It's great to see Sandpoint's bowling alley open again.

It's great to see Sandpoint's bowling alley open again. Brandon and Laurie Buck will do great things with EFX.

They have already cleaned up much of it and consider the transformation as a work in progress.

All I know is the gaggle of five-to-eight-year-old boys had a great time Saturday bowling at Brett Hutchens' birthday party. Master Hutchens officially turns seven on Thursday.

Even though I am not a bowler, even I can see the advantages of having another "safe date place" for youngsters and teens. The place was hopping on Saturday.

Laurie already demonstrates her love for our youth with her Studio One Dance Academy. The bowling alley will be a great place for family outings as well as home for the many league bowlers who missed their sport this past winter.

Friday's announcement of this year's Festival At Sandpoint lineup promises to surprise some and delight most. The booking committee is all smiles and check out Saturday's Daily Bee for the complete lineup.

If your business has an extra copier, the Bonner Community Food Center is in desperate need, according to Alice Wallace. Call 263-3663 (food) to donate.

An Eagle scout project to recreate the Ark of the Covenant has raised a few eyebrows on eBay. A Bonners Ferry man, Sunny Mullis, has asked for an opening bid of $10 million.

Describing the Ark, Mullis wrote: "This is a recreated Ark of the Covenant, the story of its recreation has been told in the Bonners Ferry Herald, 7183 Main, Bonners Ferry, 208-267-5521.

"It must be noted that this recreated Ark is doing everything just like the original did 3,500 years ago.

"If a picture is needed, contact the above newspaper for photo and entire story, the first time the reporter attempted to photo the Ark his camera exploded.

"The Ark came to m son (12), Eagle Scout, and asked him if it was time to obliterate mankind; the boy answered yes.

"The price for the Ark was set by the Ark itself, as it said "Their GOD is money, in this way I can judge them."

Scoff if you will, but the Herald office has been clobbered with phone calls and emails from people checking on the ark.

Yes, the camera malfunctioned and sparked when Herald editor RJ Cohn took the photo of the ark back in May, 2001.

"To say it exploded is an exaggeration," said a bemused Cohn. The ark is constructed from four pieces of plywood covered with gold leafing and is topped off with two Austrian, crystal angels.

In the original Herald report, Mullis said his two-foot by two-foot by 18-inch tall ark emitted a wave of energy when he applied the angels to the ark, leaving it with a permanent scar.

Mullis also maintained in the story, that the ark has wreaked havoc on his computer and printer that set right next to the ark.

"And whenever I try to take a picture of it, a red beam of light appears in the photograph. I hardly know what to make of this."

Mullis has tried eBay before and told the Herald back in 2001 that a Canadian rabbi had purchased it for $5 million. EBay pulled his listing from its site saying it was too strange and controversial.

No takers this time, either.

"Everyone is calling like they have the money," Cohn said. "I wish they would stop."

Ark, the Herald angels sing. This is too much of a wacko thing.

Prof. James McLeod has a word of warning about all the excitement around the discovery of a sunken canoe in Lake Pend Oreille.

As most will recall, a canoe was discovered on New Year's Day by local divers. There is some question about the age and the origin of the craft but national experts have taken a peak and there are some core samples being studied.

Prof. McLeod experienced a bit of deja vu.

The Spokane Chronicle headlined a story in its July 21, 1983, edition: "Mother solves canoe mystery."

The story describes a "crudely" carved canoe that was pulled from Wolf Lodge Bay. The find fascinated historians and archeologists who estimated it to be 100 years old.

The canoe was described by the Bureau of Land Management in the story as "a piece of workmanship that only someone with experience in the trade could accomplish."

John Kildow, then 58 and living in Richland, Wash., read about the discovery and thought it was a canoe he had made 45 years prior as a 13-year-old boy.

It was. Kildow had a good laugh when he visited the Museum of North Idaho and saw his creation displayed as an example of Northwest Indian art.

"Hopefully the current discovery will hold up better than the earlier one," McLeod wrote.

David Keyes is publisher of the Bee. His column runs Tuesdays.