Hard winter taking a heavy toll on region's moose population

The snow is falling as I am writing this column and I can't help but think this could be the last hoorah for winter.

I notice this is the kind of snow that isn't adding up to much, but the reappearance of it could push some people over the edge. Stay tuned …

As you can tell by the photo, moose and vehicles don't mix very well.

On Feb. 13, David Chinn was driving south of Sandpoint on Highway 95 around 4:30 a.m. He was driving his Toyota Corolla about 40 miles an hour because of icy conditions.

“I saw a trucker going north that was slowing down so I took my foot off the gas to slow down. I did not brake because I did not want to spin out in front of a semi,” he said. “When I got close it, the lights to the semi went dark and the next thing I knew the windshield was hitting my forehead.

“I was stunned but was able to get out of my car and call my wife to come get me and take me to ER. All I had was a few cuts and a concussion.

“When I got out, there was a bull moose under the truck. He had hit my windshield, bounced up and crushed in the roof of my little car just inches behind my head and then slid over the back of the car and under the semi.

“I did not realize how close I came to being killed until I sat in the car to have this picture taken. I believe God had angels protecting me.The roof is crumpled in front of the headrest of my seat. I figure if my head had been three inches further back my head would have been crushed.

“I was looking for moose at the time of the accident but never did see it coming. It ran from the opposite side of the road past the semi and I think I clipped the rear legs. You can see the rounded break in the window that could be the break from the moose's rear end. You can also see where the windshield hit myforehead.”

According to the Idaho Fish and Game, this winter has been extremely hard on moose. There have been 125 moose killed between Sandpoint and Bonners Ferry. Some moose have starved to death but the vast majority have been killed by vehicle or by train.

Out in our neighborhood, Mooseshore, we have had a couple moose hanging out. Last week one was spooked when a city plow came by. Instantly the moose took off and ran across a few of our neighbors' porches before it took refuge in someone's backyard.

As the snow goes away and the roads start to thaw, Judy at Merwin's reminded me recently of the pothole dodge game that takes place.

The folks at Exxon Express have already taken note. There has already been a case of flat tire caused by a tire hitting a pothole in front of the station and they have already lost count of how many hubcaps have flown off tires because of the series of potholes along the highway.

Let us know if you have any pothole stories and don't hesitate to send in photos. There will be a special prize for anyone who sends in a photo of a moose in a pothole.

E-mail of the week:

A man and woman had been married for more than 60 years. They had shared everything and had kept no secrets from each other except the little old woman had a shoe box in the top of her closet that she had cautioned her husband never to open or ask her about.

One day the little old woman got very sick and the doctor said she would not recover. In trying to sort out their affairs, the little old man took down the shoe box and took it to his wife's bedside. She agreed that it was time that he should know what was in the box.

When he opened it, he found two crocheted dolls and a stack of money totaling $195,000.

“When we were to be married,” she told him, “my grandmother told me the secret of a happy marriage was to never argue. She told me if I ever got angry with you, I should just keep quiet and crochet a doll.”

The little old man was so moved; he had to fight back tears. Only two precious dolls were in the box. She had only been angry with him two times in all those years of living and loving. He almost burst with happiness.

“Honey,” he said, “that explains the dolls, but what about all of this money? Where did it come from?”

“Oh,” she said, “that's the money I made from selling the dolls.”

n David Keyes is publisher of the Daily Bee.