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Avista Energy Resource Team goes mobile

Avista Energy Resource Team goes mobile

Avista Utilities is taking their services on the road setting up their mobile Energy Resource Team in communities throughout the area. Today, they were in the Spokane Valley with Second Harvest's mobile food bank offering tips and supplies to make homes more energy efficient.

 

“The biggest goal is to educate people on ways to conserve energy in their homes,” says Ana Matthews, a Consumer Affairs Program Manager with Avista. The Energy Resource Team provides resources and materials to help people who are struggling lower their monthly bills and set them up with resources such as SNAP when they need more help.

 

Avista workers handed out bags with rope caulk, window insulation kits, fridge coil cleaners and compact florescent light bulbs to help get homes on their way to a lower bill. Matthews says the biggest energy sucker is drafts in the home and they come from places you might not think to look such as your outlets.

 

Time to get rid of those Christmas trees, here's where you can do just that

Time to get rid of those Christmas trees, here's where you can do just that

 

While the weather outside remains frightful, the fire delightful, the tree in your living room might be seeming more and more ridiculous the further away Dec. 25 becomes. But, good news, Spokane-area residents have plenty of options in getting rid of that festive fir.

If you live in a single-family home in the city of Spokane, you have a number of options, but the most convenient would be to drop it off on your regularly-scheduled pickup day with the rest of your trash – if the tree is taller than 6 feet, the city requires you to cut it in half. Waste Management will stop offering this service Jan. 18.

Natural Living Show

Learning how to live a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle has never been more easy.  This weekend, more than three dozen vendors will be on hand at the Natural Living Show to help you make better choices for your body, environment and our community.

The show will feature local cheese-makers and handmade soaps. And, if you ever wanted to have your own eggs fresh from your backyard there will be a workshop on urban chickens too.

Here are all the details:

 Saturday, October 13th

10 am-6 pm

Spokane Community College Lair

Admission is $7, although if you swing by Sun People Dry Goods located at 32 West 2nd Avenue, Suite 200 you can pick up FREE passes!

Chewelah Farmers Market is up and running

Come on down to the Best Small Farmers Market, according to the Washington State Farmers Market Association, the past two years.

The Chewelah Farmers Market starts the season with Salad Days, a chance to bulk up on all the greens you can handle. Of course you can still get those local breads, meat, eggs, honey and soap.

If you haven’t gotten your own garden going yet, they will have starter plants for sale too.

Enjoy food, classes and a variety of events every Friday from 11:30 AM to 5:30 PM starting May 18th through October 19th.

The Chewelah Farmers Market is located at the northwest corner of Chewelah City Park, along Hwy 395. Details provided by the volunteers of Chewelah Farmers Market. More information is available at www.chewelahfarmersmarket.com or by calling 936-4353.

 

Local Entrepreneur Launches New Website

Local Entrepreneur Launches New Website

Every June, I dust off my cowboy boots, pair it with a polka dot sundress and hightail it to The Farm Chicks Antiques Show at the Spokane County Fairgrounds. For self proclaimed "junkers" the show is what Disneyland is to a 5 year old. Really, it's THAT exciting. Trust me.

In this crowd, a slight obsession for all things vintage and fabulous instantly bonds women from across the country. The show features refurbished antique furniture, beautiful, handcrafted home accessories and decor. The search for that perfect vintage piece is all part of the experience.

What started out in a barn in 2002 is now one of the largest show of its kind in the country. Serena Thompson, who lives on Green Bluff, is the entrepreneur responsible for creating the funky and oh. so. fabulous. weekend event.

Thompson has also penned several cookbooks, is a contributing editor for Country Living Magazine, a wife and mom to four boys. Whew! She pretty much rocks.

And now she's getting ready to launch her latest venture, a website called My Favorite Find. I recently had the opportunity to ask Thompson a few questions about her latest project.

AB: Tell me about your latest project My Favorite Find. How did you come up with the idea?

ST: I'd been receiving a lot of mail from all over the world, from readers asking how they could find great events similar to mine or shoppes in their area and from others who were hosting these events and running these shoppes, wondering how they could promote them. I soon realized there wasn't anything for them out there and decided that I'd just create it myself. And My Favorite Find was born.

Northeast WA Farmers Markets Open for Business

Northeast WA Farmers Markets Open for Business

Farmers from all over Northeastern Washington come together each Saturday for the weekly community farmers market.

Located in downtown Colville at Main and Astor, the market will have a selection of fruits, vegetables, breads, plants, handmade gifts and more.  The market is open each Saturday from 9AM-1PM.

More information is available at the Colville Chamber of Commerce.

Farmers Frustrated With Winter Weather This Spring

You think you're tired of the cool, wet spring we're having in the Inland Northwest? Be thankful if you don't make your living as a farmer.

Monday's snowfall is the perfect example of what farmers are facing this spring: Wet weather, late season snowfall and cold nights all threatening their sensitive crops.

Jason Morrell at Walter's Fruit Ranch was discouraged when he came out to his apricot trees at Walter's Fruit Ranch to find dead buds because of the cold weather.

"It kept them at too cold of a temperature for too long, killing the bud," Morrell said.