Flag rule at Lake View Towers doesn’t fly with vets

Hagadone Corp. underlings caught flak for a recent good deed done half right. Seems the Hagadroids at Lake Tower Apartments in downtown Coeur d’Alene solved a problem for the old vets and retired tenants by installing specially designed flag holders and poles that wouldn’t blow away as the previous store-bought ones had. Often the wind would snap off the forerunners and blow them onto the nearby garage. The old-timers were thrilled with the new arrangement until they received a notice from management instructing them to fly their flags only on special days: Memorial Day, Flag Day, Fourth of July weekend, Labor Day weekend and Veterans Day. Signee Ron Goltz said their “corporation” would be appreciated. The Seasoned Citizens were upset. Some of them have fought in foreign wars. One, recently deceased, was a decorated veteran of WWII and Korea who flew his flag nearly every day. He’d turn in his grave if he knew the red, white and blue, for some reason, no longer matches the large tan buildings and bronze cupolas that are Hagadone’s signature color scheme.

Beware what lurks below

Didja hear the one about Michelle Rafferty’s 7-year-old boy, Luke? Seems Michelle signed him up for a one-day camp on the other side of Lake Coeur d’Alene. Which required a short ride aboard Hagadone Hospitality’s Mish-A-Nock cruise boat. Which made Luke nervous. Michelle knew why, too. Hubby Max had let Junior see “Jaws” – and now he’s convinced that there are sharks in the lake. So, Michelle tormented hubby Max for a week about letting Luke see “Jaws” – only to discover that she was the culprit for allowing him to watch “Titanic” a month ago. Michelle felt so guilty that she paid for a cruise Tuesday night for the whole family to prove to Luke that – (drum roll, puh-leez) there are no icebergs in Lake Coeur d’Alene.

Low-profile immigrants

The Huckleberries Online gang played a game of Low-Key Celebs this week – you know, famous people and their shirttail relatives who live in the area or visit regularly. The HBOers produced this unverified list (not counting actress Patty Duke, son Sean Astin, and the former NFL QBs): 1. Neurosis vocalist/guitarist Steve Von Till, a recent immigrant from San Francisco; 2. The parents of the late Rick Griffin (creator of the “Murph the Surf” cartoon character and graphic artist for the Grateful Dead and others); 3. Climbing legend Lynn Hill’s mother and stepfather visit periodically; 4. Michael Doleac (Shaq’s back-up on the Miami Heat) has a home on Priest Lake; 5. NBA coach Phil Jackson’s brother runs a Hayden insurance company; 6. A cousin of “Nightline’s” Ted Koppel owns an ammo biz in the area. Any others?

Poet’s corner

“Now, where are those virgins/I’ve been waiting to meet/and what is the story/on all this damned heat?” – The Bard of Sherman Avenue (“The Late Abu Musab al-Zarqawi”) … Limerick Lane: “I looked way up in the air/At the tall building they’d built there/As I stood behind it,/I had faith I would find it/Tubbs Hill is around here somewhere!” – CDADave, limericking sadly about the monster buildings that soon will swallow downtown Coeur d’Alene.

Huckleberries

Despite the local fire department turning down a “distraught citizen’s” SOS, all ended well in Sandpoint Monday, when Good Young Samaritan climbed a tree and rescued a cat. Seems the reimbursement rate for rescuing purr-balls isn’t enough to get them big fire wheels rolling … Bumpersnickers (on a red Ford parked at Tomato Street/Appleway): “USA: God Bless America” and “Could you drive better if I shoved that cell phone up your butt?” … Bumpersnicker 2 (on a Jeep at Northwest Boulevard and Seltice Way Thursday morning): “Frodo Has Failed, Bush Has The Ring” … Rumorama: One persistent rumor that won’t go away has it that bazillionaire Bill Gates is buying a bunch of property at the Silver Valley’s Smelterville. No substance can be found to support the rumor either … Huckleberries hears – that Rollye James, the syndicated Libertarian/conspiracy theorist heard on KGA, has sent hubby John Cornell to spy out Coeur d’Alene for a possible move from Philadelphia. On the air this week, she said: “I’d love to move to Coeur d’Alene.”

Parting shot

The worker bees at Coeur d’Alene City Hall are still buzzing about that meltdown by Hagadone Corp. lieutenant John Barlow, who didn’t get his way when the council voted 4-3 to delay annexation of the boss’ Blackwell Island property this week. Barlow’s ‘tude at the council meeting didn’t help his cause. Nor the BS-bomb he dropped from the audience that could be heard by council members. Then, council members and staffers are still debating whether Barlow’s middle finger was extended when he made an odd gesture toward Troy Tymesen after the finance director failed to back a point that Barlow was trying to make. Huckleberries also hears that Hagadone Corp. has declared war on Mayor Sandi Bloem and City Hall for the rebuff. Stay tuned.