Rankin Plans A Sleepover At Cheaper Digs
Commissioner Ron Rankin already has made an impact on the Kootenai County budget. In his first week in office, the tax activist decided the county wasn’t going to pay $76 per day for him to stay several nights at the Red Lion Riverside during an Association of Counties meeting in Boise next month. So he made reservations at an economy motel that served him well before he became a political superstar - for $32.50 per day. His stand was infectious. County Clerk Dan English, who also had winced at the Red Lion room rate, followed by checking into an inexpensive motel across from the convention site. Now, Commissioner Dick Compton and English have made reservations at an econo-motel for a Boise trip later this month. And other county officials? I’m sure taxpayers would say: “Go, thou, and do likewise.”
Oh say can she sing
Next time you’re looking for someone to sing the national anthem, do yourself a favor and call Natalie Hammons. The Fernan Elementary School fifth-grader wowed the Huckleberry Hound and about 1,000 of her peers Thursday with her rendition at the Martin Luther King Jr. celebration. … Then, keynote speaker Norm Gissel gave a moving account of what human rights have meant through our country’s history. But he fudged a bit. Norm said that men and women got together more than 200 years ago and wrote the Declaration of Independence. That may be politically correct. But no Jane Hancock signed the document. … At another point in the ceremony, Fernan Principal Pam Pratt mentioned how proud she is that recent Medal of Honor winner Vernon Baker lives in North Idaho. She’d be prouder still if she’d seen how retired Gen. Colin Powell doted on Baker before the awards ceremony last week in Washington, D.C. Powell almost worshiped Baker, according to staff writer Ken Olsen, who covered the event.
Dante’s shabby peak
It’s always interesting to see how outsiders view our area. In a feature story last Monday, reporter Tim Appelo of The Oregonian wasn’t far off when he described Wallace as “ornery.” But then he added the adjective “scruffy.” Or “grubby,” as Webster’s would say. What can you expect from a Portland dweller? At a 1993 conference there, San Francisco columnist Herb Caen tried to say something nice about Portland and gave up. Said he: “What can you say about a town whose one claim to fame is cleanliness?” … Still, I like Appelo’s lead sentence introducing Wallace to his readers: “This ghostly old mountain mining town makes Brigadoon look like Tomorrowland - that’s how much folks here hate change.”
Huckleberries
News flash! From the Bonner County Daily Bee comes word that a Spirit Lake man thought a neighbor’s horse had died on his property. Take it away BCDB: “A deputy responded, contacted the parties involved and they agreed to a solution. It was also found (drumroll, please) the horse was not dead. … And the next Bee item told of a gelding that showed up at a Sandpoint woman’s home and then wandered off toward Baldy Mountain Road. Obviously, it wasn’t dead either. … Snowbird Bill McFadden of Coeur d’Alene writes from Dauphin Island, Ala., that he’s “watching the waves pound in and the pelicans hovering over the water looking for fish for lunch.” This while waiting for Dauphin Island’s first Mardi Gras parade. Lucky dog. … A comment overheard at the Mullan Cafe after Commissioners Bud Mueller and Larry Allen in faraway Bonner County canned the entire building department Wednesday: “We ought to run those boys for Congress.” … Seen on the back of a makeshift trailer for Beagle Heating: “Good Ol’ Boy quality at redneck prices.” And “You might be a redneck if - your wife weighs more than your pickup.”
Parting shot
Sign at the Bonner County Courthouse the day Mueller and Allen took office: “Under New Management - The Public Welcomed.” A-ha-ha-ha.
, DataTimes MEMO: Got a Huckleberry? Call the Huckleberry Hound Hotline at (800) 334-6718 or (208) 765-7125 or send e-mail to daveo@spokesman.com.