War of words continues

As chairman of the Idaho House Education Committee, state Rep. Bob Nonini always has the opportunity to get in the last word. As predicted by Huckleberries Saturday, however, the District 5 Repub had little chance of having the final say in his war of words with the Lewiston Tribune editorial page. Remember? Nonini called opinionators Jim Fisher and Tom Henderson “chickens” in Trib commentary for not contacting him before penning critical opinion pieces – one each for his stands on pre-kindergarten education programs and an abortion issue. Last weekend, Fisher fired back that he and Henderson relied on the stories of Statehouse reporters, noting that Nonini hadn’t challenged the facts of the editorial pieces. Fisher said that he contacts the subject of his editorials when he’s “unclear or uncertain about the facts, or about someone’s involvement with them.” Then, he offered Nonini the advice that Harry Truman gave to thin-skinned individuals: If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. Fisher concluded by giving Nonini a standing warning: “The Lewiston Tribune’s editorial page has always criticized politicians who stand in the way of giving public school students the best education possible, and it always will.”

‘Reprehensive’ solon?

That news release for a town hall meeting in Rathdrum needed a spell-checker – you know, the one inviting the public to a meeting from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday at Twin Lakes Elementary. Spellcheck might have caught the “your” that should have been “you are.” But a proofreader was needed for a funnier miscue. The release said the town hall meeting will feature state Sen. Mike Jorgenson and Reps. Jim Clark and Phil Hart, all Legislative District 5 Repubs. Only Clark was listed as “Reprehensive” Jim Clark. Dunno if that was a typo or an editorial comment.

Huckleberries

Poet’s corner: It wasn’t quite fair,/as everyone knows,/for amateur liars/to face all those pros – The Bard of Sherman Avenue (“Congressional Baseball Hearing”) … Scanner Traffic: At 2:45 p.m. last Friday, a dispatcher SOS’d emergency responders that a man was slumped over the steering wheel in a Post Falls city rig alongside a road. Three minutes later, the call was canceled when the city employee finished writing his note and sat up … Online Poll: 66 percent of the respondents to an Idaho Statesman poll said the action taken by the Senate Ethics Committee in reprimanding U.S. Sen. Larry Craig in writing for his Minnesota airport indiscretion was “too light.” So much for Idaho standing by its man … Commish Rick Currie made the Perspectives page of the Feb. 11 edition of Newsweek with a quote about snow storm ‘08: “You can only stack the snow so high, and we’re running out of places to put it.” Only Newsweek changed Rick’s last name to “Carrie.” (Hat Tip – to Sandy Emerson for bringing in the mag) … Huckleberries Online turned 4 Saturday – and celebrated by inviting fellow bloggers, commenters and blurkers to Blogfest ‘08 at Capone’s. You coulda had free pizza, pop and heard songs by columnist Doug Clark (including “The Duane B. Hagadone Blues”), too – if you were a regular reader of the blog and had known about it.

Parting shot

Shoeless Joe, a regular at Huckleberries Online, greeted Tim Herzog’s announcement as a Repub candidate for the seat held by Commish Todd Tondee this way: “Tim Herzog – another absolute, 100 percent confirmed former Democrat now running as a Republican. Tim was a fixture in Demo circles 10 years ago, dropped out, now is back as a Republican. Can you say opportunist? Tondee should win this primary.” Mebbe Herzog has embraced that old saying: “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” Now, all he needs is name recognition and at least $40,000 to have a fighting chance.