BooBoo Upstages Sheriff’s New Toy

Talk about stealing your thunder. A 100-pound black bear upstaged Kootenai County Sheriff Ben Wolfinger’s big reveal for his $335,000 BearCat military vehicle Wednesday morning. Spokesman-Review photographer Kathy Plonka was en route to the BearCat unveiling when she got word that BooBoo Bear had climbed 60 to 70 feet up a tree at Woodland Middle School. Real bear? BearCat? Easy call. Kathy and her camera veered off to the Coeur d’Alene middle school, where she witnessed BooBoo climb down the tree. Get tranquilized. And get whisked off to Idaho Fish and Game HQ to sleep it off. Meanwhile, Coeur d’Alene city spokesman Keith Erickson literally ran into the commotion during his daily jog. Keith considered the near encounter with BooBoo “even more impressive than the big moose (he) encountered a couple months ago at nearby Bluegrass Park.” Bear? Moose? Just another day in viewtiful CdA/ DFO , Sunday Huckleberries. More here.

Other SR weekend columns:

• Brewers bring A-game /Rick Bonino
• Slice: It’s a wise move if you want the last laugh /Paul Turner
• Downtown Spokane concerns expose hypocrisy /Shawn Vestal
• Tennis doesn’t deserve any backhanded compliments /Doug Clark
• Outdoors: Boat access planned for CdA’s North Fork /Rich Landers
• Eye on Boise: Interim YourHealthIdaho now permanent /Betsy Russell

Question: Have you ever encountered a bear?