WARRANTS: A girls-only event

I am a "Warrants" section junkie. But even I was taken aback by a recent Monday Press edition. Each of the featured felons and misdemeanors was a woman. I do not think it is a coincidence, sensing something bigger was afoot. I was right. This was another exciting chapter in Sheriff Watson's long history of innovation in the execution of the county's law enforcement. As it turns out, Monday's warrants section was celebrating the results of the 2011 Kootenai County Jail Felon and Misdemeanor Queen and her Court Pageant.

Sheriff Watson put on the black-tie event and the unbridled excitement of the winning Queen and Court was captured in the gauzy beauty of their booking photos. Our 2011 Queen was Carey from Post Falls with her stunning performance in the "obtaining a controlled substance by fraud" competition, leaving the judges speechless. Runner-ups Mindy, Christana, Katherine and Andrea filled her Court.

The Junior Miss-Demeanor competition was equally hard fought. But the Tiara went to Connie from Coeur d'Alene for her "panhandling without a permit" interpretive dance performance. Her Court will be filled by five runner-ups who tied in the "driving while suspended" cone and obstacle course competition.

Asked for Sheriff Watson's thoughts on the County Jail's pageant, he said, "This was quite a night. I can only hope this shines a bright light on the ‘concrete ceiling' faced by women in their pursuit of parity in felony and misdemeanor advancement."

Very little of this was true, except for the miscreants' names.

ROBERT B. CLIFF

Coeur d'Alene