Huckleberries Blog

Of course I knew Spokane had a gang problem. But you never take things like that seriously until the birdbrains show up at your doorstep. They arrived again Tuesday morning, flashing secret signs and showing complete disdain for my rights as a property owner. Worst of all, I’m fairly certain the cops would laugh at me if I dialed 911 and tried to get them to come arrest these turkey trespassers. Weird though it might seem, the Clark homestead on the South Hill has become a magnet lately for a dozen or so of these big brawny birds, who strut through the yard like they pay the taxes. First I thought the visits were cute/Doug Clark, SR. More here. (Photo: Doug Clark)

Question: Anyout out there plagues by wild turkeys?

Originally posted 7:45 p.m. Wednesday

Spokesman Laura Rumpler of the Coeur d'Alene School District sent the following news release to Huckleberries Online moments ago:

Coeur d’Alene School District Superintendent Hazel Bauman will leave at the end of June to take the job of interim superintendent of a school district in Western Washington. Bauman announced Wednesday night she accepted an offer to lead the Central Kitsap School District for one year. With about 10,600 students, the Central Kitsap district is slightly larger than the Coeur d’Alene district. Bauman, 60, has worked for the Coeur d’Alene district 29 years and has been superintendent for nearly five years. Many in the community are speculating that her departure stems from friction with a conservative school board that has filled all five trustee seats in the past two years. But Bauman said 95 percent of her motivation to move on is personal, not professional. She said she has family members in the Seattle area/Scott Maben, SR. More here. And: Full news release here.

• Coeur d'Alene Press story here

Question: What will be Hazel Bauman's legacy?

Nick Anderson/Houston Chronicle

Spokesman Laura Rumpler of the Coeur d'Alene School District sent the following news release to Huckleberries Online moments ago:

Coeur d’Alene School District Superintendent Hazel Bauman will leave at the end of June to take the job of interim superintendent of a school district in Western Washington. Bauman announced Wednesday night she accepted an offer to lead the Central Kitsap School District for one year. With about 10,600 students, the Central Kitsap district is slightly larger than the Coeur d’Alene district. Bauman, 60, has worked for the Coeur d’Alene district 29 years and has been superintendent for nearly five years. Many in the community are speculating that her departure stems from friction with a conservative school board that has filled all five trustee seats in the past two years. But Bauman said 95 percent of her motivation to move on is personal, not professional. She said she has family members in the Seattle area/Scott Maben, SR. More here. And: Full news release here.

Thoughts?

A Post Falls friend called to complain that a Post Falls School Board challenger has yard signs that identify her as a "Republican." Said she: "Aren't School Board races suppose to be nonpartisan." I provided a brief history of the Reagan Republicans crusade to trash our councils and school boards by replacing competent office holders with ideologues who adhere to their brand of conservatism. On that happy note, I'll toss out today's Wild Card ...

Pope Francis salutes bishops as performers in traditional Mexican costumes dance on the parvis in front of St. Peter's Basilica during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican today. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

The Central Kitsap School District Board of Trustees are meeting as I type this, to possibly decide who will be the district's next superintendent. Superintendent Hazel Bauman of the Coeur d'Alene School District is one of the finalists on the list. The Central Kitsap trustees also have scheduled a public meeting at 6 o'clock, possibly to make an announcement re: their new superintendent.

My name is Dave Paul. I am an 18 year resident of Post Falls and am running for School Board Trustee in Zone 1. Writing the Editor is not something I would normally do, but after reading a column and an article written by my opponent’s husband I was compelled to do so. Mr. Jeff Ward and the Kootenai County Reagan Republicans (KCRR) are doing everything they can to infuse partisan politics into school board elections. Partisan politics and the tactics of KCRR have no place in school board elections. Mr. Ward nor any member of the KCRR has ever met me nor have they tried to contact me. They try to label every non-KCRR as a member of the national Democrat coalition. They label every non-KCRR as representing the union and not the citizens and the taxpayers. They label every non-KCRR candidate as a rubber stamp for the union/Dave Paul, Post Falls School Board trustee. More here.

Question: Are either of the Reagan Republican endorsess for Post Falls School Board qualified for the position?

Coca-Cola products sit on a table between CEO Muhtar Kent, right, and Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, left, at an event where the company announced it will work to make lower-calorie drinks and clear nutrition information more widely available around the world Wednesday in Atlanta. You write the cutline. (AP photo)

Tuesday Winner -- Dennis: "Trust me sweetie! If it works with the fish, we'll try the frog next week." Click here for Tuesday photo & 7 contest entries.

DFO: Time for you to vote for the winner (likes/dislikes) who will be announced Thursday.

• 5:28 p.m. Someone is traveling to CPD HQ to speak to officer re: possible child abuse.
• 5:18 p.m. Female w/bad allergic reaction to bees has been stunt @ Wyoming/Idaho, Prairie.
• 5:08 p.m. Injury accident reported @ Seltice Way/Frederick, Post Falls.
• 4:58 p.m. Coeur d'Alene Police Department activities report for May 7-8 here.
• 4:48 p.m. CPD officer wanted for warrant service @ 203 E. Anton Ave/CdA.
• 4:45 p.m. Goodwill Industries, 4th/Locust, CdA, reports unconscious person on premises.
• 4:41 p.m. Lake City Community Church on Ramsey Road/CdA  is trying to turn off false alarm.
• 4:38 p.m. EMTs are asking ex-fiancee re: what type of pills male took in overdose.
• 18 more items + AM Scanner Traffic

"This clever yard art is made from garden tools." posts Kerri Thoeson, on her Facebook page. "It also has the Becker family name and address in wrought iron. 307 W. 13 St. in Post Falls."

• Counting bikes/Fort Boise
• I'll fly away some day/Slight Detour
• Letter: Too stupid to publish/Arch Druid
• Bon mots about writing/Writing North Idaho
• Meet Gato/JeanC's Cat House & Shooting Gallery
• An appreciation of teachers/Rants, Raves & Random Thoughts
• College readiness: A long view from Boise/Kevin Richert, The EDge

Huckleberries numbers (for Tuesday, May 7): 8302 page-views/4743 unique views

Newspaper wars aside, there's no shortage of respect between journalists at The Press and the Spokesman-Review. Today that respect has grown a little more. One of our veteran advertising employees, Keri Alexander, was out for a jog on another gorgeous North Idaho day. Here's her brief description of what happened:

I was on my usual lunchtime run today and was stopped by two gentlemen near the LCSC building just before the Hwy 95 overpass.  They alerted me that there was a very odd man hiding in the bushes along the trail and that I should probably turn around and change my course.  With a grateful heart I thanked both of them for the warning and thanked the good Lord above for these two angels. I then returned to the office and  reported what happened to the CDA City Police. Keri also posted something similar on her Facebook page, to which an ever-watchful friend told Keri who those two angels were: Dave Oliveria and Greg Lee, two outstanding, longtime S-R journalists. Thanks, guys. Well done. Forgive me, though, if I don't quite consider you angels -- Editor Mike Patrick, Coeur d'Alene Press.   DFO: I've been called a lot of things in this job, but never a guardian angel. Some of my detractors believe I work for the other side. But Greg & I were thrilled to find out who the jogger was -- and to munch on the tasty cookies she brought to the office later. The stretch of the Centennial Trail will worry me until they thin it out.

Jeff Sayer, Idaho Department of Commerce director, outlines the strategy behind Gov. Butch Otter's attempt to woo gun and ammunition manufacturers to Idaho. Sayer told Idaho Reporter:

"There are shifting political winds that we’re taking advantage of because other states are shifting towards anti-gun policies. We just feel like that Second Amendment is in our fiber, and it’s something that we’re going to protect, and we’re offering a safe haven for those companies and not only to be in a great business environment, but be in a politically safe environment. There are moments in life when common sense just clicks and this is one of those moments. This just makes sense for Idaho to support firearms’ manufacturers, so we’re going after it. One of the things I like about this is that one of our challenges in Idaho is helping companies to come to our smaller, rural communities, and these companies, many of them, like to be in rural areas, and many of them already operate in rural areas. More here.

Question: Are guns and ammunition part of your DNA?

Balance North Idaho sent the following press release to HucksOnline moments ago:

Balance North Idaho purchased certain keywords months ago to use as hyperlinks during the current election. Words were chosen to provide the most exposure for the money and of course, candidate names were first on our list. At the time of reservation and the months that followed, the Coeur d’Alene Press never showed any resistance to the keyword choices. The use of hyperlinks on the CdA Press website started during the recall last year when Recall CdA started using the hyperlinks to promote their cause. At the time, they used many different words to link to their website. We felt this was a clever use of campaign funds and chose to ‘mimick’ their strategy. Hyperlinks were also used frequently during the May 2012 primaries, so the use of hyperlinks is not new in the political world or on the CdA Press website. “We understand that Mr. Regan is not happy about the use of his name, and we apologize for any distress this has caused him,” said Eden Irgens, President.

Question: Apology accepted?

This image, released today, shows the spear that was accidentally shot through the mouth of Elisangela Borborema Rosa, in the coastal city of Arrial do Cabo, Brazil. Brazilian health officials say the 28-year-old woman "miraculously"survived after a harpoon entered her mouth and struck her cervical spine. Officials said that the woman's husband was cleaning his spear gun when it accidentally went off, firing the harpoon that injured his wife. (AP Photo/Rio de Janeiro State Health Department)

The Pentagon moved Wednesday to quash reports that the Defense Department was pursuing new regulations limiting religious freedom among service members. “Service members may exercise their rights under the First Amendment regarding the free exercise of religion unless doing so adversely affects good order, discipline, or some other aspect of the military mission,” Lt. Cmdr. Nathan Christensen told The Hill Wednesday. “Even then, the Department seeks a reasonable religious accommodation for the service member.” The controversy began after reports that the military might begin courts-martial for Christian soldiers began cropping up on conservative websites/Ben Goad, The Hill. More here.

Question: Are you breathing easier?

Spokesman Stu Miller of the Kootenai County Sheriff's Department told Huckleberries Online moments ago that Coeur d'Alene High freshman Destiny Maine still hasn't been located: "We've had some possible sightings," he said, "but nothing has panned out yet." Stu told Huckleberries last night that Destiny ran away from home on Friday morning after a fight with her stepmother. She had been suspended from school the day before. You can find out more information about Destiny here.

How much do you know about charter schools, Spokane-made movies and other current topics? Take our weekly news quiz and find out. Simply by entering, you're eligible to win movie tickets, and our overall champ will win a $50 gift card to the Davenport Hotel. Good luck! Click here for quiz. 

• Leaderboard: Cathyanne is the only HucksOnline reader in the Top 20 qualifiers so far.

This undated combination photo released by the Cleveland Police Department shows from left, Onil Castro, Ariel Castro, and Pedro Casto.The three brothers were arrested Tuesday, after three women who disappeared in Cleveland a decade ago were found safe Monday. The brothers are accused of holding the victims against their will. (AP Photo/Cleveland Police Department)

From the Coeur d'Alene Police Department Facebook page:

The springtime is upon us and one of the calls for service your Code Enforcement division gets is weed abatement issues. 8.08.020. There are some organizations that will help the elderly and those that cannot care for their lawns themselves. If you know of an organization that would help, can you post here? Our code enforcement officer loves to get help out to those that need them.

Question: Do you know of an elderly person in town who could use help keeping the weeds down?