.
EMS, heal thyself
Bill Schwartz, Kootenai County emergency services director, thought his troops needed to mingle more with the public. So, last Monday, he sent them out to perform free blood-pressure tests at the Coeur d’Alene Senior Center. In fact, Bill volunteered to serve as a test guinea pig. Good thing he did. His blood pressure was so high that he was advised to see his family doctor. Who sent him home. I hope the sawbones gave Bill strict orders not to read Huckleberries this morning.
Let there be light
When no one showed up to turn on the lights at Sunset Field, Jack Smetana grew angry and desperate. How desperate you ask? Well, the Bethel Baptist softball player pulled the lock and panel off the switch box and was thinking about hot-wiring the lights when a Recreation Department employee arrived and stopped him. Said Jack of the risk of electrocution: “I probably would have done it, if I’d have been a few years younger.”
Huckleberries
Then, there was the guy who climbed over the back fence of the Bonner County Jail - into the waiting arms of two sheriff’s deputies. They’d been watching his escape attempt on jail monitors. When asked to explain himself, the jailbird said, “I was just climbing up for a better view - and I fell out of jail.” … I have it on good authority that pulling out your nose hairs can lead to a brain infection. Seriously. Onward. … A back-window decal on a white Jeep on Friday (Kootenai County plate K63785) provided an intriguing twist to a faddish slogan: “Fear Mom.” … Cupid’s Corners, a new business on Government Way, features wall art, collectibles and custom horse accessories. This, according to the Coeur d’Alene Press. Hey, it beats the Holstein fad. But I think Brand X meant “house.” … How about the guy who sprayed $1,500 worth of obscenities on the walls of the Royal Car Wash on Third - and then was thoughtful enough to leave his wallet and driver’s license behind? (See “Dumb Criminal Tricks.”)
Parting shot
Yvonne Ferrell watched her back side carefully while touring the proposed Plummer-to-Mullan trail. Why? You guessed it. Companions tried to badger the state Parks and Recreation director into mooning the shoreline a la Steve Mealey, the state’s moonstruck Fish and Game director. Mealey, of course, was suspended for two weeks and docked pay for mooning a sculpture on Lake Pend Oreille’s shoreline. P&R chairman Glenn Shewmaker probably was referring to that incident when he advised trail tour participants to “dress comfortably - and fully.”
Gotta Huckleberry? Call the Huckleberry Hound Hotline: (800) 344-6718 or (208) 765-7125; daveo@spokesman.com.
, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = D.F. Oliveria The Spokesman-Review