HUCKLEBERRIES: Ordinance for peace and quiet

“Ordinance” is a fancy word for a law imposed by cities and counties.

An action taken March 5 by the present City Council targeted motorcycles and loud vehicles downtown by adding teeth — and a significant fine — to an existing noise ordinance.

The council passed the amendment after residents in those pricey high-rises and condos sprouting along the waterfront complained bitterly about traffic racket disturbing their peace.

Council members decreed overloud traffic noise to be an infraction, punishable by a $300 fine. The ordinance, the 3,725th adopted in the history of Coeur d’Alene, muffled noisemakers.

The council approved one other ordinance since.

On Sept. 8, 1887, Coeur d’Alene trustees passed Ordinance No. 1, creating the office of town marshal and outlining his duties. The action occurred 17 days after county commissioners granted the petition signed by “a majority of the male inhabitants” to allow town incorporation.

Among other things, the first city law empowered the marshal to “make arrests for breaches of the peace or the commitment of any crime.” The ordinance designated him as “keeper of the calaboose (jail).” It also banned him from joining any political party or “indulging in intoxicating drinks.”

The city hired Warren Baldwin as the first marshal for $75 per month. But later minutes showed he never collected that much, working for as little as $30 in some months.

Ordinance No. 2, passed 12 days later, directed the marshal to supervise prisoner gangs, “shackled or not” — and all male — to build and fix city streets.

Ordinance No. 3, addressed the taxing of dogs.

Seventy years ago (June 7, 1954), City Clerk J.R. Wilcox spotlighted these early laws after the council passed the city’s 1,000th ordinance, an amendment to zoning law. W.B. McFarland, who became Coeur d’Alene’s city attorney in 1921, had drawn up 440 of those ordinances up to that time.

Elected officials passed 1,000 ordinances in the city’s first 67 years and almost three times as many in the 70 years since. They’re still pursuing an elusive goal set forth in the law that created the marshal’s office 137 years ago — “to exercise vigilant control of the peace and quiet of the town.”

Sadder but wiser

Brad Bakie, then 71, of Coeur d’Alene, deserves credit for warning others to avoid his bad life decisions. In June 2014, only weeks after he lost his lower right leg to smoking, he called the Coeur d’Alene Press to tell his story.

A two- to three-pack smoker for 30 years, Bakie said he knew the practice was unhealthy. But he didn’t know you could lose a leg by doing it.

He had no choice. It was either the leg or his life, he said. And he wanted to live.

Most know that smoking causes lung cancer, heart disease and stroke. Fewer realize that the habit can result in the hardening of the arteries, plaque buildup and vasoconstriction, which blocks oxygen-rich blood from reaching the toes and feet, causing the flesh to rot.

“I’d rather have it amputated than have it sit there and rot off of me,” Bakie said.

You’ve been warned — again. And again.

Seaplane flap

Brooks Seaplane has flown charter flights and sightseers from City Beach since 1946, mostly under the proprietorship of the late Bill Brooks.

Bill, a World War II flight instructor, and the city coexisted well most of the time, except for 1984, when then-Mayor Jim Fromm tried to terminate Bill’s lease at the city dock.

Seems Fromm wanted Bill to move his business, according to the Coeur d’Alene Press, claiming he was two months late on his lease payment. In a letter of termination, Fromm also said that Bill was involved in activities banned by the city dock ordinance, including servicing other aircraft, conducting a flight school and renting jet skis.

But council members backed the popular seaplane captain over the mayor, who scolded them for “waffling back and forth.” The reprieve followed testimony from a string of community supporters on Bill’s behalf and a subtle threat of legal action from attorney Sam Eismann.

Bill, who retired at age 89, died in February 2015. The family sold the business three years later.

Come one, come all

Although somewhat bashful, Miss Coeur d’Alene Cathy Weidner enjoyed touting her beloved hometown 50 years ago.

On June 4, 1974, she told The Press: “I’m looking forward to telling people what a progressive community we have here, and how we have everything available for those who want to live here.”

Cathy’s pride in her town was music to the ears of the local Chamber of Commerce, which chose her to represent Lake City at various functions. And her duties as town hostess began the following day, June 5, when Cathy and Mayor Ron Edinger led a Coeur d’Alene delegation of dignitaries, singers, musicians and thespians to Coeur d’Alene Festival Day at Expo ’74, Spokane’s world fair.

A General Telephone employee, Cathy wanted the world to know that Coeur d’Alene was a great place to live as well as a swell recreation and retirement place. And the world listened. Alas.

Huckleberries

• Poet’s Corner: The hot dog’s largely tripe and fat/with snouts and tails and such as that;/because of this some folks eschew them,/but I’m quite pleased to barbecue them — The Bard of Sherman Avenue (“Hot Dogs”).

• Milestone: Sixty cyclists initiated the 73-mile Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes on June 5, 2004, including Leo Hennessy. The state parks and rec trails manager said: “I’ve been waiting for this for 14 years.” The trail tour made stops at Mullan, Wallace, Osburn, Kellogg, Smelterville, Harrison and Plummer. It also made an unexpected stop at Pinehurst, where fans blocked the path. Said organizer Shelly Bewick: “I didn’t want you to forget us.”

• Did You Know … that the No Moose Left Behind project raised $366,500 for schools? The fundraiser featured 26 life-size moose statues and 39 laptop ones, painted by local artists and displayed around town. They were auctioned at the Excel Foundation gala Sept. 25, 2004. But, early on, the project attracted vandals who damaged two statues and stole another. Operation Secure-A-Moose, featuring a surveillance system, ended the vandalism.

• Low Expectations? Community response to the $38 million Kroc Center opening 15 years ago surprised everyone, including John Chamness, the center’s first executive director. The Kroc attracted 12,000 members in its first two months of operation — eight times more than expected. Said Chamness: “This shows how excited everyone is.” And still is. Kroc membership today is 17,926. 

• Fish Fry: Commodore John Richards and treasurer Norris Benson of the Coeur d’Alene Unlimited Hydroplane Association provided dinner for the 1959 Diamond Cup drivers the old-fashioned way: They caught it. The two men landed Kamloops, weighing 19 and 12 pounds on Lake Pend Oreille, for a fish fry during the races July 16-19 of that year.

Parting shot

High school newspapers mimic the real thing. Young journalists learn to write, edit, compose pages and publish the news on deadlines. If they’re lucky, some of their classmates read their work. At Coeur d’Alene High 10 years ago (June 2, 2014), student journos endured one other real-life newspaper experience: What it feels like to have the proverbial rug pulled out from under them. As school was ending, The Press reported, dedicated staffers of the award-winning Viking Voice learned that the paper was finished. The school wasn’t offering the seventh-period publications class in 2014-15. And adviser Teri Asher was retiring after 17 years with CHS, including 11 years with the Voice. Editor Robin Chamberlain, 16, lamented: “I wish that students had more respect for it, so more people would be upset” — a sentiment voiced often in real newsrooms for the last 25 years.

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D.F. (Dave) Oliveria can be contacted at dfo@cdapress.com.

    City Clerk Renata McLeod records ordinances today.
  

    Brad Bakie warned others of the dangers of smoking.
  

    Seaplane pilot Bill Brooks fought City Hall — and won.
  

    Miss Coeur d’Alene Cathy Weidner, shown with chamber president-elect Monty Leavitt, proudly supported her hometown.
  

    Sixty cyclists prepared to test ride the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes after the ribbon cutting by (from left): Francis SiJohn of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, Scott Moore of Union Pacific Railroad, Ernie Lombard of the state Department of Parks and Recreation and Mullan Councilman Dan White.
  

    “Coeur d’Moose,” one of the colorful fiberglass moose displayed 20 years ago, was located at the Century 21 building.
  

    Sharman Schmitt of Avista presented a check for $260,611 to John Chamness of the Kroc Center and Sandi Bloem, chairman of the Kroc advisory board. The money was awarded for energy-saving features in the new building.
  

    Norris Benson, left, and John Richards displayed the Kamloops that would feed the 1959 Diamond Cup drivers.
  

    Staffers who prepared the final issue of the Viking Voice in late May 2014 included (from left): Ad manager Kirk Abolafia, photographer Rebecca Pratt and news editor Ariana Sciascia.