Larry Justus R.I.P

It is with deep regret that for those of you that didn't hear, as I didn't, that Larry passed away December 4 after a long illness.

Larry, and his wife of many years own and operate the Lakeland RV Park in Bayview. To say this is a tragic end to a man that was everyone's friend is an understatement.

I'm not adding the usual statistics simply because I am unwilling at this time to disturb Liz and her family. I am sure, however that you, her friends would be welcome to call or visit.

There are very few giants in Bayview. Those that have lived and worked here for many years and in some cases, many generations. Liz and Larry have touched many lives and those that they touched are the better for it. Good bye, my friend. I'll miss you.

Commentary

Deputy city manager, John Engalls recently  revealed that a discussion between Idaho Transportation Department and the city of Coeur d'Alene is in progress. The issue is what to do with the Lake Shore Drive that used to be  I-90.

When the subject of hydroplane races was raised, Engalls stated that if the city annexes that stretch of old highway the seventeen year old law that prohibits Hydroplane racing would apply.

Let's look at that issue. First, the only property the city would inherit is the road bed. All property from the road to the high water level is owned and maintained by the Idaho State Parks Department.

To the east, are private homes of which none have asked to become part of the city. Another possibility would be the East Side Highway district.

Add to the  mix is grandfathered rights that the state may confer to the hydro race, the parks department interests and of course that of the hillside residents. Oh and of course the Centenial Trail.

The key reason for the city not to participate, is that excluding the lake shoulder and the uphill property owners, all that is left if the pavement, of which no tax revenue is possible. Short of making it a toll road, city ownership would only benefit the anti-race people of which after last fall we think are very few.

Perhaps the east side highway district would be interested, as they would benefit from the road taxes the state would transfer. The Eastside district is the most viable and they haven't formed a prejudice against boat racing.

Even if the city were petitioned to overturn the antiquated anti-boat racing law, there would be no guarantee the revocation wouldn't pass. Do I have an axe to grind? You betcha. No governmental body has ever passed a law prohibiting a specific sport, other than the City of Coeur d'Alene. OK, perhaps Bull Fighting, which is not really a sport but a stylized method of torturing and butchering a bull.

High School sports, Iron man, local collegiate sports have their own fan bases. No one sport would poll a majority of voters, simply because of a diversity of interests. As our constitution provides, minority interests are clearly protected on many levels. Personally, I would like to see that old law stricken from the books as outdated and archaic not to mention prejudicial.

This one-sided issue will go away just as other bad ideas have. The race will be held in the same location as last year, excepting lines to weights for buoys would be designed to disconnect immediately after use. Were there problems with the race last year? Absolutely. No local had every ran a race of the magnitude of an H-1 unlimited race. We plane on addressing the errors of last year to make this race as smooth as the Tri-Cities and Seattle venues. We had about 50,000 attendees last fall of which most were from the Spokane/Coeur d'Alene area. We believe common sense and fairness to others will prevail. There will always be a few loud voices against most everything. They shouldn't rule the rest of us.

Dog Walk & Simple Mind

Over the past several years I have watched and listen to the studied observations of these ladies of my age. First, I would like to point out that either or both are much smarter than I, and what's more important, more objective.

The first Blog Fest (named by me) was held in Bayview at the Captain's Wheel Restaurant. I think there were about nine people present including the Blog father. As always in North Kootenai county, Larry was there. My high moment was then I observed a conversation between a former journalism teacher and Larry of whose name I shall not speak, since he, like the ghouls, comes out of the woodwork when his name is mentioned. Dogwalk and simple were there as well.

The reason I mentioned these two gals is that first they have finely tuned antenna when it comes to Bullshit. The second, that unlike most of the contributors here, they don't have an agenda. They use an antiquated method called common sense.These two do not break their claws agaist a stacked deck as occurs often on comments. They merely say what they have to say then they either shut up or as the case may be, go walk the dog.

Ladies, you are what lends intellect and common sense to this zoo. I'm proud to know you.

An almost Parade

Bayview has an annual par ... er, lighted car cruise this time of year. We can't call it a parade because then we would need to do all of that paper work and get a permit.

So, our Christmas cruise will form at the Flippin' Frog Cafe at about 6:00 pm. Everyone is welcome to participate.

An additional news item is that hydro race tickets are now also available at Super One Foods.

Stocking Stuffers, Hydroplane style

A new and different stocking stuffer idea has occurred as tickets are now available for the 2014 Diamond Cup Race.

So far, the outlets are at:  All Inland Northwest Bank branches, Kootenai Lawn & Garden, and Angel Gallery, in Coeur d'Alene. Grab these unique gifts in time for Christmas. An additional site is Super One Foods.

Pearl Harbor Remembered

As I sat contemplating the memories of Pearl Harbor, I realized that from baby boomers on down in age, this was history, not a life experience. Those born after World War two were for the most part unaffected by those experiences.

I was born in March of 1938 and was seven years old when the war ended, and 3 1/2 the day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. At the age I was, not a lot of detail was retained. One though, was. I witnessed adults running out into the streets expecting to see bombs falling from Japanese aircraft. That Japan did not have long range capability was ignored, even by our military.

Farragut was chosen for naval training, not because of the proximity of Lake pend Oreille, but the distance from the vulnerable pacific coast.

This generation along with mine, has 9/11 and the twin towers of New York City as an equally egregious attack, this time against civilians instead of military targets. The war against Japan ended finally, but will the war against Jihadists ever end?

There are only seven Pearl Harbor veterans left to attend their annual reunion. My generation will soon die off leaving Pearl Harbor as only an historical event, not touching many lives unless a grandfather was part of it. Still, we should remember Pearl Harbor as an example of our vulnerability.

Plumbing Woes

I have been fighting a plumbing problem for about one month.I found that the worst place a faucet can go bad is in the shower/tub. Naturally, it was the hot water side. This caused me to have to turn the hot water off on the hot water tank which is accessed outside.

Yesterday, thanks to a very helpful Mark Streater, I drove into town to get a new one. The last time I replaced a leaky faucet, I just pulled the handle off and replaced the double aught washer. No more. Modern technology has once again fixed something that wasn't broke. Now we have stems and seats, O rings and other interesting pieces. In order to find the right parts I had to first remove the old one. Unfortunately, I didn't have the right stuff.

After visiting the two big box stores, Lowes and Home Depot. I bought one at each store, determined not to make a second trip. It worked and I now have normal hot water. The drive home was a different story.

Yesterday morning we started getting lake effect snow which tapered off and then returned about dusk. For those of you that are not familiar with lake effect it is when the air temperature is much colder that the water in the lake. This causes the lake to steam. Thousands of gallons of water evaporated causing a huge cloud which then began to precipitate as fine snow flakes.

As I started back to Bayview, I ran into snow at about Chilco. It got heavier as I got closer to the lake. When I turned east on highway 54 I ran into about three inches of unplowed, drifting snow. By the time I got to Farragut, my car was all over the road. In addition, a deer jumped out so close to me I couldn't have stopped. Fortunately the deer did the right thing and headed for the shoulder.

When I got into Bayview, creeping around sharp turns, (it was greasy slick) I barely made it up the hill and around the hairpin turn on Lime Kiln Rd. But I made it home. I guess it is time to put my snow tires on, huh? 

Bayview Mercantile

Rumors have been flying around Bayview regarding the sale and reopening of our only store. I met with the purportedly new owner yesterday and asked him about the status. His reply was, "I haven'tdecided yet whether to buy it."

Bottom line, it has not been purchased, it is not opening January 2 as the rumor mill has it. It is still for sale, according to the new Prospective owner, who did not give me permission to name him.

Wistful thinking will not work until someone steps up with an offer that the bank who now owns it accepts. If that offer were made today it would still be spring before it could open.

Thanksgiving

Some of us, myself included are going to have a free dinner Thursday at the "Flippin Frog'" the former Bay Cafe. Dinner with all of the fixin's will be served between 1:00 and 5:00 pm.

I am contributing my infamous dressing, since the birds will be fried and unstuffed.

As we approach the holidays look for some interesting things about to happen in the next week or so regarding the availability of Diamond Cup 2014 tickets locally for stocking stuffers.

I renewed my car license last week and picked up my state park sticker which you can buy along with a car license for just $10 bucks. Don't forget to ask for the sticker. It's a great buy and is vital to the financial health of the park system.

I am busy soliciting sponsorships for the Diamond Cup next fall. For a small or even large business, the donation is a tax write-off as well as great publicity. The souvenir programs last for years opposed to newspaper ads that expire with the next day's news. People keep them for years. I recently rceived the one from the Seafare race in Seattle for the year I graduated from Renton High School. It was kept for all these years since 1956.

Advertising and/or sponsoring the race will get you an ad in the program that will last like an encyclopedia. A gift as they say, that keeps on giving.

An office relocation for the race is  at 1105 Sherman has just been established and we should have phones and wifi hooked up in the next few days.

Have a great Thanksgiving, I'll see you next week.

Why I Blog

Sometimes when things are slow and no news is flying around the community, I wonder why I continue to do this thing. Last week, if I needed reminding, I found out.

I received a phone call from a last name that I recognized on caller ID, but not the first. James Dotson. After a few minutes of conversation I finally realized two things. I was speaking to a guy retired from United Airlines that we used to call<"Airline Mike." Mike is apparently his middle name.

The second was that he had a much better memory than mine. He recollected when I was driving cab in Coeur d'Alene and even who I was living with at the time. (Cute young Texas girl.) Mike went through about an hour of remembrance from when he lived here.

Actually, he kind of didn't live here. As an airline employee, he worked out of Seattle four days a week. Leaving a car at Spokane airport, he would fly free to and from Spokane, then drive to his hideaway here in Bayview.

He bought and remodeled several homes including a float home. Mike was a genius at minutely getting everything he built perfect. Mike moved away about ten years ago if my memory serves me, which it often doesn't. We weren't friends, just acquaintances that respected each other.

Mike Dotson was calling from West Virginia, where he was raised as a child. He returned to his roots where he is ... yes, remodeling another home. This one an ancient brick home with a carriage house next to it. The bricks he tells me, are about sixteen inches thick.

While it is always good to hear from people that have moved away, it occurred to me that most probably, he contacted me because through this blog he kept track of the happenings here in Bayview, Idaho. So I'll keep plodding along, writing when I have something to say and gliding a bit when there isn't any news of import. Thanks for dropping in, Mike. Glad to hear from you.

New Sponsors Welcome

 

Now that the political season is behind us and the 2013 Diamond Cup is also, it is time to start planning for the 2014 Diamond Cup.

While last year's race had many problems all due to time constraints, instead of six weeks to raise funds to support the race this year, we have nine months. This doesn't mean we can sit back and relax though. Hydroplane races are very expensive. Between now and Labor Day week-end we need about 1 million in new funds, most of which will come from corporate sponsorships, but ticket sales will still be critical.

If we can arrange it in time, perhaps you can purchase tickets for stocking stuffers at Christmas.

Steps are being taken to tighten up security at the site, and those that strolled past security to watch the races free will no longer be able to do so. Some new ideas are being explored even as we speak regarding local sales outlets rather than just Tickets West.

Several personnel changes have taken place to firm up control of the event. One particular legitimate complaint was from people that paid big bucks to have their boat on the log boom only to see others tie up without paying. That will not happen anymore either. Boats roaring up to the log boom without regard to the wake left endangered the boats racing on the course. The half mile no wake zone will also be rigorously enforced with the assistance of the Kootenai County Sheriff Department.

We want this to be a fun filled adventure and a safe one for the drivers on the course. 2014 will be that way.

Anyone wanting to become a race sponsor can either e-mail me at:bayviewherb@gmail.com or go the the Diamond Cup website. If you e-mail me personally, I'll follow up myself. Questions about the race can also be sent to me.

Nurturing Your Community

Elections are all about caring. Caring about your community and how it is administrated on your behalf. Tomorrow will be critical to that end.

Depending on where you live, either radical Liberals or radical Conservatives will control your area's  politics. This is because radicals are more motivated to vote than the average person.

Here in the Coeur d'Alene/Post Falls area recent years have found an influx of Constitutionalists and anti-government types that have claimed Republican labels so that they have a chance to win elections. During the recent school Board election in Coeur d'Alene, the public became aware of a right wing takeover by the so called Regan Republicans. I say so called, because I knew Ronald Reagan back in 1964 and 65 when he was preparing to run for California Governor. I had his daughter Maureen and then husband, Dave Sills over to my house for dinner. These pretenders would not have supported Reagan and he would not have supported their exclusionary activities either. The attempt to take over the school board failed as it should again in this election. I believe that with Widmyer as mayor and those others such as Kiki Miller and Amy Evans. If Amber Copeland were not running against McEvers, I would favor her. Perhaps she can oppose last election's mistake, Adams when he next is up for election. 

Many of these types are refugees from the John Birch Society, a very extreme group. Whether you favor the progress our two cities have made economically, more jobs, diversified economy, increased tourism and items like the Kroc Center, which was opposed by these RR types, the education corridor, a route to a full time four year campus, The beautiful park and pond at Riverstone, plus the shops and other infrastructure, or want to return to the bad old days of unemployment, lack of professional diversity, your vote is more vital tomorrow than perhaps at any time in the history of these two cities. Those that oppose government should not be elected to run it.

Vote which ever way you must, but please don't leave the decisions to others who may not think like you do. Participate in this landmark election. Be a part of your future.

2013 Diamond Cup

This is a well written recap of the race and the people who run it.

http://www.unlimitednewsjournal.net/October_2013.html

Bayview's Own USS Zumwalt

the General Dynamics Bath Iron Works shipyard. U.S. Navy photo


This picture might look familiar to those that live or play in Bayview, Idaho. The small scale model of what morphed into this ship was tested here by the naval research detachment. This came to Bayviews through the courtesy of Lawrence Killingsworth, otherwise know as the scourge of the Pend Oreille Seas. More can be seen at:gCaptain.com.

It is great to see our friends at the base are not hanging out at the water cooler all the time.

"General Dynamics Bath Iron Works on Monday successfully launched the Navy’s first Zumwalt-class destroyer at their Bath, Maine shipyard. The ship, the future USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000), will be the first of three ships in the Navy’s newest destroyer class, designed for littoral operations and land attack.
The ship began the transition from Bath Iron Works’ land-based construction facility to a floating dry dock on Friday. Once loaded into the dry dock, the dock was flooded and the ship was removed from its cradle. By late Monday, the dock had been flooded and the ship was floated off and tied to a pier on the Kennebec River.

SEE ALSO: DDG 1000 Pics – Billy Badass Has Arrived
“This is the largest ship Bath Iron Works has ever constructed and the Navy’s largest destroyer. The launch was unprecedented in both its size and complexity,” said Capt. Jim Downey, the Zumwalt-class program manager for the Navy’s Program Executive Office, Ships. “Due to meticulous planning and execution, the operation went very smoothly. I’m extremely pleased with the results and applaud the combined efforts of the Navy-industry team.”

Curbing Radicalism

Never in this region's history has it been more vital to pay attention to candidates in local city and county elections. The example of the Adams victory in the last Coeur d'Alene city council election should serve as a warning. His actions and declarations, threatening the elderly lady mayor physically should be a warning for the election coming next week.

With the Coeur d'Alene city election having three vacancies on the council and Mayor, a huge change could take place if the radicals score another victory.

In the race for mayor, we have a successful businessman, a guy heavily invested in our area with three businesses and a background as a comptroller, running against a Woman that hasn't come out in favor of anything. My dad would have called her a ginner. In every issue she has taken a position on she has been against something or someone.

Souza has attacked and re-attacked everything in sight in the name of Libertarian purity. Her whole issue is shut the treasury down along with any spending project whether needed or not. Along with her candidacy is a slate of Libertarians that along with others have fled the ineffective Constitution Party to attempt a takeover of the Republican Party. To many outside our area, they think all Republicans are radical due to the image portrayed by these radicals. We are not.

The huge leap forward that the city by the lake has taken in the last few years is an astounding one. The Kroc Center, Education Corridor, Riverstone, the creation of a model park from what was essentially a vacant field with a baseball diamond and a large parking lot are all projects these radicals opposed.

I urge you to vote for Widmyer for Mayor and Kiki Miller et al for a retention of common sense. Vote against the wrecking ball of radicalism by voting. It has never been more vital that you do so. Remember the old adage, "You get the government that you deserve."

LCDC The Truth

There has been a ton of negative propaganda against the Lake City Development Corporation, which is a chartered group that operates from tax increments. This simply means that if, in the case of Riverstone of which I have the most information, here are the facts.

The 2012 tax base, which is when tax rates are applied determines how much tax money is owed the county, was 3,052,000. Just a little over 3 million dollars. The land consisted of a former lumber mill, shut down. It also contained a large gravel pit which was also no longer in use, except perhaps by the Mosquitos that bred there.

The number of jobs that used to be in the area, were 5. Number of businesses, 1.

Amount of public money spent in Riverstone, zero. Now lets zip to the present.

First, the new tax base, created by the private development of Riverstone, also in 2012, is $95,000,000. 95 million dollars of tax base that did not exist before. That number is in the lexicon of Urban Renewal, is called tax increment, or the increased value that now can be taxed by the county.

Included in that development are 63 new businesses, 757 new jobs and 459 new residents living in the condos that were tastefully intertwined in the commercial community.

No public money was used to develop this project, just city owned roads and public improvements. Over 3 Million dollars has been paid to the city of Coeur d'Alene in fees along with a lake that was developed from the eye sore gravel pit that previously existed Twenty plus acres of Riverstone private property was donated to the city. That included the new park, and lake, improvement to Northwest Blvd and the prairie trail, a section of the Centennial Trail that borders the Spokane River and passes through Riverstone.

All URA funds were spent on   publicly owned ground and invested in the infrastructure of the city of Coeur d'Alene. $250 million dollars were invested privately to develop the project. For some unknown convoluted reasoning, a small group of anti-government people led by but not limited to such as Sims and Mayoral candidate, Souza seem to think this is Socialism. Since no public money is invested in Riverstone, and the tax base went from 3 million to 95 million, causing huge amounts of tax dollars to accrue to the city of Coeur d'Alene, I'm at a loss, and as a conservative believing in small businesses and private enterprise to see where this is anything close to a liberal project.

Building a community from tax dollars earned from these tax paying developers is the best of Conservative political principles.

Other projects that were made possible by Urban Renewal, are the Kroc Center, The Education corridor adjacent to North Idaho College, the prairie trail and the new public library. In many cases, the library is used by detractors of urban renewal for meetings they hold to stir up trouble. Seed money for the McEuen Park transformation was also provided by the Urban Renewal people.

I lived in Coeur d'Alene back in 1970-72 when the mills were down, the mines were down and people were leaving town in droves. Primarily driven by the Coeur d'Alene Resort, tourism has replaced many of those jobs which then a thriving community, attracted hundreds of small businesses.

So then, what we have are anti-growth, anti-government radicals trying to take over in this upcoming election, all of the huge advances our community has experienced. Not because the common sense candidates for Mayor and city council are not qualified, but because they do not toe the Anarchist line.

I urge you to vote for common sense candidates such as Widmyer for mayor and the other main stream candidates like Kiki Miller and other Balance Coeur d'Alene candidates that have been screened and interviewed as to their views for the future, not the route to yesterday. I read an account yesterday, of a drowning man saved by a fellow rafter. His name is Steve Widmyer. Perhaps Steve can save a city from the same fate.

I Have Returned

The principals involved with the Diamond Cup Regatta have asked me to return to the fold. All is well between them and myself. I am not sure what my duties will entail, except you will probably hear my voice when calling the Diamond Cup phone number, which is 208-664-3338. This will not take place for a week or so, but it will happen. They also tell me I'm going to have more responsibility.

I suspect that I will be heavily involved with media relations, as I was last Summer. This is the slow season, but it is never the slow season when it comes to fund raising. Last year we had a total of two months to organize and fund the race. It got done, but with those time limitations  it was pretty ragged.

This year is different. We plan on boosting our boosters so to speak insofar as  making a company donation pay off in publicity for those donors. Now is not to early to donate to the cause. You can contact me at : bayviewherb@gmail.com with any questions relating to supporting the 2014 race.I'm going to be contacting local marinas, since water sports come in all sizes and speeds. So, if you have a need for speed, give me a call. This is a good time to claim a loss on your tax return for 2013. Ask us about how.

I look forward to working with the community and the fine people that I met last year. Let's jump start our fund raising by responding soon. In the period prior to us getting phone coverage at the office, please feel free to call me at home.208-683-9107

This is going to be a great year. With the experience behind us and the physical installations already built it will be much simpler. We ask those people that live in the vicinity of the race course to play fair with us as it costs a lot of money to put the races on and cheaters minimize the chances of continuing year after year. It doesn't cost an individual much to attend the race, but collectively, it is a huge part of our funding. It's early and I'm already excited.

Widmyer For Mayor

As a resident of Bayview, I can't vote in the Coeur d'Alene elections. It's really a pity, since the city also represents the county seat and the center of most activities in Kootenai County.

In the past I have remained quiet about municipal elections held in areas I don't live in. Then it occurred to me that many of the radical rightists that oppose Widmyer live in Post Falls and just drop in to agitate in Coeur d'Alene from time to time.

My heart favors Copeland for council, that spunky young lady that wants to get further involved in her community. Unfortunately, she is running against a popular incumbent.

One thing that jumps out at me is this political freak Adams that somehow flummoxed the electorate into electing him to a position of responsibility. He claims that it is downtown business interests that are backing Widmyer and others.

First, as a conservative, if in fact that is what he is, (questionable) he should applaud the business interests stand since pro-business is a Republican core principle. So what is left that we can label him as? I suspect he is more an anti-government loner that just hangs out with hate groups. Not racial hate, though I have no knowledge one way or the other on that, but just plain hate everything groups.

There are a few in every generation that does not believe in any form of government or regulations. That is their right. They shouldn't however,  be trusted with public office that they opposes on principle. I can only hope that my neighbors to the south show more sense this time around. Anarchists we do not need.

Tom Clancy, R.I.P.

Little more than a footnote appeared in the press recently as Tom Clancy died at age 66. Arguably the preeminent Thriller/Military fiction writer of our time is gone. Gone way before his time.

I have, I believe all of the books that were written by him, numbering well over 50 and they weren't minimized in size. Executive Orders, one of his best, Threat Vector and most others number more than 800 pages. Eight hundred pages of I can't put the book down is a wholesale loss of productivity on the part of the reader.

His writing career started out while he was an Insurance agent, with a degree in English. His first book, "The hunt for red October." was published in 1984 closely followed by "Red Storm Rising,: then a deluge of cold war related tales.

When the cold war ended he created wars with an expansionist Japan, the reversing course, sided with Russia against a land grab in Siberia by the Chinese.

His detail was so uncannily accurate that he was questioned by authorities as to where he got his classified information. He calmly pointed to open source information available to anyone that wanted it.

There are others of my favorites. Steve Coonts, Dale Brown, W.E.B. Griffin, but nobody can replace the master. You'll be sorely missed, Big Guy.

Outrageous Closures

The closure of the World War 11 memorial which is in open space, but allowing a rally consisting of left wing politicians and illegal immigrants is a devastating insult to our war dead. But wait, there's more. Mount Rushmore is also closed. Why is that significant? Mt. Rushmore is operated by a private contractor that charges admission. There are no public funds in play at all. The illustration shown below says it all. The Obama administration is showing it's ass to the world. (picture stolen from author, Stephen Coonts on Facebook.)