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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Bible Scholars Just Bowl Over Competition

The coach eyeballed his 12 teenagers until he had their attention.

“Let it fly, baby,” a boy poised for action called to him.

“Chapter nine, verse five,” Coach Todd Banducci began. The kids leaned toward him expectantly as he continued. “What are regarded as Abraham’s offspring?”

Pens quickly gave permanence to guesses. One boy wrote so fast he had time to gulp down a taco before the next question. Todd watched his Bible Bowl team with satisfaction.

“They’re a very good group,” he said after practice was over. “I feel enriched by knowing them, sharing part of their lives.”

And leading them to glory. Todd’s Dalton Gardens Church of Christ team understands the Bible so well that it recently won 16 of the 22 trophies available at a 36-team competition in California.

What would lure a 17-year-old boy off the basketball court and into church twice a week or inspire him to study the Bible for half an hour every day?

“I want to win,” said Justin Bruner, a Lake City High School junior. “And I want to be a youth minister someday.”

Todd, who’s a 33-year-old stockbroker, downplays winning and encourages hard work. Thirty minutes of Bible reading daily. Practice tests twice a week. Tapes of Bible chapters.

Still, the kids stick with him.

“Bible Bowl’s not that hard, ” said Josh Reinstein, a sophomore at Coeur d’Alene High. “And, I’m good at it.”

The team had no idea what to expect in California. It was their first competition ever. They each had to answer 100 multiple-choice questions. They listened to Bible tapes in the car. They were nervous.

And then they won nearly everything. Jessica Bruner, a Lakes Middle School eighth-grader, couldn’t wait to share her success.

“I ran into school the next day and said, ‘We won first, we won first in Bible Bowl,’ and my friends just looked at me and said, ‘What’s that?”’ she said.

It’s the newest game in town.

Thin skin alert

Tuna, Texas, just couldn’t be like any town in North Idaho, it just couldn’t be. But you can make up your own mind about that. The Lake City Playhouse production of Greater Tuna opens tonight, full of jokes about the small minds in small towns.

Skip Frazier, who spends his days as a counselor and should spend his nights as a comedian, is directing the play that’s supposed to be a howler. Go see which character is most like you or your neighbor.

The play will run weekends through March 8. Call 667-1323 for reservations.

Too much of a good thing

Single guy Dave Dust, the Lakeland High art teacher who wants to know how to meet women, apparently was inundated by offers. Dave’s not talking, but a friend of his says the good-looking teacher got more than 80 letters after his story ran.

Now Dave has another problem - trying to figure out where to start.

Claim to fame

I recently spoke with someone in Harrison who knows someone in St. Maries whose son-in-law’s ancestor is Ralph Waldo Emerson. Whew. But the association was impressive and made me wish I could pull some great name out of my past.

There’s a Revolutionary War general on my husband’s side, but my ancestors, although colorful and fascinating, are anonymous. What well-known name can you pull out of history and connect to your family? Give me the heroes and intellectuals, but don’t hide the villains. Sometimes they’re the most interesting.

Name names for Cynthia Taggart, “Close to Home,” 608 Northwest Blvd., Suite 200, Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814; fax to 765-7149; call 765-7128; or e-mail to cynthiat@spokesman.com.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo