The Idaho Statesman is waxing sentimental

They are remembering Helen Chenoweth Hage, a political figure its editorial board criticized, ridiculed and never endorsed.

"The political debate will be a little more tame and a little less interesting without her. Things feel emptier already." In death she has become an icon, a woman "always true to [her] beliefs and never dull..."

At times, Chenoweth-Hage was a contrarian voice of common sense. "Our borders are wide open and yet they're shaking down a 66-year-old white grandmother they greeted by name," Chenoweth-Hage told the Statesman's Dan Popkey in 2004, criticizing a federal policy on airport pat-downs. "There shouldn't be that kind of search without reasonable cause."

For a moment I try to imagine Helen's reaction to this tribute.

Love many.
Trust few.
Always paddle your own canoe,
she told me.

I doubt she would trust the Statesman now. But true to her style and character, she would thank them for being gracious and respectful, if not a bit late.