Weather Forecasts

I decided that weather forecasters needed an interpreter, so here I am.

20% chance of snow. This essentially means either it will snow in 20% of places, or everywhere 20% of the time.

Flurries: This means that it is possible but not probable that a few snow flakes will drift down.

A bit of snow: This is a British understatement for: "YOU GONNA GET BURIED!

Snow at times: This is an attempt to show that they really know what is coming, but don't.

Occasional snow: Usually, this means "Look out, the sky may fall."

Snow: Snow without a qualifying preface, means You need to find your snow shovel before it gets buried.

Clear and cold: This is the interval between snow storms.

Hawaiian Christmas song

This as a remarkable song sang and played by Jesse Tinsley, a Spokesman-Review Photographer and my friend.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10205426348360784&set=vb.1312200809&type=2&theater
or this one:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0NI8o3pYpg

Christmas Eve 2014

T'was the night before Christmas quiet all around,

not a creature was stirring except at J.D.'s
The Waters of the bay were still,
but snow decorated the hill.
If it weren't for the lights it would look like a ghost town,

 but here and there, a drink went down.
A white Christmas is not to be,
 unless you look yonder at the snow covered tree.

Merry Christmas, Y'all

Eagles, Eagles N' dead fish

This picture taken by Ralph Jones of Ralph's Coffee House was taken in Echo By just around the corner from Bayview. He took another with Sharon Findlay, his guest's better camera which has been seen on Facebook and the Spokesman-Review. This kind of looks like a tree decorated with eagles for Christmas.

I talked with Ralph this morning about a visit from Scott Maben of the Spokesman-Review. They got some good pictures and shots of a lot of dead Kokanee. Ralph sez you can almost walk across the bay with the entire surface covered with spawned out fish.

The wind yesterday, drove thousands of dead fish into the harbor near the Navy Base and MacDonald's, where it is hoped they are consumed by the thousands of Seagulls which appeared from somewhere. The shore spawn comes later in the season than The one at Granite Creek.

The Granite Creek spawn is routed into Sullivan Springs where they are milked for eggs and milt. The shore spawn is heaviest From Vista Bay Marina, past the navy  into the JD's and Scenic Bay Resorts. All shore spawn is natural, as the Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer starts around the front of the Navy Base, cleaning the gravel which is prime spawning turf.Come on down with your camera, and an appetite where our three winter Cafes are. Ralph's, whose historical pictures span the walls and good food to boot. Mario's is the new Mexican Restaurant and The Captain's Wheel where food and cocktails abound.

We also regained the Bayview Mercantile, newly named Bayview General Store. Their prices are competitive with anyon so be sure to use them for some of you shopping.
after losing the stor for a year the new owners are doing a great job and if we want to keep them they need your business. 

Discrimination

It is difficult to have a balanced discussion about race relations due to the aforementioned knee jerk reactions from the far left. Thursday's post was an attempt by me to allow a balanced look at this very difficult subject. Fortunately, only one person predictably labeled me a s racist. It is these name calling events that cause many to avoid any discussion on the subject. This person repeatedly and exclusively jumped the conversation in such a way.

Balanced people will outnumber the flame throwers every time if given the opportunity by the community. I started this discussion because at my age  don't fear these hate mongers that outnumber many. As in a famous movie, "frankly, I don't give a damn." What comments were offered numbered about 18 at last count. Only the one shrill voice repeated the mantra over and over. The rest were thoughtful expressions.

There are many other ways to discriminate other than color. How many Idaho residents of the past 15 years haven't shown derision when faced with a new emigrant from California. The sad truth is most people show prejudice when another person isn't just like you. Politics, location, blond vs brunette, on and on. Even minor differences become personal. The key is to respect opinions other than your own without personal attacks.  

"If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear."
George Orwell

RACISM?

Recently a chain store recalled wrapping paper because it had an intertwined design that included what could be construed as a swastika.  Lakeview, across the water from Bayview once a thriving mining town, had a Swastika Hotel. It too was pre-Nazi. The history of the hotel describes the symbol as a Greek Good Luck thing. Could our society with strict PC be floundering under inherited guilt?

I grew up during the 1940's and 50's. It was a simpler life. Your behavior was either polite or rude. We didn't have all the sub-divisions of behavior that the media invented term, "political correctness." This of course means whatever your critic says it means. No longer can we tell ethnic jokes because it might hurt someone's feelings. Heck we all laughed at jokes about our own. We were a hardy class that had much thicker skin that the societal perverts of today.

An obvious example of racism that currently abounds, like Ferguson, Missouri, is that of black rabble rousers like Sharpton and others that immediately and in lock step side with the black criminal that tried to beat an officer to death. It was alright though, because the cop was white.

None of the black community objected when the media printed a picture of the criminal at a much earlier age. None of them paid any attention to the forensic evidence that proved "hands up don't shoot," was and is a misplaced and misused lie. But hey, it was convenient as a battle cry from the hoods that live on the streets of Ghetto America.

Stop paying attention to stats showing a high percentage of blacks are stopped by traffic enforcement, or the stats that show a large majority of prisoners are black.  The assumption that this is born from cop prejudice is in and of itself racial prejudice, but from the black community and of course the ultra liberal apologists that believe the minority community is always right and we whites are automatically wrong. Could it be that there are more inmates that are minorities than whites?

Rather that make defensive excuses for their grown kids, how about if the black community police their own neighborhoods of dope dealers and such. If these habitual criminals are a statistical majority of jailed blacks or Latinos, perhaps it s because they commit more crimes. To blame the criminal justice system for jailing little johnny, they should blame the perpetrator for a change.

I am sick and tired of the guilt trip the mainstream media is inventing for shock value. Clean your own house and the police ignore you. Show a high crime area in which you live that is primarily black or any other high crime ethnicity and that neighborhood has residents that are living a live of crime.

Stop making excuses for near-do-wells. They will always choose crime if they can rationalize why they are forced to that lifestyle because of the man. Force them to get a trade, dress like they might be straight and take responsibility for themselves.

If you want to point at any group that is suffering persecution, try law enforcement which never seems to be right. The cop in Ferguson will never work in law enforcement again and they didn't even give him severance pay. All because being right doesn't protect you. The city threw the cop under the bus because they wanted to defuse the anger and weren't even embarrassed  about it.

Such is the dilemma where all of us have inherited guilt, and none of the guilty. So much for PC.

Nouasseur AFB Part 2

During the time I was stationed at Nouasseur Air Force base in Morocco, it was an historic time. On a given day in 1957, you could see B-36's, B-47's and B-52's all on the same ramp.

The B-36, easily the largest bomber we ever built, was the first long range aircraft able to hit the Soviet Union, bomb them with nukes and return. It featured six R4360 reciprocating engines and four jets, two outboard on each wing. It was configured with pusher, rather than the standard puller props.

The next SAC bomber was a radical departure from typical aircraft layout. It flew with a two man crew and had bicycle landing gear. A dual aft and another dual forward, with outriggers on each wing. When fully loaded with nuclear weapons, it needed Jato bottles to assist in takeoff. These were independent rockets which were mounted near the tail assembly, ergo, Jet Assisted Takeoff. Once in the air the bottles were jettisoned, mostly over water to protect the innocents. Once airborne she could cruise at over 600 mph.

The B-52 which was flying in 1955 was our principle vehicle for MAD, or mutual assured destruction. If Russia bombed us we would obliterate the most of their country and likewise if we bombed them, the same would occur to us.  It sped along at a cruising speed of 644 mph. Many are still flying, 60 years later. Thus while I wasn't involved with Korean or Vietnam service, we won the cold war.

 These were the primary SAC aircraft of my day in the 1950's. SAC dispersal s. which were called Reflex Alerts and were designed to move an entire wing to other countries such as Morocco for asset protection in case of attack. Yes, they were fully loaded with nuclear weapons at all times. We also had some F-86D fighters and of course my unit, 1603rd Support Squadron. Were were MATS. Military Air Transport Service. Essentially we were a military airline serving as a passenger and freight organization.

We supported SAC in their Reflex Alerts, transporting spare parts, food, ground personnel and pretty much everything needed to operate. Two of our Moroccan bases were essentially empty until SAC arrived, then the skeleton crews that maintained the facilities would open them to the sac troops.

This Howard Hughes invention and built by Lockheed was the best airliner ever built prior to the jet age. It cruised at about 360 knots and was the first pressurized aircraft in production. The prototype was built before WW11ended but didn't go into production until after the war. While most airlines were buying surplus C-54's and C-47's, a couple of forward thinking airlines like TWA and Pan American bought the aircraft, along with the Air force.  These were stationed at Charleston, South Carolina AFB. Part of Atlantic Mats, they frequently visited us for fuel and necessary repairs.

The C-124's that flew in were from Dover AFB, Delaware. On the west coast Travis AFB, California and Mchord AFB in Tacoma, Washington, where I spent the last year and one half of my four year enlistment.   We also had C-118s which were the civilian DC-6. It flew about 100 knots slower than  my favorite, the C-121, or known as the Lockheed Super Constellation  in civilian use.

                                                            C-124C Globemaster    

NO MAS, MILLER

It ain't Miller Time anymore.

In an article published this morning, David Cole of the Coeur d'Alene Press interviewed Steve David, former driver of the Oberto boat is now president of H-1, the sanctioning  body for unlimited hydroplane racing.

So that there be no mistake, I am printing precisely the words of Doug Miller,

"Miller said he and his group have a state permit to use the lake."

"If H1 wants to race on Lake Coeur d'Alene they will have to work with us," Miller said. "Our intention is to have a race during Labor Day weekend - with or without H1."

This simply not true. They have a permit from the department of lands for racing 3 years. The permit is not exclusive, excepting Labor Day Weekend. It is also subject to cancellation if the Idaho Department of Lands   deem it necessary due to the shaky financial state of the Diamond Cup.

Steve David, in an interview with Cole, stated that Doug Miller is not now nor will he ever be given another permit to race the unlimited hydroplanes.

As to the claim that they own the lake for racing, that is ridiculous and false. Perhaps even delusional. Any other organization that has the financial strength and aptitude can get a state permit to race anytime but Labor Day Weekend. They can also get the blessings of H-1. At this time it is believed that Miller's reputation with boat owners and crews will prohibit anything faster than a rowboat race.

Attorneys are lining up to sue for the debts not only to H-1, which is reported to be more than $50,000, but virtually all from the crane company to security, and bus company, much of it allegedly guaranteed personally by Miller and Kroetch. I am a friend of Keith Kroetch. I bear him no animosity. He invested in Doug Miller, withouth any control over the money. I consider him a victim even more that the vendors that were not paid. Keith has bet his fortune on a guy that alledgedly cannot find the truth with all fingers and toes. While Doug can sell refrigerators to Eskimos, he has problems with collecting the money.

The person supervising the bus transportation from the fairgrounds to the race course, swears that he transported 20,000 people with either tickets or wristbands Where did that money go, Doug?

The pigeons have come home to roost for the diamond cup committee, such as it is. H-1 has without reservation, killed off the feeble attempts at talking their way through this mine field of stiffed creditors and broken promises.

It is now open to those that held back until H-1 was heard from to organize, perhaps under a new name and on an alternative date. Interesting days are ahead for Coeur d'Alene summer activities.

If you are wondering why I am being negative toward Miller, it is simple. I was his public relations guy. When it became clear that the whole thing was suspicious, I got out, so my credibility would not be ruined.

Nouasseur AFB

I thought I would share some experiences I had while in the air force, stationed in Morocco from January 1957 through July 1958. I will be breaking it down in parts starting with a snowy January in New York City, waiting for my scheduled flight to mysterious Casablanca, Morocco. I hung out with a guy from Spokane, I think his name was Donald Eggers. I lost track of him but if he still lives, I would guess he would still live in Spokane, where there is a sizable clan of Eggers. He would be about 75-77 years old now.

I arrived in Morocco at Nouasseur AFB to a bright sunny day, leaving the snow and ice behind. I was assigned to the 1603rd Support Squadron, a maintenance squadron for MATS, Military Air Transport Service. It is now MAC, Military Air Command, which was simply put, an airline owned by the air force with passenger and freight services. Probably our main mission was to support SAC in their logistics. More on that later.

Some facts about Morocco is that they were the first country to recognize the new country called the United States of America in 1777. The the Sultan declared the US as a treaty nation and prohibited pirates from attacking our ships as we were under his protection. Sliding forward to 1953, Sultan Mohammed V was exiled to Madagascar by the French. While Morocco was a protectorate rather than a territory such as Algeria, it was still controlled by the French. The Sultan was stirring up things hoping for independence.

The United States were also a power then, having stayed after World War two. Since Vichy France had sided with the Germans during our invasion of Morocco, relations were somewhat tense at times. We had built a large airbase just 21 miles south of Casablanca in 1951-52 which was primarily a SAC base with Mats in support. It was called Nouasseur AFB, the place that would become my home in 1957. This base was activated by the US and used as a divergence site in case of war with the Soviet Union.

It was a notable time, since the Sultan was exiled two years later, then brought back in 1956 where he was crowned as king and granted full independence by France. I arrived just one year later.  We added two more air bases which served primarily as temporary home to various SAC wings which performed Reflex Alerts where the entire wing would pack up, move to Ben Guerrir AFB and
 Sidi Slimane, in Rabat, the capitol. The SAC crews  would fly their B-36, B-47 and B52s over to our alert bases, which consisted of the above, plus Wheelus AFB in Libya and Diahran in Saudi Arabia. (sp) MATS would then fly the parts, equipment, enlisted mechanics and food service troops to reform as a complete unit, only to be returned to the ZI, (zone of interior) after 90 days to be replaced by another unit.

My memory is fading fast, so spelling may have gone by the wayside in these places. In 1961, King Mohammed V died and his son, Hassan ascended to the throne. Hassan was concerned over the Soviet Union possibility of attack, since Morocco was our prime dispersal destination in the event of war, which is what the practice Reflex Alerts were all about. He asked us to leave,, which we did in 1963.

More in my next installment.

Senators Cantwell & Murray

This is an open letter to you two, showing your two faced position on transporting oil. Your two votes beat the Senate vote. Are you now going to shut up about oil trains?

It appears that you have sold out to Obama and his ilk.Have you already forgotten the vast numbers of Washington voters that are very concerned about the mile long oil trains snaking through our cities. These too are conservationists. The choice between a pipeline and trains is obvious.

 

Safety has been ignored  so that you can continue to be a serf to the Sierra Club. .You need to remember that you serve Washington not Nebraska, or California. If/when the next derailment happens, don't duck and hide. I will remember, and I will report.

Herb Huseland

RIOTS WERE ORGANIZED

When the president of the United States and his lackey, the attorney general of the U.S. rush to judgement it is important to remember that this was a racist act. Not a thoughtful occasion where they were supposed to calm people and teach restraint, they reverted to the jungle warfare of the 60's.

I was in Los Angeles during the Watts Riots, and worked about two miles from the crap going on. I was armed with a loaded weapon in my car, since in some cases if a white motorist was stopped at a light, the rioters would pull them out of their vehicles.

It would seem that with racist agitators like Al Sharpton and his ilk inciting and organizing these riots that according to the locals were mostly from other areas, was a well organized crime. Please do not use the inaccurate term Civil Disobedience First, if it is civil, then it isn't disobedient. If it is disobedient, then a crime has been committed.

If you wish to believe that across our country, hundreds of protesters just happened to be in the area, I've got a bridge for sale. (cheap.)

This, along with other riots of this type are well organized, with professional signs that obviously were pre-prepared well in advanced of the verdict. It must be stated that at least four members of the Grand Jury are black. I point this out because not all blacks take to the streets when things aren't   to their liking. The vast majority are law abiding citizens that do not burn down their own town.

It is time to indict the agitators, such as Sharpton and even the U.S. Attorney General, who clearly prejudged the event.

When I was in Southern California in the '60's, the black protesters burned down Watts. Their own neighborhoods. This type of action has a momentum all it's own. This city too, will burn to the ground. These citizens of Ferguson will have to drive further  for groceries and other services, because outside agitators destroyed their city.

All because they didn't understand why a 160 pound cop that had already been beaten severely by a 300 pound young punk, retaliated with the only weapon he had, when the assailant turned back toward him to finish the deal.

Police are taught to never draw a weapon unless they intend to use it. When they do, they are taught not to shoot once then blow the smoke out of the barrel, but to empty the clip. Only in the movies do you shoot to wound.

I wonder if some or even many of the rioters have names like Mohammed or Amad? Why would ISIS pass up an opportunity like this?

The wounds in Missouri, will linger well past  the time of rebuilding. In one scene I witnessed on TV, A circle of residents surrounded the front of a store that was being looted. Sad that more didn't care to defend their community. One that will never be the same unless the black population buys into justice.

CONNECT THE DOTS

In my mind, the most important aspect of President Obama's unilateral act of legalizing the residency of 5 million people will be liberal tainted voter fraud.

Connect the dots. First you import 5 million residencies, then throughout the country, courts are knocking down voter  identification rules that were opposed as being unfair to minorities.

Here in Idaho, all you need is a drivers license and a utility bill showing that you actually live in the precinct.

As I understand it, several states including California are issuing drivers licenses to undocumented non-citizens. No birth certificate required.

This is the biggest con I have ever seen in government corruption. It isn't about jobs. Most farmers are crying for laborers while fruit and vegetables rot in the fields and orchards.

It is about perpetuating the socialist trends in the Democratic Party by stacking the deck.

I don't remember which statesman made this comment, but paraphrased, it boiled down to this: When the people receiving government services outnumber those that are paying for them, this country will have lost it's collective freedom.

The Congress of the United States need to take back control from Emperor Obams who delights in ruling by fiat. We are in deep trouble, folks.

SWX MYSTERY SOLVED

For several weeks I've not had a picture on SWX, just sound. I decided it was time to solve the mystery. First I called KHQ. They said," no problem, we show a picture going out here. It must be a problem with Time-Warner Cable."

OK, fine. I called Time Warner. One customer service Representative told me it was a problem with my box. The next call was the opposite. No it couldn't be the box, we'll send out a technician They made an appointment for five days later, and told me to check often to see if the picture came back.

The day arrived. The picture was still missing after several weeks.  The repairman was puzzled and made repeated calls to the inside technicians. Finally he comes back in the house to tell me that KHQ had quietly discontinued the analog  system and just broadcasts digital High Resolution now. That my friends  is a good trick when a broadcaster fakes out a cable company.

Apparently I was the only complaint, since they kept saying they had no other customer complaints. A strange ending to a strange problem. One wonders if KHQ lowered the price they charge to Time-Warner. Such is the digital era.

CAN'T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS

I find it puzzling when I try to engage the left in a discussion about violence and firearms. While the left wing media is constant in their promotion of anti gun laws, their cousins in Hollywood are cranking out movies and computer games that are extreme in their violence.

The characters in these shows, movies and games are constantly firing at each other, mostly with automatic weapons which are illegal to posses in most cases, or blowing people up with explosives.

You cannot teach an entire generation of young people that violence is normal and expect a desensitized population to abhor death. If the left really wants to make the country safe from school shootings they should perhaps stop teaching kids to shoot others.

It this isn't a simple example of contradictory behavior then there never was one.

THE IRONY OF IT ALL

The situation in Ferguson, Missouri is working up to a lynch mot mentality as the public waits for the grand jury to announce their findings. Judging by the amount of activity and the statements from authority I would guess that they are getting advance notice that the grand jury will exonerate the police officer.

When/if that happens the black community will tear the town apart with the possibility that they will attempt to lynch the officer. This is where the irony falls. With the old days of the Klu Klux Klan and blacks being lynched it appears that the crowds are not looking for justice, but revenge. No voices are being heard about whether the diminutive size of the officer vs the huge black guy trying his best to beat the cop to death.

If in fact he genuinely feared for his life then as I understand it, he has the right to use deadly force. I see a tragedy unfolding here with people like the US attorney general and good old Al Sharpton, professional agitator inciting the black community. The possibility of the cop being thrown under the bus to placate the community exists, without due process.

TRIBAL POLITICS

If you look at Sub-Saharan Africa as well as the northern territories, many countries consist of tribes that do not get along. Centuries old animosities separate these people into tribal enclaves. A country that is divided into tribal areas will not survive as a country with a central government.

Look at the Congo and surrounding tribal areas. The worst thing Belgians and other European countries did was grant them independence without a training period. No educated class, just jungle and spears that determine who rules the roost.

When Gadafi was overthrown, the country separated into warring tribal factions. Perhaps even Morocco could be in that class even though they have a stable monarchy. Originally, the Berbers called Morocco home. In later years, Arabic people moved in.

We will have either dictators or Anarchy. Counties divided by tribal loyalties will never be at peace.

The last European country to be tribal was Germany which bound by a common language managed many years ago to centralize, but the still refer to themselves as Hessians, or Bavarians, etc.

The bottom line is we have to stop trying to model other countries with other social imperatives after our own nation. It won't work and in many cases we will hand over control to the leased civilized group.  

SOUR GRAPES

The most telling thing after the tidal wave of rejection the democrats received, is they still can't shut up. They believe their inherent intelligence and knowledge trumps the reasons that the electorate firmly rejected the Democratic program from Obama on down through the legislative bottleneck in the Senate. Only the stupid, the news media, (wow, really?) and those that were bought and paid for voted against them. Hogwash. They cannot possibly believe in their own propaganda.

Whining does not make you right, it just proves that if you believe in something you should support it at the polls. This mid term election was the largest political repudiation of a political left wing redistribution of wealth in my lifetime. When I despaired of the chances that common sense would break out, I misjudged the situation.

Blogs such as the Spokesman-Review Huckleberries has been hijacked by a couple dozen liberals that make such a forum appear that they lead in opinion. Not so. The intelligent conservative just stopped trading opinions with the shrill overly emotional mode of debate.

Starting a debate response by suggesting that others are stupid, uninformed and worst, begs the question that instead they should just state their views in a non-corrosive way. So what we have, is a lopsided debate from the left with just two or three conservatives participating. This vote total belies their entire argument. Rather than attempting to debate with quarrelsome people that wouldn't agree which direction the sun comes up from, it just makes sense to quit participating as a victim in your own hatchet job.

WAYNE KNUDTSEN

I met Wayne back in the 1970's when his dealership was on 4th st. in Coeur d'Alene. Having spent a few years in Southern California, I had learned some new skills while in the car business there. I was what they called an "F & I "man. This position had never been tried in North Idaho at that time.

Wayne hired me as F& I, lease mgr, credit mgr and assistant sales manager. With all of those hats, I was successful in many ways that the store hadn't seen before. Jealousies arose, especially the the Englishman  that was office manager and the new car sales manager that felt somewhat threatened.

The manager bushwhacked me. Prior to a sales meeting he instructed me to scold the sales staff for lack of production. In one of my less than intelligent moves I didn't see it coming. 30 minutes later, a staff believing that I was operating on my own, went to Wayne who had my final check in his hand. So the world isn't always fair.

There were fun times, too. I got to record some radio commercials with the local radio station, then owned by Hagadone. One spring day we piled into a four place Piper aircraft which I was licensed to fly and flew to Tri-cities for the auction. Back in the day, when the used car lot was knee deep in snow, to say business was slow was an understatement. When the snow melted in the Spring, the used car lots had little inventory.

The demand for used cars was such that one wholesaler that I worked with in Southern California who was present, marveled that his cars were selling at retail prices, such was the imbalance of the market in the Spring. We flew back without a purchase.

I went on to become a wholesale life insurance representative, which product, credit life &disability was featured. My clients were car dealers and banks. At the time of the Sunshine mine disaster, I added credit life to a contract for a miner. It was a salmon colored car, a Chrysler product if I remember right. The miner went down into the mine on his next shift and never came back. Although his widow probably was in mourning, I had the satisfaction of telling her the car would be paid off in full.

Several years later I was traveling for another Insurance company when I got into trouble. I had smashed my finger carrying a freezer through a narrow doorway and got pain medication from a doctor. The next morning I was scheduled to drive from Seattle to Idaho where my young son and Mom lived near Tensed. Back then it was legal to have open containers while driving. I would stop in Colfax, pick up some meat for dinner and headed up the hill into Idaho. It was a hot day and I opened the first of two beers I allowed myself while driving.

When I reached the home of my ex, they weren't there. So after waiting for an hour, and coincidentally after I finished off the beer and hit hwy 95 toward Coeur d'Alene. Unfortunately, I hadn't stopped in George for lunch and to put a point to it, was drunk. I hit a gravelly shoulder and sun out onto a hay field that had be harvested.

The farmer's wife called the ISP and I was taken to the old jail which sat where the administration building now is. The booking sergeant seemed to feel that I didn't belong in a cell and offered to call anyone I knew that would post the $500 bail. The only person I could think of was Wayne Knudtsen. They called him at home and he drove in to the car lot, opened the safe and proceeded to bail me out. I told him years later that I hadn't called him recently, because I never again made that mistake. The county prosecutor seemed to like me when I went in the next day and told the presiding judge to give me a deferred prosecution. To this day I have never been guilty of driving while intoxicated.

For a guy that only worked for him a little over a year, to then five years later bail me out, well, that was Wayne.

ELECTION NONSENSE

So far this morning I have received 5 robo-calls and the day is young. I have a system. If caller ID can't, I let the answering machine take the call. Vick touting Barbieri, (talk about preaching to the choir) etc.

I wonder how many frazzled voters change their votes to represent a negative reaction to being bothered. I'm betting that it loses more votes than gains. But then I have my candidates picked out already and don't need help figuring who to support.

By tomorrow, it will be over and some that seasonally practice insanity will hopefully return to earth. I'm being criticized for backing Ybarra.  So far, she has proven she isn't a polished politition that were she, would have had better campaign advice. Two things im;press me as to the raw talent I see. One, her lack of sophistication politically. We have sent way to many smoothies to the legislature and more.

Her opponent is smooth, experienced and will fight for union goals. ...  Not kids.

Fasten your seat belts and this election may be a huge turning point in our country's history.  

BNSF VS PIPELINE

It seems to me to be a double standard where the president is dragging his political feet on the Canadian application for a pipeline from the shale oil fields, while his constituents, if in fact there are any, scream daily  about oil trains transiting Spokane. Duh, this seems quite simple. Build the freakin' pipeline and reduce oil trains.

The price of gasoline has precipitously dropped in the last month or two. Supply and demand rules. Putting a plug in the system at the well heads is counter-productive to say the least. Unfortunately, if another serious accident occurs, the president will ignore his role in making oil transportation safe and blame it on everyone else, which come to think about it, is his MO.

It would serve us right if Canada went ahead with plans to build a pipeline to the British Columbia coast. Their own version of the Sierra Club seems to hear the wake-up call and is protesting this plan. If in fact they do build, all of their oil will ship to China, at our expense.

Another possibility is building a refinery in Calgary to separate components such as diesel, gasoline, propane, etc. and shipping the finished product.

Bottom line, stupidity should not be the rule. Build that pipeline!

GHOSTS, GOBLINS AND POLITICIANS

As I waded through this morning's S/R I reflected upon the similarities between nasty lies, half truths and outright statistics.

The juvenile behavior of most of the candidates is shameful, and those that vote for the worst offenders are equally shamed. There was in the true test of a good story, scandalous "If it bleeds it leads," type stories, none of which were either entertaining, informative or objective.

The respected Boise political writer, Betsy Russell, normally objective, leaped out of her image to actively campaign against Ybarra in the Superintendent of Education race. Ybarra is a bit of a loose cannon with her innocence showing. Wow! What a contrast to the viperous candidates in other races.

Betsy, let us think for ourselves. Go back to what you do best. Objective reporting and quit the campaign of her rival.

This next four days will see a week-end of frivolity in costume, followed by a tense two days of shouting insults lies and statistics at us besieged readers. Personally, I'll take the witches over all of the candidates combined.

Not to forget, the Captain's Wheel in Bayview, is reviving a long tradition of Halloween parties, Saturday night. Dress as a Ghoul, of come as you are. It's Party time. Live music, too.

I'M BACK

I lost the internet the 21st. I had Time Warner trouble shoot the system and they said it wasn't them and suggested I call Microsoft and gabe me a number that actually got a person. After explaining that immediately after losing my ability to bet on lin, I recieved two calls about fout days apart, offering to fix my computer. (In broken English)

The Microsoft confirmed what I had already suspected. I was scammed. They insert a virus then for $200 they will send someone out to fix it. Microsoft wanted $99.00 ro do the same, but at least they weren't a part of the attempt at holding my computer for ransom.

I considered the second offer, but not the first. I am skeptical of coincidents.

Finally, I went back to the control panel and deleted all programs that were downloaded October 21. Bingo. I'm up again creating chaos and chagrin.

I figured the public could do without my blog for a while, but I had to be able to access the election returns. I'm back in congtrol again. Oh happy day!

VIRUS ANYONE?

I'm in the middle of an interesting experience. I decided to cancel McAfee and go back to AVG Free. I carefully loaded and activated AVG two days before removing all traces (I think) of McAfee.

All the sudden I couldn't get on line nor pull up files. They just wouldn't open. Then I got several pop ups telling me I had a virus, and coincidentally two phone calls from a non-native person inviting me to have them help me with my computer.

Then a window opened saying that they were Microsoft and asked me to call 888-320-0824 for help. At this point I'm afraid to trust anyone. I'm surprised that I was able to get through to write thid post. If anyone out there has suggestions, opinions, etc please call me a t 208-683-9197. Is it possible that McAfee left a present when they were rejected?

Oh and I ran a complete scan right after I activated AVG.

BAH HUMBUG!

I am going to retire from the comment section of Huckleberries until after the election. From the left, I get snarky exaggerated and deliberate crap. They hate me because of my Republican connection. Some have even told outright lies about me which astounded me since I don't think I will influence them or they, me.

On the other hand, the Rally Right Wackos hate me because they truly believe that I am an ultra liberal which goes to show that preaching only to the choir limits the ability to learn.

So here I have the mouthy lefties and thank god the whackos that do not find me a danger to them, ergo they stay quiet. I'm right in the middle which tends to make one a fine target.

Most of the gibberish that shows up in comments this and other election seasons is just that. Faintly disguised anger rules their world. About one out of every 500 or so comments is actually objective. I see no reason to provide these types with free entertainment, since to many of the,m I have no knowledge about anything worth while anyway.

As for my votes this fall I think I would surprise both extremes with my choices.

MYSTIC FARMS WILDLIFE RESCUE

 

 

 

 

471 Wagon Bridge Lane Sagle, ID 83860

www.facebook.com/mysticfarmwidliferescue www.mystic-farm.com 208 241-7081

Each year, Mystic Farm Wildlife Rescue continues to advance our mission to “rescue, rehab, and release back into the wild” our precious natural resource, the wildlife of Idaho. Through our non-profit, we have helped numerous orphaned and/or injured ungulates receive that second chance to grow and thrive. We are supported by a very diverse group of caring individuals and businesses throughout our community. Your donation in support of our precious wildlife would be so greatly appreciated.

Mystic Farm Wildlife Rescue, Inc. is located in Sagle, Idaho. Though we are fully licensed through the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, we receive no state or federal funding. We operate 100% on donations and volunteers. There is no paid staff at Mystic Farm.

This year the board has decided to not have our usual banquet/auction. Rather, we are taking a different approach and conducting our "First Annual Mystic Farm 'Grow More Spots' Community Raffle and Auction." Part will be conducted via community ticket sales and part conducted as an event at Laughing Dog Brewery on Saturday, January 17^th, 2015. We strive to include local businesses and artisans as our primary contributors or sponsors of our event.

Our goal at Mystic Farm is to continue to make a difference by saving Idaho wildlife – one orphan at a time! Your contribution to our fundraising raffle will help us to do just that.

We thank you for your consideration to generously support Mystic Farm Wildlife Rescue – and the orphaned and injured wildlife thank you!

Sincerely,

Staff and volunteers

Mystic Farm Wildlife Rescue, Inc.

Mystic Farm Wildlife Rescue, Inc. is a non-profit 501 (c) 3. All cash donations are tax deductible. EIN: 26-1657046

 

Mystic Farm ‘Grow More Spots’ Community Raffle & Auction 2014

Drawing/Event January 17^th, 2015 at Laughing Dog Brewery. Tickets: $10.00 each

1. Mossberg “Just in Case” 12 ga. Shotgun *
2. Lake Pend Oreille Cruises private charter for up to 36 people
3. Utopia Massage: massage a month
4. Lake Pend Oreille Charters ½ day fishing charter
5. Kirk Miller Photography stretched canvas
6. Sandpoint Furniture framed art
7. Chris Novak handcrafted folding library chair
8. Wild West Log Furniture handmade elk hide purse
9. Northland Firewood log garden bench
10. S’Hair gift basket
11. Northern Air scenic air flight for two
12. Panhandler pie a month
13. Reno’s metal bear clock
14. Buck knife
15. Creative Concrete fawn lawn statue
16. South Hill Lockers one deer cut & wrap
17. Lake Pend Oreille Cruises dessert/ eagle watching lake cruise (2)
18. Lake Pend Oreille Cruises history or Hope Island cruise (2)
19. Pierce Auto oil change
20. Reno’s metal art

...and so many more items for door prizes and auction!

*Firearm is not transferrable (except in the event of a parent’s minor child possessing winning ticket). Must be able to pass all federal, state and local laws to acquire firearm.

**Any unclaimed prizes after 30 days will be returned to Mystic Farm Wildlife Rescue for use in future events.

***Must not be present at the January 17^th, 2015 event to win raffle prizes…but you know you want to be THERE.

WHEN PANDEMIC STRIKES

It has for a very long time been a theory that when epidemics get out of control Heath care nurses and doctors will flee to protect their own families. When/if that happens, then staying at home with no outside contacts will be the only way it will end, just as Bubonic Plague did.

Recently, nurses from the Texas hospital threatened to walk out. It wasn't by accident that both patients were transferred to another hospital in the east.  It this thing gets out of control that most likely will happen all over.

Our government, including the CDC is fiddling while our future burns, as they have done on a wealth of other issues. Obama's refusal to Quarantine flights and passengers from the affected African countries is just political correctness gone berserk. The idea of prohibiting black nations the right to travel to our country is more important to the liberal camp than saving American lives.

It must be noted, that bringing in dogs from other nations without a certificate of vacination creates an immediate quarintine, suggesting that saving dogs from infection is more important than humans.

As in Ukraine, Syria and Iraq, when events overtake policy, it will be too late. A pandemic of this magnitude will send our civilization back 100 years. Just think how long grocery stores will stand in there while sick people enter their stores. Picture mass desertions from those public and retail places. Food distribution and even raising the crops and food animals will cease. Ebola kills 70% of the infected. Starvation kills 100%.

I remember adults running in the streets panicked at the sight of a weather balloon during WW11, thinking they were Japanese bombs carried by the wind as one submarine attack on the Oregon coast had actually occurred. Panic over imagined danger is hugely less than a known harbinger of death such as Bubonic Plague and Ebola. That Ebola currently doesn't spread by air does not mean it won't morph into different ways in the future. Then check out the two infected nurses who by all accounts did everything right and still caught Ebola. It may already be airborne in it's most severe stages, which are when the patient is in the hospital.

Our laggard president doesn't have to kill off thousands of Americans to prove he is the worst president in our history. We already knew that. We must overwhelmingly insist he take the proper action and quarantine the areas where the disease is already out of control.

BLACK DEATH & EBOLA

*Disclaimer: I am not a medically trained person. Having said that I am a student of history and especiallyof the old quote that "history tends to repeat itself."

Bubonic Plague was often used synonymously for Plague, but it refers specifically to an infection that enters through the skin and travels through the lymphatics. (Wiikopedia)

The Black Death arrived in Europe by sea in October 1347 when 12 Genoese trading ships docked at the Sicilian port of Messina after a long journey through the Black Sea. The people who gathered on the docks to greet the ships were met with a horrifying surprise: Most of the sailors aboard the ships were dead, and those who were still alive were gravely ill. They were overcome with fever, unable to keep food down and delirious from pain. Strangest of all, they were covered in mysterious black boils that oozed blood and pus and gave their illness its name: the “Black Death.” The Sicilian authorities hastily ordered the fleet of “death ships” out of the harbor, but it was too late: Over the next five years, the mysterious Black Death would kill more than 20 million people in Europe–almost one-third of the continent’s population. Some estimates were at least 75million. (Wikopedia)

Why do I bring up the subject of Black Death? Count the ways that it parallels Ebola. Spreads through the skin. Virulent spreading.

The major difference in the spread was in the 14th century, fleas from rodents which prolifically  existed back then.

But the huge difference between the Black Plague and Ebola is the methods of transportation then and now. In the middle ages, people traveled by ship, by animals, (horses, mules, etc) and mostly on foot.

Flash to now, travel is by air, by buses, cars and trains. It doesn't take a great imagination to see how much faster this type of disease  can and will spread if emergency measures are not immediately effected. an infected person not yet showing symptoms will board planes that girdle the earth. This time if it gets away, it won't just be one continent.

Instead of the health authorities leading this issue, Homeland Security should right damn now, limit travel. With a three week germination, checking temperatures at airports is a political solution, not a practical one. 

With just three weeks, or about the same as the disease, are the mid-term elections. this suggests that throwing the public into panic would be a bad campaign strategy. So what I see is a band aid where a tourniquet is needed. Already, Texas, Cleveland and CDC, are involved. Three destinations very far apart.

Air travel, except military flights should be terminated right now from Sub-Saharan Africa. We must be aware that panicked people in these regions will take extraordinary measures to escape what they may already by carrying. Travelers that have come from these areas should be detained wherever their connection flight originates.

If we do all of these things it still might be too late, but at the very least the government needs more than ever, to govern.  Dragging feet at this time will assure panic at the polls, that is if people go to them at all.Avoidance of places where many people meet may need to take a three week vacation.Sports venues with thousands stuffed together may need to resort to Television rather than attendance.

2014 ELECTIION SEASON

Perhaps the only person outside of the candidates themselves that enjoy this time of year, three weeks before the midterm elections would have to be Dave Oliveria of the Spokesman-Review Huckleberries on line.

As the moderator of a popular blog, the extra activity is like honey to a bee. For me, it is a decision making time. Do I vote for the candidates that my opposition in the precinct committeeman's party represents, thence rewarding the smear tactics by an ultra-conservative, aka Wacko? The one whose wife called a friend of mine and I assume others as well, to inform them that I was the town drunk and an ultra liberal. Well since 1964, when I voted for Barry Goldwater, I have voted straight ticket in national elections.

As far as the town drunk, one wag said to me, "you aren't even in the top 100, Herb." Well no I'm not. Many years ago I indeed was a party animal. Not so in recent times. Three beers when I choose to visit one of the local watering holes is my limit. I go because I live alone and want conversation with others from time to time. After discovering that I was defeated by a church congregation, I was stunned. Either it was a church full of extremists or my opponent lied to them as they did to others. I chose the bar vs. an organization that preaches hate and distorts truth.

Currently, I'm glad that I didn't win and have to support a bunch of,"return to the gold standard, repeal the 17th amendment to the U.S. Constitution which granted the direct election of U.S.Senators."

FYI no country anywhere in the world is on the gold standard any more and haven't been for a very long time. Virtually ll international trade would not survive the computer era where money changes hands with an electronic click.

As far as the 17th amendment, it is obvious to me that the far right trusts their control of the state legislature more than the people of Idaho.

While I will still vote GOP in the national offices, I probably won't in all local elections. You see, sometimes where a entrenched candidate that doesn't represent your point of view holds office and controls the primary as an incumbent, it is better to vote Democrat and defer the battle to the next election cycle where your own parties candidate is no longer an incumbent.

These decisions will keep me in the voter's booth much longer than the past, where choices will be decided at the last minute.I invite those alternative candidates that will run in the 2nd district to give me a call with the prupose of discussing ideas, not personalities.

We have become a state controlled by Libertarians and Constitutionalists that act like there are smoking Colorado and Washington  substances. Those that preach only to the Choir, and whose feet seldom touch the ground of reality have sonveeted us not to the most conservative state in the union, because that prostitutes the meaning of conservative. What we now have is a state that is out of step with the electorate and an electorate that doesn't give a damn.

INVESTMENT STRATEGIES

My history of money managing is not a good one. My first mistake was becoming a salesman what with the ups and downs inherent with that occupation.

My first serious venture was when I was in the Mortgage lending business. Back when it had rules and quantifying standards. In 1986, during the refinancing boom, I sold my stock that I had paid $500.00 for, in  1964, in1986 for $30,000. Not bad, right? then I cashed in the $15,000 I had accrued in my 401k at Seafirst Bank.

Bank of America had bought out Seafirst and crowded out the trained loan officers of which I was one. Easy street, right? In everyone's life there is a turning point. A place where you make decisions tha affect the rest of your life.

My friend and I decided to form our own mortgage brokerage. Signing a three year lease on a fancy office, I had it made. Uh-oh, the Spring of 1987, was a financial disaster. Later I learned that it was a full blown recession, which followed  the recovery of 1984-86.

Disaster struck and I was once again broke. I moved to North Idaho in the summer of 1989, a failure in the money game. Flashing to the present, I once again screwed up.

What with Washington and Colorado legalizing pot, weed, Ganj, I should have immediately bought stock in KFC.I didn't. With pot smokers everywhere on Marijuana I didn't realize the massive food trips many would experience. KFC stockholders  are winning big, and here I sit, broke once again. I guess I just wasn't cut out to be an investor.

BAYVIEW IS BACK

I'm about to divulge one of the inland northwest's best kept secrets. Living and recreating in Bayview is unparalleled, with the lake's only sheltered bay, mountains and quiet life.

This wasn't always true. Bayview was previously noted for sailboats and fishing. Seasonal boat slips were full every summer. While some fished for trophy Trout, others trolled dead slow, a give away that they were after smaller but tastier Kokanee, locally known as Blueback.

Two separate events slammed into the quaint village of Bayview. First, several marina owners wanted out. It was time to retire. Then along came Bob Holland, a developer on steroids. He promptly gobbled up Bayview Marina, Boileau's Resort and Vista Bay.

The resulting Great Recession killed that off, except he left a legacy of rebuilt and improved marinas before he crashed.The business's were in the tank. The recession killed off construction which many local residents toiled in. The only general store in eight miles, Bayview Mercantile closed it's doors.

But about ten years ago, with Kokanee against the wall with the possibility of extinction, Idaho Fish &  Game shut down the fishery and put a bounty on Rainbow Trout and Mackinaw sometimes known as Lake Trout. Ten years went by. Millions of Kokanee now swarm the lake as Idaho Fish & Game opened up what had been closed. A fifteen fish limit now applies.

Regardless of the business failures, Fishing terminated and the recession fading away, Bayview is back. New owners of the Bayview Mercantile, revitalized marinas, and fish on! Is the wonderful sound of today. The fish are getting a free pass as the best fishing of the year sees very few harvested. The Patio is flourishing since new operators arrived.

Bayview is quiet now as the Summer people scatter to their homes elsewhere and we permanent residents revel in the peace and tranquility of the off season. Today the loudest sound that can be heard is the fish swimming by. Many boat slips are still available, at least until the word gets out.

USS ZUMWALT

 
Check out this great article about the new destroyer that was first tested as a model in Bayview"

Meet the Zumwalt

The ship is plainly visible from Front Street, across the Route 1 bridge in downtown Bath. Nothing like this angular, almost hulking giant has ever been seen here, even after well over a century of...
View the complete article at http://www.defensenews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/201409280345/DEFREG02/309280017

OKTOBER FISH

                                          
                                                        2009 Oktoberfish   winners          

The sudden change that occurs every year at this time is amazing. Labor Day weekend saw large crowds of boaters, with restaurants and local bars full up. Today, as I gaze upon Scenic Bay, the loudest sounds are the fish swimming by.

But wait. Summer is not over here just because many flee the area. We are entering what is called, Indian Summer. The big fall Oktoberfish contest is on.The derby will be held Saturday and Sunday, October 4 and 5.

Friday October 3 is the kickoff auction at the Captain's Wheel in Bayview. Tickets are $25.00 per person. You can either buy them at Ralph's Cafe or Friday night at the auction which will be held starting at 6:30. For more information call Ralph's Cafe 208-683-2218

First prize: 50%
Second prize 30%

Third prize 20%.

All proceeds are paid back to the winners.

ATHLETES & DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Gee, take the most violent sport with individuals graded on how good they are at it, and then wonder why football players sometimes commit violence upon their own families. Who woulda guessed.

A long list starting with sports legends involved in murder, rape and other anti-social behavior Then more currently, Ray Rice and Adian Peterson, people that are honored for the degree of violence on the field suggests that there will be a higher percentage off the field than the average.

We simply cannot assume that these athletes that are trained for mental and emotional stability and can turn physical acts on and off. These are for the most part revered from an early age as tough guys. Honors and  large contracts are bestowed upon some that do not exhibit mature behavior.

A lifetime of being paid for violent acts within the rules just isn't a surprise that it surfaces in one's private life. These personalities tend toward physical solutions to problems because they are trained for that. I'm surprised that most people are surprised at these actions. When you elevate an athlete to God like status for scoring touchdowns or crunching tackles you can expect it won't be left on the field of play.

There are laws that automatically raise the punishment of a professional boxer to a felony if they punch anyone outside of the ring. Perhaps that should be extended to football players as well.

Those that are trained to attack in many cases cannot turn it off when they leave the shower room. We shouldn't be surprised when these actions occur. While most people act civilized in a domestic setting, those that are trained as modern day gladiators are not.

ON

Many literate people share one trait. We have words that irritate us and from college educated writers. Sure, obvious non-words like irregardless are at the top of the list, but mine is the word, "on."

Read yesterday's or today's sports page and you will see the word misused dozens of times.For instance, they will say, "The Seahawks will play San Diego on Sunday." Why use the word on at all. The sentence would be just fine with "The Seahawks will play San Diego Sunday.

This redundancy burns my butt every times I see it. We wouldn't say, "The Seahawks played on yesterday, or The Seahawks will play on tomorrow, so why mistreat perfectly good ink on this literary weakness.

Alright, it is Monday and I'm over it. March on, troops!  

TIME FLIES

Time flies when you realize how far back it was when I moved from Dalton Gardens to Bayview nineteen years ago. It seems like yesterday except I'm much older now than then.

I was brought up to date with a Coeur d'Alene event which established a police sub-station on Sherman Avenue. I'm thinking why would they establish a sub station only blocks away from the main police station.

While perusing a discussion on Huckleberries on line dealing with the subject, I was politely informed that the police station was moved north to the northerly border of Coeur d'Alene several years ago.

It started me thinking about the old days when I  drove cab for Sunset Taxi. The night that I was driving Brad Hagadone and Tom Fisher late one night when I circled the block using an alley. I turned right twice and ended up at an ATM. Unfortunately, the right turn was onto a one way street that was going the other direction. The officer let me off with a warning.

The night I picked up a pedestrian who asked me to drive him up to Fernan Saddle. Since it was a strange destination, mid-Winter and late at night. Well it turns out he was a pending suicide. He had a bottle of booze with him and was going to sit in a snow drift drinking until he was drunk and dead from exposure.

I asked him why he wanted to do something like that and he replied that his wife cheated on him and he didn't want to live any more. As we approached the saddle, I managed to suggest that he might want to consider a smarter way like divorce, or counseling as an alternative. I finally said, "Look let me drive you back to town. I won't charge you for the ride, just don't do it." He accepted and lived to see another day. I never saw or heard from him again and have wondered these many years what happened to him.

Then there were the old days when I would drive out to the Fish Inn near Wolf Lodge bay to hang out.   When Sherman's was relocated into the old Ace of Clubs building when they were evicted due to the freeway being lengthened. Where Across the street was the "Boots and Saddle." Sherman's segued into a Mexican restaurant and now it is just a parking space, the building having been torn down.

Back when the freeway didn't reach Coeur d'Alene and about half way to Seattle, the freeway gave up  to a return to old Highway 10. Back when the Cotton Club was great hunting grounds for singles and yes, the owner was named Herb as well.

Back when I paddled a canoe up Wolf Lodge Creek a litte ways and started to catch Cutthroat trout, one after another only to find out the the creek was closed to fishing. Well, I got away with that but I learned a lesson. Read the rules before casting.

I moved away from Coeur d'Alene in 1973 and missed some of the infamous party spots that opened and closed while I was gone. A business failure in the 1987 recession landed me back in Coeur d'Alene with tail firmly tucked under me. Thence the taxi chapter of my life. I finally moved to Bayview in 1995, promptly forced the Farragut Park into opening the then coned off Hwy 54 by threatening to have them arrested if they didn't stop. withing 24 hours the blockade was gone and the road was opened to traffic. I then learned that many efforts including those from state representatives had failed.

That was due to a career in real estate lending which after financing the Captain's Wheel for the new owners, Im and Jeanne Campbell and The Nordstrom's.  eliminating  a long string of  contracts that with just one death would have tied up the title for years. I knew what button to push and did it.

Five years writing for the Spokesman-Review which left the Idaho Handle Extra dead. I recently learned from a unimpeachable source that they lost 50 subscribers in Athol/Bayview alone. It is very unfortunate that the print news industry sails blithely to it's demise, while wearing blinders all the way. Retirement followed and I spend a great deal of time gazing across the bay and counting my blessings, and sometimes like today, reminiscing  about how times flies.   

FARRAGUT NAVAL REUNION

Recent incorrect information regarding a cancellation of the navy reunion has been disseminated. I will attempt to rectify that. I called Randall Butt, Park Manager to verify this stuff. He was shocked and dismayed that so much erroneous information was disseminated.

There will be a navy reunion, but open to all veterans, not just the shrinking group of WW11 veterans that served at Farragut. It will be Saturday 9:00am start with the traditional flag ceremony. This will be followed by a social at Sunrise Campground This will include a BBQ  starting at 11:30 am. The public is welcome as well if they wish to honor veterans, and especially if they had parents or grandparents that served

Butt explained that in future years the tradition will switch to be called a Commemoration, rather than a reunion, which tends to imply that only those that served at Farragut would be welcome. Not true. Throughout the days activities, park staff will be involved first with putting on the BBQ and secondly Manager, Randall Butt will act as master of ceremony for the flag service adjacent to the brig. 

In addition to the usual activities, the brig museum will open at 4:pm for those that wish to tour. In addition the brig will open Sunday 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. This will then conclude brig activities for the season. Everything that has traditionally took place annually will also take place this year and in years to come.

Other park activities are phase two of the sewer project adding an additional 4500 feet of pipeline and the shutting down of septic drain fields. A new wing of the brig will open next year with the south wall which was the brig mess hall will be refurbished and made into space for additional displays.

Perhaps in the future, those that are interested in sharing information regarding park activities, will make certain their information is correct.

As he did last year, Jesse Tinsely will entertain with his Uke and Hawaiian tunes. Jesse is a photographer for the Spokesman-Review.

WILDLIFE FOSTER MOM

I would like to introduce you to Dory McIsaac, Executive Director and operator of Mystic Farms Wildlife Rescue, Inc, a non-profit 501(c)3 corporation. The primary function of this shelter, is the care and release to the wilds, Ungulates. These deer, elk and moose are orphaned and brought to the farm usually by citizens, and occasionally by Idaho Fish &game; Game officers. It is licensed by the state as an approved facility for caring for them.

With most animal rescues, the animals become used to human proximity and are not suitable for release. This is the only North Idaho rescue farm that raises primarily whitetail and mule deer for eventual release. Other rescue group's animals are usually either euthanized, or sent to zoos.

Dory was raised in Wisconsin and moved to Alaska where she attended the University of Alaska- Anchorage. She moved to Idaho in 2002, where she saw a need for animal rescue. She was able to convince Idaho Fish & Game of her credentials for rescue, rehabilitation and release back into the wild of orphans.

It is not a petting zoo and visitors are prohibited, as too much exposure to humans tends to negate the ability of these animals to remain wild, thence releasable. Dory also points out that fawns are left alone frequently while mom goes out to browse. Unless you are sure the Doe/mom is either dead or injured, leave it alone. Mom will return.

Mystic Farms operates 100% on donations and out of pocket expenditures. There are no paid employees. Everything is  volunteer. Though the facility is licensed by the state, no public funds are used. The budget usually runs about $400 per fawn which is fed for a season before soft release  This year, fourteen fawns are in care and will be released this fall. Currently, she feeds about 7 gallons of milk per day.

You can reach Mystic Farms at their web site, www.mystic-farm.com or on facebook.
www.facebook.com/mysticfarmwildliferescue . Your donation is critical if this fine operation is to continue. You can also just send a check to: Mystic Farm Wildlife Rescue, Inc. 471 Wagon Bridge Lane, Sagle, ID 83860 Also, if you find a fawn in distress, call Mystic farms at 208-241-7081. They will come after the animal.

WEATHER OR NOT

It would seem that weather extremes are the norm this summer. Through the end of July, we had 21 days over 90 degrees in Bayview, and more in other areas not affected by the lake.

We have also had some monster thunderstorms that have alternated with micro-bursts twisting trees off about half way up the trunks. Even pines that are more than 24 inches in diameter  leave jagged stumps with the tops laying sometimes 15 feet away, and other storms with straight side winds that uprooted trees.

Throw in a Sahara Desert like dust storm that obliterated the sky with dirt from Central Washington's plowed fields and we have unusual weather.

I am currently sitting here having experienced a thunderstorm that lasted at least an hour with more to come. Rather than coming from west to east, this one is feeding straight north from Southern Idaho. This rarely happens, but when it does, instead of a storm moving through in 30 minutes, it can last for hours.

So what's next? Famine and Pestilence? Batten down the hatches. Anything can and probably will happen.

ATHOL DAZE GREAT SUCCESS

With the recent departure of Sally Hansen, city clerk, and a new mayor at the helm, the city of Athol showed it's main strength. Togetherness and involvement. New to the scene were Tammy Cunningham, City Clerk, Darla Kuhman, Mayor, and Steven Williams the new maintenance guy.

As I sat at the judges table waiting for, hoping for, a sound system, Shane McDaniel pulled up with the goods. We couldn't figure out how to power it up though, so we asked Rudy at Victory Auto Parts to intercede. Busy with his car show across the street, he graciously lent his vast knowledge of sound equipment and got us going.

The parade kicked of flawlessly and all of the entries were in order, which sometimes isn't the case. The hit was the gymnastics group which did some really awesome tricks of which when I get the pictures from the judge that took them, I will display on this blog.

Following the parade the party in the park went into full swing with eats, ice cream, kids games and stuff. This old guy wandered back to the car and returned to Bayview, satisfied that everyone did great.

ATHOL DAYS

                                         Sheriff Ben Wolfinger and Deputy 2013 Athol Daze

As the shadow of the abrupt firing of popular city clerk, Sally Hansen looms over the city of Athol, the old Broadway adage applies. The show must go on. Many hold Sally in an affectionate place in their hearts including this writer. But it will all play out with many still hoping that this is all a mistake.

Having said that, here are some of the events that will take place Saturday, August 9 in Athol, Idaho.

Line up for the parade is Davis Lane and starts at 9:00 am. Every year we have a great turnout of antique cars, neighborhood and church entries and those just there to have fun. As usual, the parade kicks off with the Athol American Legion color guard which does a great job. Please, those of you that wear hats everywhere but bed, take the damn thing of when the flag goes by.

I will again announce the parade this year, which starts at 10:00 am.

Following the parade, will be a fair in city park consisting of  fun games for the kids and delicious eats too. There will be an auction of donated items during the period following the parade. 

Not to be left out, don't forget the Victory Auto Parts car show which will occur at the auto parts location on hwy 54. 

8^th Annual Car Show @ Victory Auto Parts from 9:00AM to 3:00 PM, No registration fees, goodie bags, T-Shirts,  Trophies (CNC Plasma Cut), Music by Jen, Store Discounts and drawings all day for participants.

 

BAYVIEW BOAT FIRE

Shortly after 2:00 pm I looked up and saw a giant plume of smoke coming out of Scenic Bay just off MacDonald's Resort. After reporting it to 911 dispatch, two fire boats arrived, but the fire had likely consumed most of the fuel.

EMT its were heard in the distance. An 8 year old boy and a 70 year old man were severely burned, with extensive second degree burns  below the waist along with hand and arm burns.

Life Flight was dispatched for a helicopter pickup.  I have no current info on the size of the boat or the names of the injured.

FEDERAL RESERVE THEFT

As I understand it, the Federal Reserve is not a taxing agency. Ergo, where does their money come from? Just days ago, The Fed announced that they had to date purchased Three Trillion dollars worth of T-Bills and would be continuing that practice for the foreseeable future.

The fed announces to the Treasury Department, that they were buying a billion dollars i treasury notes. (Bonds) The treasury then puts the money to use, running the government and it's reckless spending.

One thing wrong with this scenario though. The treasury doesn't have three trillion dollars or even one billion dollars. They euphemistically printed it via their computer. (Sure wish my computer could do that.)

The bottom line is that we have been flim-flamed into a three trillion debt. We the public. If you borrow money so that you can pay another debt off in such a way that misrepresents the end result, you are running a Ponzi Scheme.

Are we so uninformed or uncaring that we are not outraged? You are being stolen from ... By our own government. For the record our folks in Washington, D.C. should stop talking negatively about tyrants in other countries that are corrupt. We have our own right here. 

BAYVIEW BBQ

Please join the Bayview Community Center Foundation for its Annual BBQ on Saturday August 9^th from 6:30-8pm.  We will be featuring Texas Style Smoked Chicken or hamburgers, corn on the cob, coleslaw, soft drinks and dessert.  The cost is $10 for Adults and $5 for kids under 8. This is a fundraiser to benefit the Community Center’s operating budget.  So, come one, come all! Enjoy some good food and camaraderie while helping support a good cause.  The Center is located at 20298 Perimeter Rd. in Bayview.

CRY ME A RIVER

Cry me a River is the new theme song developed by Doug Miller and his cohorts at Hydromaniacs, (appropriate). Citing disloyalty, sabotage and other sundry excuses, the one at fault in the end was Doug Miller, the guy pointing a finger at most everyone else.

In a press release yesterday, which I believe was written by Steve Sheppard of Hydromaniacs, shots were scattered everywhere in an attempt to explain what was obvious. Instead of attending to minor issues such as site security, Miller spent most of the time rubbing elbows with the race drivers and owners in the pits.

Perhaps the worst sin was that of Dissing the leader of the sanctioning body, h-1.How in hell were they planning a 2015 race after cementing their demise by insulting the people need to sanction the next race. Miller's ego got in the way as he was offered, contrary to the press release, a buyout by others that realized Miller was a brilliant promoter, but incompetent as a manager. If you wanted to buy snake oil, Doug is your man.

It is obvious that a race is a popular idea. Sure, not everyone is a hydro fan. But then not everyone is a fan of Iron Man and other very popular events. It only takes about 20,000 spectators (that pay) to make a successful event of this magnitude work.  Last year's event had that many, but most of them were not controlled by ticket sales security.

There most likely will be a 2015 hydroplane race in Kootenai County next year. It will be a new group made up of responsible members, and most likely a non-profit event. The fine group of advisers from 2013 melted away like ice cubes in July heat after last year. The huge unpaid debt and mismanagement caused all of the previously involved to fade away.

To blame anyone else for your own failures is just whining. There is an old saying; "Lead, follow or get out of the way." Doug, I suggest you get out of the way.

These stats are not audited, but believed to be accurate.

INB  $130,000
 H1 still owed $70k
Durham Bus Company still owed $40k
Traffic Corp still owed $30k
Hite Crane still owed $11k
NW Tree still owed $11k
Kootenai Fire still owed $15k
Kootenai Landfill still owed $2500
Pat Stroud  $4000
The problem here is Mr Miller and his plan to make enought this year to pay last years bills and this years bills. All with less than 30 days to get enough volunteers to make it happen. Total unpaid debt in excess of $313,500. In addition are boat rides sold believed to be around $5000. Diamond Cup, LC has offered refunds. Good luck on that.

A DOG'S LIFE SPENT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8Njp-QC7KMQ

This is a video depicting the pickup that Arfie was in. As is obvious, the dog could have done no harm to anyone, since the window was only open far enough for ventilation. The bullet hole in the window offers proof positive that the officer was in no danger at all. He apparently shot because he was startled.

A law enforcement officer has a great burden when risking his own life while serving the public safety. Having said that, restraint is an absolute must. I immediately flashed to an image involving a person instead of a protective pet.

Recently there have been way too many incidents where shooting a suspect is the first choice, when they all carry mace and shock guns. Taking another's life is a decision that should be a last resort, not a first. This officer has shown an outrageous lack of judgement. To shoot through a window at either a dog or a person, when the officer is not threatened in any way, is murder.

This officer should immediately be fired as unsuitable for carrying a weapon of any kind. A hair trigger response is not responsible, especially in a law enforcement officer. There simply isn't an excuse in this case that will wash. Down the road.

He needs to work in a non-violent job like McDonald's or ... Wait,  did say non-violent. OK, so a fast food job might be too much responsibility.  Try something, anything that doesn't involve good judgement, if there is such a thing.

TOO HOT? TRY BAYVIEW

If you live in Spokane, Coeur d'Alene or even next door and up the hill in Athol, you are going to experience weather that is tickling triple digits in the next week. Not so in Bayview.

The lower temperature of Lake Pend Oreille tends to keep the air temperatures cooler, much like an air conditioner. Our temps will register closer to ten degrees below the above mentioned communities. That along with our air conditioned restaurants offer an alternative to staying home and cooking over a hot stove in an even hotter house.

Unlike the Bayview Daze weekend, there are Very few people in town this week and plenty of space in our eating places. The temps also cool off quickly in the evenings here. So Y'all come on down,