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.

Bonner County Homeschool Group is having a family Bonfire Night, Friday Oct 23rd at 6 pm.  We’d really like to meet more homeschooling families in our area!

Come join us.

See our website at www.bchg.webs.com or call Michelle at 208-255-2798 for more info.

…………………

If you homeschool, go and meet like-minded parents and kids. I sure wish something like this had been available way back  when I was homeschooling my kids! I think I was the only “oddball” in town at that time.

http://calljerry.biz/BywayProgress8-09/

In spite of seeing the maps over the years, I didn’t really have a feel for how that road would lay. Seeing it under construction and looking at where it is with relation to other things makes it a lot clearer.

These are from almost 2 months ago… maybe we’ll get lucky and he’ll post new ones before long.

Meanwhile, I’m told that a trip from Priest River to Sandpoint can be a time-consuming proposition right now. Lots of that wonderful waiting at times – so the best advice is to go by Dufort Road or take along a book.

I read on the Q-6 weather report that Priest River set a new record this week with an “official” reading of 88 degrees. But someone told me a reader board in town said 92.

Even this morning’s heavy rain turned to heat by mid afternoon.

But I’m not complaining – I’ll just enjoy it while it lasts.

Meanwhile, I’m covering the garden at night and I see that where the covers didn’t quite make it to the edge of the squash plants, they’ve been nipped.

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.

Since most of us writers don’t have anyone at home that shares our passion, it’s great to get out and mingle with others who do. I’m not a creative writer – I couldn’t write dialogue if I had to, and certainly would never create a poem worth hearing – but I do love talking with other copywriters.

Plenty of people in the world want to forget about work when they leave it for the day, but writers are different. We just keep right on hearing words running through our heads, no matter what else we may be doing. In fact, sometimes the best words come when we’re standing in the shower, or out in the garden pulling weeds.

I think that means we love what we do – but sometimes it is a bit solitary, even for a hermit like me.

So, if you’re a creative writer, get to the library and see who else shares your passion!

This week-end, January 10-11 and January 17-18 you can enjoy Priest Lake’s annual snowshoe Softball Tournament. The location is Highway 57 & Luby Bay Road. For information, call 888-774-3785.

And then, on Feb. 7 & 8 you can witness the 40th running of the Priest Lake Sled Dog Race. For information, call 208-683-2387. Organizers ask that you do leave your own dogs at home, as their presence can distract the working teams and could cause accidents. Food will be available courtesy of the Bear Paw 4-H Club.

Just head up Highway 57 toward Nordman and you’ll see the race site.

Meanwhile, the melt over the past few days is making it easier to get around. You might even be able to meet a friend for lunch or get out to do some shopping. I still haven’t gone Christmas shopping, so I wouldn’t mind. Although I doubt I’d buy Christmas gifts now!

There was only about 3″ of new snow when we got home, but now— must be about 9 or 10 and its still coming down. I will have to say – it’s beautiful! How else can trees turn to lace?

When I got home I found an email from Care2 – announcing a contest for animal shelters. I clicked the link and was the first one to vote for Priest River Animal Rescue. So… I hope you’ll check out the box on the right and go vote too!

Turn on your speakers…

We can now download audio books – for free. The database is large, so I expect there’s something there for everyone.

All you have to do is sign up and verify that you’re an Idaho resident.

Funny, because last night while I was ironing I was wishing I had a book to listen to… and now I can get one. All I have to do is wait until after midnight, since I don’t dare download during the daytime. Hughes Net will shut me down for 24 hours if I download too much in one day – but they offer this “generous” free time from midnight to 3 a.m.

The number of instructional videos in my “watch after midnight” file is growing by leaps and bounds – so much to learn, so little time! Now I need to add downloading an e-book.

It’s a good thing I’m a night owl.