Super CNA does it again

When we last visited Charlotte Mitchell, of Athol, she was removing litter along Ramsey Road, near her Athol home.

Now, the retired Kootenai Cancer Center CNA is rounding up strays — children, that is.

Recently, Charlotte was returning a book to the Athol Library when she noticed an 8-year-old boy crying. She got the boy’s name, and the names of his parents, through his sobs. But the boy couldn’t remember his telephone number or where he lived.

Charlotte turned to social media to locate the youngster’s mother and sent her a note via Facebook Messenger, complete with Charlotte’s cell number.

The message went unanswered.

Meanwhile, the boy cried louder. So, Charlotte took him to the fire station and said her goodbye, once she was sure that the youngster was in good hands. Later, she received a call from boy’s mother, who was appreciative and crying.

Seems Mom and Dad had headed in opposite directions, thinking the boy was in the other’s custody. They didn’t realize their error until they returned home. Then, they panicked.

It’s hard to say what Charlotte, the semi-quarantined grandmother, will do next to gain our attention. But Huckleberries has learned that she purchased three toy xylophones from a garage sale and plans to teach her 43 chickens to play. Stay tuned.

Close encounter

Mitch Alexander almost ran into three punks who were racing an ATV and two motorcycles on Moon Pass, the shortcut between Wallace and the St. Joe River. The former Shoshone County sheriff almost plowed into the trio Thursday evening, July 2, when they sped into view around a corner: “I barely missed all three who were in my lane,” Mitch said. It was “so close to being fatal.” Mitch nearly put his truck into a bank to avoid the law breakers. And, for his evasive efforts, he was rewarded by the trailing biker who indicated his contempt and his IQ at the same motion by extending a middle finger.

Oopsy

Artist Terry Lee’s fourth of five sculptures for his local historical series at Sixth and Front is named “The Suffragist.” Last week, Huckleberries labeled the piece, “The Suffragette.” There’s a difference. Explains Lisa Nunlist, co-president of the American Association of University Women/Coeur d’Alene: “The name ‘suffragist’ implies a broader, less violent approach to securing the right for women to vote. The suffix ‘ette’ means female or petite, whereas some men also advocated for the 19th Amendment.” The statue will be dedicated on Aug. 18, the day the 19th Amendment was ratified 100 years ago.

Huckleberries

• The Way We Were: Fifty years ago, the Press published a photo of Bob Templin guiding his two young daughters, Barbara, 10, and Blythe, 3, on a tour of his expanded North Shore Motor Hotel on the waterfront. Templin was about to open a three-story wing of 61 rooms. He told the Press: “We hope to someday go up to 10 stories with a dining room on the top.” The North Shore, of course, gave way to The Coeur d’Alene Resort, which now touches 18 floors.

• Poet’s Corner: They don’t much care if you decide/to try assisted suicide,/and view it largely as a joke/if you should take a little toke;/most everything they will let pass —/unless you try to pump gas – The Bard of Sherman Avenue (Where Oregonians Draw the Line”).

• Yes, Virginia, while stopped at Seventh and Harrison Wednesday, Huckleberries saw — and heard — a woman in a beige car riding on studs. No worry. In another four months studs’ll be legal again.

• Quotable Quote: “No matter what (Gov. Brad Little) does at this moment in history he will be criticized. We are in uncharted waters and I continue to appreciate his steady hand at the helm of our state ship” — former state Sen. Shawn Keough via Facebook. Bingo.

Parting Shot

Bruce Twitchell, of Hayden, did a double take when he saw that white Buick Enclave with what looked like a Labradoodle hanging out the passenger window on U.S. 95, near Target. Dangling from the rear wiper was a newspaper wrapper with dog poop inside. Butch tells Huckleberries: “it was odd yet oddly responsible of the people. They cleaned up after their dog but didn’t want it in the car, so they tied it to the rear wiper.” Now, all that’s needed is a bumpersnicker: Have Turds Will Travel.”

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You can contact D.F. “Dave”Oliveria at dfo.northidaho@gmail.com.