Local civics quiz, take two

Former Post Falls Mayor Clay Larkin kindly called it a "kerfuffle" when he contacted The Press to alert us that there were some errors in the civics literacy quiz we published in Wednesday's paper.

Clearly, constitutional scholar David Adler and other experts are right: civics illiteracy is a serious problem everywhere in the nation, even right here in our newsroom.

If readers took the little test on our Opinion page and discovered something wasn't right, that's good, very good. It means those readers know their stuff when it comes to local government.

But we were surprised we didn't hear from more people about our mistake. In fact, we received more calls about a recent problem with our crossword puzzle answers.

For us, this was a hard lesson.

We hope our readers will join us and give our fresh set of questions a spin, and maybe learn something along the way.

We did.

1. Name the mayors: a. Post Falls, b. Hayden, c. Coeur d'Alene, d. Rathdrum, e. Spirit Lake.

2. Like state and federal government structure, municipal governments in Idaho are shaped by the principals of separation of powers and checks and balances. Identify the branches of government at the local level: a. legislative branch, b. executive branch, c. judicial branch.

3. Who takes over the duties and responsibilities of the office of the mayor if a vacancy occurs due to temporary absence or disability?

4. Who is responsible for clearing snow from sidewalks?

5. Who can issue marriage licenses?

6. Where was Post Falls' police station formerly located?

7. Where is Rathdrum's wastewater treatment plant?

8. Where was the old Coeur d'Alene City Hall located?

9. What is Post Falls' associate city?

10. What is Coeur d'Alene's sister city?

Answers

1. a. Ron Jacobson, b. Ron McIntire, c. Steve Widmyer, d. Vic Holmes, e. Todd Clary.

2. a. city council, b. mayor, c. district court.

3. Idaho Code calls for the president of the city council to exercise the office of mayor until the mayor's return.

4. State law says the adjacent property owner is responsible for keeping sidewalks clear of snow and debris.

5. The county recorder's office is the only office in Idaho authorized to issue a marriage license.

6. Next to the current city hall in the historic building occupied by the Post Falls museum.

7. The city of Post Falls treats Rathdrum's wastewater at its facility along Interstate 90.

8. The southwest corner of Fifth and Sherman Avenue.

9. Herborn, Germany (the birthplace of city found Frederick Post)

10. Cranbrook, B.C.

Answers

1. A citizen is eligible to vote in a city election provided he or she has resided in the city for at least 30 days and meets all other voter eligibility requirements.

2. Five

3. Coeur d'Alene Public Library Community Room

4. The general election for mayors and councilmembers is held on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November of odd-numbered years.

5. Yes. Each city in Idaho is required by Idaho Code to have an appointed clerk, city treasurer and city attorney.

6. The process for selection and removal of appointed officers is set by state law as opposed to local personnel policies. Appointed officers also have specific responsibilities that are set in state law.

7. Skip Hissong, Kerri Thoreson, Betty Ann Henderson, Joe Malloy and Linda Wilhelm.

8. Ron Edinger, Dan Gookin, Amy Evans, Kiki Miller and Woody McEvers.

9. Three

10. Rathdrum became the county seat in 1881.

11. The mayor does have authority to veto ordinances passed by the council. However, the mayor's veto may be overridden by the vote of the majority of the full council.