Voices

Monday Millwood City Council – 7 p.m. at City Hall, 9103 E. Frederick.

We are now in the third month of a six-month Atlantic hurricane season, which started on June 1 and ends Nov. 30. So far there have been four named storms, two of which became hurricanes. The latest storm to affect the U.S. was hurricane Dolly, which made landfall at South Padre Island, Texas, July 23 as a Category 2 storm. The National Hurricane Center reported maximum sustained winds of 100 mph at landfall. There were no deaths in Texas, but it became the most damaging hurricane for the state since Hurricane Rita in 2005. Surprisingly, the remnants of Dolly actually had some positive effects on parts of the Lone Star State. Many areas of south Texas had been in what is categorized as extreme to exceptional drought before Dolly. Corpus Christi had only seen 7.83 inches of rain during the first six months of the year. The remnants of Dolly brought more than 5 inches in just two days effectively ending the drought. Other areas of south Texas received anywhere from 1 to 5 inches of rain, greatly improving drought conditions in those areas.

The heat of summer is upon us. We all scurry for the shade on a hot afternoon. Local beaches are crowded with folks cooling off in the water. Our lawns aren’t so lucky. They are stuck in the heat of the day at the mercy of whatever care and water they get. A little care and a change of some habits now will help get it through the worst of the heat.

So, what do you do when a marmot crawls into the undercarriage of your car and refuses to leave? If you’re CDA Councilman Mike Kennedy, you call together a crack team of highly technical and creative colleagues – and then poke, prod and honk at the beast in an attempt to dislodge it. Mike also drove around for awhile, hoping to coax the varmint from its refuge. Which was more humane than the sage advice given to Mike by Sheriff Rocky Watson: “Shoot it.” Rocky was joking, of course. Methinks. In a phone call on another matter, Mike mentioned the marmot problem. And Demo-turned-Repub Rocky concluded immediately that the critter was a Democrat and deserving of death after he heard that the marmot had a “foul temper.” Earlier, a Demo in Mike’s marmot posse had concluded that the animal was a Republican for ignoring reasonable demands that it get out from under the car. In an e-mail to Huckleberries, Mike said, “So the political affiliation of the marmot remains undetermined.” The marmot was finally driven out without permanent damage to the car. “I now know just how much organic material – solid and liquid – a frightened marmot can create when trapped in an engine block,” Mike concluded. “Not pretty.” Bad memories

The sudden growth of health clubs in North Idaho is astounding. Not only does it mean that more people evidently are health conscious, but also that some of the area’s large, empty buildings are getting worthy occupants and at least one grand, new facility is being built.

Saturday Art On The Green Festival – North Idaho College Campus, Coeur d’Alene, 667-9346. North Stage: 10 a.m. Wildwood Recorders (Baroque); 11 a.m. Pacific Northwest Dance Collective; noon Opera Plus; 1:30 p.m. Coeur d’Alene Symphony (Classical); 3 p.m. Eclectics (Variety); 4:30 p.m. Handful Of Lovin’ (Folk/Rock); 6 p.m. Six Foot Swing (Vintage Swing/Jazz); 7:30 p.m. Printz Dance Project (Dance/Vocal Percussion). South Stage: 10 a.m. Ty Kovatch (Acoustic/Folk); 11:30 a.m. Cheryl Brantz (Folk/Pop); 1 p.m. B-4 (Folk/Americana); 2:30 p.m. Kathy Colton and The Reluctants (Rock/Pop); 4 p.m; Scott Cossu Ensemble (Jazz); 5:30 p.m. Red Wing Fiddlers (Country/Western).

COEUR d’ALENE – North Idaho College rolled out the combat mats last week to promote its law enforcement training program to visiting officials tasked with determining whether the college can serve as a regional police academy. Several people from the Idaho Peace Officer Standards and Training council were on hand to ask questions and tour the classrooms and other regional facilities. Those committee members will be making a recommendation in the next two months on whether to pursue an official training arrangement with NIC or contract with another group to open a North Idaho academy.

If new construction impact fees are approved and implemented within the Northern Lakes Fire Protection District, two new fire stations will likely be built in the Rathdrum area within the next 10 years. Two years ago, Kootenai County Commissioner Todd Tondee campaigned in Boise for fire districts to collect impact fees under House Bill 204. Previously, only agencies with taxing authority could impose the fees. Once the bill passed, the county created an impact fee committee to develop a capital improvement plan. In order to collect impact fees, a capital improvement plan must be created to show capital expenditures for the next 10 years. Currently, the plan projects that two new fire stations are needed in Rathdrum, one now and one over the next 10 years. Current growth projections show the largest amount of growth in the next 10 years will likely happen in the Rathdrum area, said Larry Clark, fire commissioner for the Northern Lakes Fire Protection District.

For 08-02-2008

For the week of Aug. 4-8 Monday – Hungarian goulash with sour cream, vegetables, carrots, potato roll, fruit cocktail.

For 08-02-2008

Beginning this Wednesday, free movies will be shown in the Shirley Parker Theater in the Seagrave Children’s Library, at the Coeur d’Alene Library, 702 E. Front Ave., every Wednesday at 11 a.m. through August. The movies will include free popcorn for viewers. For details visit www.cdalibrary.org, and click on the children’s program calendar on the right side of the page.

Spokane Valley Wesleyan Church will host a vacation Bible school Aug. 11-15 for children age 4 through the sixth grade. The theme of the event is “SonWorld Adventure Park.” Classes will meet daily from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the church, 16607 E. Broadway. Call the church at 924-9775 to register or visit www.svwesleyan.org. Women’s trio performs