Huckleberries: Boater had issue with golf balls

Sometimes, you have to give a scofflaw his due – like that guy on the houseboat motoring by the Coeur d’Alene Resort floating green shortly after noon last Monday. Well, he was doing a bit more than sightseeing and enjoying the terrific weather. He was also knocking golf balls from his deck onto the floating green. To which, golf course officials, groundskeepers, and golfers who’d paid through the nose for the privilege took offense. Chuckling, I reported the news immediately on my blog’s Scanner Traffic. Kevin Taylor of the Inlander took it from there, calling Maj. Ben Wolfinger of the county sheriff’s office to see if a crime had been committed. Wolfinger responded: “There would be littering, if you are leaving things on someone else’s property. There is trespass … and if there is anybody on the floating green there could be assault.” Also, Wolfinger told Kevin that Sgt. Matt Street of the marine division took the sheriff’s boat out onto the lake and told the offenders to move along. Now, if we could only catch up to the individual responsible for all the golf balls that float downstream and litter the shoreline of Tubbs Hill.

Fightin’ GOP gals

Huckleberries hears … that things aren’t sunshine & lollipops among the Kootenai County Republican Women as they prepare for Women in Red fundraiser featuring controversial Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio Monday night. Seems the congressional GOP primary between winner Raul Labrador and Vaughn Ward, now a Post Falls hospital CEO, has busted the group in two, with many – most? – hostile toward Labrador. According to my sources, Labrador didn’t help matters with the feuding Elephants by going directly to Arpaio’s PR machine in an attempt to get face time for a possible endorsement with Arpaio during his Lake City visit. Labrador, as is, will be allowed to join other political candidates for an event to mingle with Arpaio. Not meet privately. Ward supporters are also miffed that Labrador was taking part in a major fundraiser on Thursday in Puerto Rico, where his half-brother is an influential man. Many local GOP women oppose statehood for Puerto Rico because they’re concerned that would add to the number of Democrats in Congress. They worry that Labrador is too cozy with Puerto Ricans who favor statehood.

Huckleberries

In the “What Have You Done For Us Lately” category, OpenCDA.com’s keyboard commandos are now lumping Editor Mike Patrick and the Coeur d’Alene Press in with The Spokesman-Review as part of the “lamestream media” – a Sarah Palin term for media that aren’t conservative enough. This, after Patrick’s Press has thrown open its news & op-ed columns to Mary Souza, Dan Gookin, Larry Spencer, and OpenCDA regulars for years … Hucks Online Poll: 71.37 percent of my Merry Hucksters voted that the members of the House Ethics Committee were too soft on tax-dodging state Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, when they voted 7-0 to recommend he be removed from the Rev & Tax committee. They wanted the ethics committee to recommend that Hart either be censured or booted from the Legislature … Julie Fanselow, the communications director for the Idaho Education Association, wonders: “Is this political silly season any sillier than any other. I can’t tell anymore.” Anyone?

Parting shot

Matt Roetter, who incurred the wrath of the dominant Phil Hart wing of the local GOP, is being asked to voluntarily step down as state committeeman as a result of his refusal to support Hart. Chairwoman Tina Jacobson got the votes she needed to ask for Roetter’s resignation at the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee meeting Tuesday night. Jacobson, who has subbed for Hart in the state Legislature, has been after Roetter’s head since an executive board meeting in September when he sided with write-in candidate Howard Griffiths over Hart, whom he considers to be a tax dodger. Seems the local GOP will vote on the matter at next month’s meeting if Roetter refuses to quit. Paraphrasing Alice: The Kootenai County GOP gets curiouser and curiouser.