But What About Baiting The Hook With A Worm?

Hmmm. Seems Idaho womankind prefers to hook ‘em rather than shoot and gut ‘em. Consider the separate hunting and fishing clinics offered last weekend by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. Department officials canceled the hunting workshop because no one signed up. But the fishing class was filled to the gills with 30 women. Staff outdoorswoman Julie Titone saw no mystery in the disparity, however. Most women, said she, prefer fishing to hunting because it’s not as bloody or physically demanding. And I thought it had something to do with that “Bambi” movie.

Die snowboard dog

John Karpenko, an avid backcountry skier and outspoken critic of snowboarders and their sport, won the grand prize Thursday. Yep, he took home the coveted Burton Snowboard, raffled off during John Roskelley’s slide show at North Idaho College. Then, he tormented the teenage boys who gathered round to drool over his prize. Perhaps, remarked John to no one in particular, he would convert the pricey board into a ski-tuning bench in his garage. W.C. Fields, eat your heart out.

Great publicity

Coeur d’Alene proper has 40 golf courses, 400 antique shops and is a fly cast away from Priest River. If you don’t believe me, check out the superlatives in the May 23-25 edition of USA Weekend, which touted Lake City as one of “4 wild Western getaways.” Oh well, writer Patty Rhule did get the hole right for the floating green on The Coeur d’Alene Resort golf course: No. 14. And, overblown or not, we appreciate the publicity. … Not-So-Great Publicity: Mullan City Councilman Chuck Reitz had this to say about his town’s treatment in Hagadone Directories new phonebook: Nuts! The number of the city clerk’s office is the only blue-page listing his town gets. There’s no number for the library, which has Internet access. None for Mullan’s fine volunteer fire department either. And, worse yet, no city map. … A brochure from early day St. Maries caught Ralph Papenfuhs’ eye. It touted the booming timber town’s two banks and three fine hotels. Deadpanned Ralph: “Now, we’ve got three banks, but no money to put in them.”

Huckleberries

During a recent spree, where robbers posed as electricians, one scumball tried to knock off Bandz Inc. of Smelterville. Bandz manufactures “adult incontinence products and absorbent pads.” Talk about adding insult to injury. … I was thrilled to hear a sportscaster from San Francisco’s KMBR utter this line about a Santa Clara baseball game: “And Todd Hughes had a couple of hits.” Corky and Ginny Hughes of Coeur d’Alene have a right to be proud of their leadoff hitter. Sa-a-alute. … They do joy-riding differently in Bonner County. Ask the guy who almost was run over by three go-carts last week while taking a 1 a.m. stroll on Long Bridge. … Sales were off last Monday for two boys pushing lemonade and rabbits at the Pine Street Cemetery in Bonner County. After all, the place is pretty dead - and their large, growling German shepherd didn’t help matters much either. … Emcee Steve Milionis recovered nicely when Coeur d’Alene Superintendent of Schools Doug Cresswell failed to show to present a scholastic award at Coeur d’Alene High Thursday. Said Steve: “Now, that’s what I call early retirement.” Cresswell, a nice man whom I’ve probably pestered too much over the years, will retire July 1.

Parting shot

If you have a little, ahem, male problem, you may have a second problem, too - unless you’re a liberated man. In preparation for National Men’s Health Week (June 9-15), the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare circulated a news release with numbers and people to call if you have a problem. But the information sources are named Joanna, Sonja, Carol, Nancy, Sharon, Joanne and Connie. Not a man in the group. Well, most middle-aged men I know would rather die than take a physical exam - or talk to a woman about delicate matters like prostate cancer. And some probably will.

, DataTimes MEMO: Gotta Huckleberry? Call the Huckleberry Hound Hotline: (800) 344-6718 or (208) 765-7125; daveo@spokesman.com.

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