Sandpoint Olympian racing toward Olympics

This whole area is excited for Nate Holland.

As we all know by now, this Sandpoint boy who used to cut brush at Schweitzer in summers to earn a ski pass, is headed to the Winter Olympics.

There is something about the Olympics that still sends a chill down my spine. Perhaps it's the dedication to develop skills and to compete against the best in the world. It's also a time for the world to play games, not war.

Good luck, Nate!

Watch the Bee for more updates as well as an interview with Nate and his family.

Also check online at bonnercountydailybee.com later this week for an electronic way to send your best wishes to Sandpoint's own Olympian, Nate Holland.

Wouldn't a sign that states "Home of Olympian Nate Holland" be pretty cool at the entrances to town?

Where in the heck did January go?

I'll flip my calendar to February sometime between today and the weekend and I'm sure I won't have anything concrete to look back on for the entire month. I guess that would be for the entire year, wouldn't it?

As some of you will recall, my computer died about two weeks ago. My G4 Macintosh lived a good life. It didn't die alone — it took a hard drive of my memories, hopes and some award-winning columns with it.

Sandpoint Police Chief Mark Lockwood came up with a great idea when he formed the Citizens' Police Academy.

The group has met the past two Mondays and I am already amazed by the professionals who protect us.

Meth is the bane of the police department's existence, according to Lockwood. The vast majority of crime in Sandpoint is the result of drugs or people needing money to buy drugs.

Each CPA attendee will do at least one ride along with officers during the next few weeks. We also have a chance to be Tazered, shoot a pistol and get a glimpse of what life is like for people who put their lives on the line every day.

Sandpoint Police officers are underpaid when compared to their counterparts in Ponderay and Kootenai County.

From what I have seen so far, we are more than getting our money's worth in a department that is ahead of the curve in training and quality of officers.

The only concern I have is the questionable judgment my co-classmates had when they rightly voted for Doug Olin to be class president and inexplicably voted me to be co-president.

I'll keep you posted …

If you haven't read the Spokane Review in quite a while, you are not alone. It the paper's latest move to further alienate Bonner County readers, the few remaining staffers in the Review's Coeur d'Alene bureau have been told to stay away from Bonner County news — especially if there is a hint of controversy. Might lose subscribers if it covers controversial topics, you know.

The Review went to a narrower page like the Bee and the rest of the newspaper industry did four years ago and added American Profile like we did two years ago. What the paper didn't do was add staff as it continues turn in its horns to its Spokane base.

It looks like the organizers for the Sandpoint Recreation District are starting to get the word out. Although, the negative comments are outnumbering the positive ones at least 5:1 at least from this venue.

Election day is fast approaching.

How's it going to turn out, you ask? It's on thin ice right now but you never know. If you don't vote, you can't complain.

I hope the folks in Boise are serious about property tax reform this year. There has to be a way to protect revenue going to the state without crippling those of us who have invested in owning our own homes.

In a one-party state, there is nobody to blame but the party in power if this fails this year. I have heard the term "regime change" a bit to often for my liking this year. If not now, when? Call your local representatives and senators to make sure they understand how important this issue is.

And since we are talking politics, it is about time the voters demand action on school financing and a host of other topics.

I am writing this column on the slickest looking, lightning-fast laptop Macintosh computer built this month. This silver-coated machine operates in the Mac OS X system and has 512 MB's of DD2 SDRAM. And yes, it has spellcheck.

I was touched by the sympathy I received over the demise of R2, as I used to call it. Several people shared their "death of computer" stories and a few folks were saddened that a lot of hard work went away.

Not Chris Story and Esther Gilchrist, though. The day after my column came out, they apparently went halfsies on a packet of rewritable CDs and dropped it by my office with this note:

"When I first used a computer at work, the mantra was "backup, backup, backup" and we didn't go home until it was done. It takes a lot less time now, so you have no excuse since we provided the CD-Rs."

Thanks, ladies.

Last week's online question: "Do you think the state Legislature will address the state property tax issue this session?" 129 votes were cast, 76 percent voted no and 24 percent voted yes.

This week's question: "Who will win the Super Bowl?" Seahawks or Steelers.

E-mail of the week:

With the saddest heart that I must pass on the following news. Please join me in remembering a great icon of the entertainment community. The Pillsbury Doughboy died yesterday of a yeast infection and trauma complications from repeated pokes in the belly. He was 71.

Doughboy was buried in a lightly greased coffin. Dozens of celebrities turned out to pay their respects, including Mrs.Butterworth, Hungry Jack, the California Raisins, Betty Crocker, the Hostess Twinkies, and Captain Crunch. The grave site was piled high with flours. Aunt Jemima delivered the eulogy and lovingly described Doughboy as a man who never knew how much he was kneaded. Doughboy rose quickly in show business, but his later life was filled with turnovers. He was not considered a very smart cookie, wasting much of his dough on half-baked schemes. Despite being a little flaky at times he was still a crusty old man and was considered a roll model for millions.

Doughboy is survived by his wife, Play Dough, two children, John Dough and Jane Dough, plus they had one in the oven. He is also survived by his elderly dad, Pop Tart. The funeral was held at 3:50 for about 20 minutes.