All the dogs and approximately 50 cats had disappeared some time between closing time yesterday and noon today.

Since no one sounded the alarm this morning, it should be safe to assume that the person scheduled to feed and care for the dogs this morning knows where they went.

That person is one of the four members of Priest River Animal Rescue’s Board of Directors who also left their resignations on the counter for today’s workers to find.

Naturally, workers today called the police. Not only were the dogs stolen, but the food supply was gone as well. It also appeared that carry crates were missing. It was a clear case of theft.

But Priest River Police said no – it was a civil matter. This in spite of the fact that when one cat disappeared last week it was treated as a theft.

Make any sense to you??

Where are these critters tonight? Are they safe? Or are they on their way to be sold to WSU for experimentation? Other area shelters have been contacted and report that Priest River’s dogs were not brought to them.

PRAR has been plagued with internal disputes in recent months. Directors in particular seem to have forgotten that PRAR is about the animals – not about power or ego.

The political wrangling is the reason why, after being a founding member, I dropped out of the organization a few years ago. Unfortunately, I was not the only one who left for that reason.

I hope the remaining members can pull things together and get the organization back on track. The dogs and cats in this community need them.

Meanwhile… something stinks in Priest River.

If this passes, the current Priest River library will get a 5,400 s.f. addition – adding more room for books and videos,  expansion of the computer area, and more space for community functions.

This fell short of passing in the last election, but just barely. So those of us who support the library are hoping for a better turn-out and better response this time.

Here in Priest River passage will amount to a tax increase of about $2.41 per month per household – less than the cost of a movie rental, which patrons will be able to get for free if the election is successful. Right now, we can borrow movies, but the selection is pretty small.

More and more people are using the library.

Library workers tell me that usage has gone up dramatically since the current economic crisis – in fact, 2010 usage was up 41% from 2009.

Years ago, a visit to the local library meant checking out a book to take home and read for entertainment.

Now, every time I go in I see the  computer stations in use – sometimes with people waiting their turn. Many are students, but many are adults. Some come to pay bills, send an e-mail, or just look around. But Library volunteers tell me they are often called upon to show patrons how to do job searches, and how to find information on writing resumes’.

And then there are the activities. From story hours for the kids to crafts for both children and adults, to evening presentations from authors, the library seems to be humming all the time. And we hope it will hum even more in the future. In addition to more computers, one of the services that will be added if the levy passes is test proctoring for distance learners. Right now, distance learners have at least an hour’s drive to find proctoring services.

But back to the books, which is the reason why I’m a frequent visitor.

The West Bonner County Library District has joined the Washington Idaho Network of Libraries – which means we can request books from other libraries all over Washington and Idaho. All we have to do is go on line, find the book we want, and it will be delivered to our Priest River library for our reading pleasure.

Support the Library on May 17!!

After listening to the interviews on the news, I’ve been wondering if any of the people who frequented the place remember that the name came from Popeye Rose – who was the owner 60 years ago. Or if they remember that Popeye’s brother was a town cop – and Popeye ran a poker game in the back room.

I only know that because my Dad used to deal for him sometimes.

We’ve been reminiscing about all the bars that used to be down town, and trying to remember if King’s Bar and Hotel went first, or if it was Phil’s Club. Both of them burned.

Then there was the Log Cabin – which later became Mercer’s Memories. I’ve heard many tales about that place dating back to the 1930′s and 40′s – and had some fun dancing there myself in the 70′s. Back when I was in High School the proprietor rented an apartment from my Mom – and the only way she could collect rent was to send me down to the bar to ask for it.

Now I suppose it would be considered “contributing to the delinquency of a minor” to send a teen-ager into a bar for any reason.

Each time another of the old buildings burns in downtown Priest River we lose a bit of history. But in some cases we get something good in return – just look at the park-like area next door to the library!

It’s been a long time since I got to go play Bingo (except on a lottery scratch card) so I’m going to do my darndest to be there.

Remember when the VFW held Bingo games every Friday night at VFW hall? There was a group of us who attended every week – and I’m not going to say just how many years ago that was!

The game benefits the Priest River Chamber of Commerce, and it’s health benefits the town, so put this on your calendar!

The Date: Thursday, December 3

The time: 6 to 9 p.m.

The place: Priest River’s Frank Chapin Senior Center

Wild turkeys in the pasture

This flock has expanded to a little over 3 dozen now, and they pass through my pasture morning and night – heads bobbing down to eat something. Not sure what they’re finding in the now-dry grass, but they look busy.

When they get a little too close to the house the dogs remove them promptly. It’s interesting to see just how high and how far they can fly! I wouldn’t mind them stopping by, except for the “presents” they leave behind.

The turkeys don't usually come this close...

I hear there’s another group of them not far from here, and someone counted 60+.  That’s fun, too. Kind of like trying to count fish swimming in the lake… they never stay still.

It does surprise me that there are so many, because I hear the coyotes often, and they’re close in.  Maybe they stay because they roost in the trees at night.

That’s an interesting sight, as well…when they’re roosting in a Cottonwood it looks like a tree filled with basketballs.

If you or anyone you know is a homeschooling family please see this site for yourselves or pass it on to someone who would benefit. http://www.hubb-bub.com.

Also looking for businesses to sponsor the site and get some advertising space.

Happy Tuesday!
Jamie

Visit NetworkIN CDA: IN the Know! North Idaho & Eastern Washington at: http://www.networkincda.com

Here’s your chance to help them out – and possibly win a cord of firewood!

With so few “events” going on here, it seems like it would be a little less troublesome to pick a date.

After checking with the Times to see if anyone else was advertising an event on September 26, PRAR chose that as their date for the auction.

Help the rescued critters

They made flyers, printed tickets, and even sold a few…

Then, this past week they learned that the Chamber of Commerce had decided to move the date for Octoberfest to September 26.

Ummm… I always thought Octoberfest was held in October some time, but guess I was wrong.

Anyway, the latest is that the PRAR event is now moved to October 17.

I’m sure volunteers will be around soliciting merchandise for the auction, so if you have a business and want to get some publicity while supporting the animals, be thinking about what you’d like to donate.

Individuals are welcome to donate as well, so don’t be shy… the lost, abandoned, and abused pets in our area need every bit of help you can offer.

Trees in front of Priest River Junior High School - Uprooted!

The Thunder / lightning / wind storm that hit Priest River this week did enough damage in a couple of hours to keep crews busy cleaning up for days.

The trees in front of Priest River Junior High look pretty sad now…

But what seemed really strange was how bone dry the roots appeared to be. The close up of that huge root snapped in two showed no moisture at all, and the soil just a couple of feet down also appeared bone dry.

One has to wonder if the dry conditions led to the roots breaking in the strong winds during the storm.

So strange for a year that started out as rainy as this one did. And since the grass is green, I assume that the lawn had been watered regularly.

Huge tree root - snapped in two like a matchstick.

I didn’t make it all over town to get a lot of photos, but saw at least one house with a badly damaged roof and a couple of yards with trees across the lawns.

One story I heard was of a mobile home that was sliced in two, barely missing a child.

The good news in that sentence is the word “missing!” Losing a house is tragic, but it could have been so very much worse.

Apparently this storm hit in isolated spots all over Bonner County – some say we had small tornados, but I’ve heard no official word on that.

If you have a “storm story” I hope you’ll add it to our comments!