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.

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

Go to Priest-River-Idaho.com and have a look. Then come back and tell me if I missed anything…

(please)

Judy and Laurie Rurey are about to be the new owners/managers of Zippy’s Mini Mart… and you’ll see some changes. Among other things, they’ll be bringing back the freshly made sandwiches, along with pizza.

Judy has promised to keep us updated – so plan to stop in at Zippy’s and say hello just as soon as she lets us know they’re up and running.

Want to post a message of encouragement here? Please do!

Share some memories, give us your vision for the future, and let us in on things happening right now.

Did your brother just buy a ’66 Malibu to restore? Send us a picture.

Cow have twins? Send us the news and the photo.

Did you win a poetry contest? Send us the poem.

Are you opening a new business?

If you’re old enough, think back to the Priest River Times of the 1960′s – remember those columns about different neighborhoods? There was Blue Lake news, Edgemere news, Laclede news – and of course the news from down town. Those columns were filled with tidbits about kids home from college and the military, vacations, and even small disasters like a load of hay falling off the wagon.

Well, add the digital photo age to that old-style sharing, and send it along.

I’m looking forward to hearing from you…

Marte