Woman Has 2nd Close Encounter Of The Moose Kind

B.J. Solomon’s boss at Sandpoint’s Gas & Go shouldn’t complain if she calls in sick next June 29. The Clark Fork woman, you see, has this thing for June 29 and moose. She has hit two different moose on that date, six years and a tenth of a mile apart near milepost 38 on state Highway 200 near the Hidden Lakes Golf Course. She was driving to work late last month when a 900-pound moose rushed out of the trees and mashed her Chevy Corsica. She had time only to say, “Oh no,” and escape injury by ducking under the dash. She wasn’t as lucky in 1991 when a 1,500-pound critter jumped a guardrail but failed to clear her Ford Tempo. B.J. needed reconstructive surgery to mend. Now, she’s philosophical about her close encounters: “Eventually,” she said, “they’re going to get me a tag.”

Bershers tells all

After much badgering from reporters, Khris Bershers revealed why she quit as U.S. Rep. Helen Chenoweth’s press secretary. She simply didn’t want to go through another bruising campaign. Still, she was talking up Republican Chenoweth on Thursday. Old habits die hard. … Seems someone sicced the Sandpoint cops on a man who was making First Presbyterian Church parishioners nervous. If that’s a crime, I know a few ministers who should be looking over their shoulders. … The cheers emanating from McEuen Field recently would surprise those who fought Duane Hagadone’s plan to turn the playground into a botanical garden: “Hagadone, Hagadone, rah, rah, rah.” Hagadone groupies? Nope, just 14-year-old girls giving a post-game cheer to their Hagadone Directories opponents.

Boise boo-boo

At a state transportation board meeting in Coeur d’Alene on Friday, Commissioner John Combo mistakenly referred to Coeur d’Alene Mayor Al Hassell as “the mayor of Boise.” Responded Al: “Is that a demotion?” … Quote of the week: “It will never be the 500-foot billboard, like when you come into the state. We’re trying to be semi-tasteful,” said city administrator Bob Croffoot after Hayden allowed some Hayden merchants to more than double the size of their outdoor signs. Trying, but failing. … Meta Stone dedicates this old poem to our billboard blight: “I think that I shall never see/A billboard lovely as a tree./And if the billboards don’t fall,/I think I shall never see a tree at all!” … After triple-checking, a USA Weekend fact-finder finally got local tourism promoters to admit the Coeur d’Alene area (which apparently includes all of North Idaho) has 40 antique shops and 15 golf courses - not 400 and 40, respectively. The magazine published the inaccurate figures provided earlier by our visitor center.

Huckleberries

My bloodhounds tell me that a German shepherd apparently died while being trained as a police dog at Ponderosa Elementary School. Where’s People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals when you need it? Stay tuned. … Here’s two thumbs-up for new Bonner County School District trustee Tom Fuhriman, who, upon taking office five hours into a recent marathon meeting, asked: Why are we paying this guy (attorney Charlie Dodson) to sit and watch? Last week, the district was criticized by a state Department of Education team for squandering $110,000 on legal fees during the last school year. … Can someone explain why Bonner County commissioners refused to ante up $2,000 to land a $22,000 block grant for sheriff’s equipment? I didn’t think so. … Bumpersnicker: A pickup with Idaho plates, parked downtown Wednesday, offered this snicker, complete with a mug shot of Albert Einstein: “186,000 miles per second - it’s not just a good idea; it’s the law.”

Parting shot

Organizer Dawn Atwater is so desperate to find a streaker for her first all-North Idaho College reunion that she asked the Huckleberry Hound to give it a whirl. I respectfully declined. Middle-aged men with barrel chests don’t look good in a taupe leotard (or much of anything else, for that matter).

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

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