Gas, and ye shall receive
<p>Tom Paschane, general manager of the Chevron service station on the northeast corner of U.S. 95 and Honeysuckle Avenue in Hayden, is eager to assist motorists this winter. He'll have attendants on hand to pump gas and clean windshields each Monday and Tuesday morning from 8 a.m. to noon, and on Fridays and Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m., from November through March.</p>
<p>Hayden Lake resident Marion Walker, 89 and a former professional race car driver, got the snowball rolling with a powerful plea in Sunday's Press.</p>
HAYDEN - Tom Paschane is going to put "service" back in "station."
The general manager of three area Chevron stations emphatically answered a senior's call for help at the pumps when the weather gets bad this winter.
Paschane said he'll start with the Chevron station on the northeast corner of U.S. 95 and Honeysuckle Avenue in Hayden, and held open the possibility that a Chevron station in Coeur d'Alene might eventually join the fun.
"That's what struck me - the need," Paschane said Monday, a day after a letter to the editor from 89-year-old Hayden Lake resident Marion Walker asked for help pumping gas in nasty weather. "I want to fulfill that need, and this is one of the little things we can do for folks."
"I think that's fabulous," Walker said Monday when told of Paschane's and Chevron's commitment. "It just burns me to get out there in the winter and walk on all that ice, and I know a lot of other seniors who feel the same way."
Paschane had all day Sunday to plan, and here's what he came up with:
* In October, he'll put workers through two weeks of training as service station attendants.
* From November through March, anyone - seniors, military veterans, young and old - can have their gas pumped for them on specific days and times at the Hayden Chevron station, 8841 N. Commerce Drive (762-8103). It's directly west of Les Schwab Tires in Hayden.
But Paschane, getting into the spirit of helping existing and potential customers, isn't stopping with complimentary help at the gas pump.
From November through March, every Monday and Tuesday from 8 a.m. to noon and every Friday and Saturday from noon to 4 p.m., customers getting gas at the Hayden Chevron will also have their windshield cleaned. Further, Paschane said attendants will be happy to check the windshield wash reservoir in each vehicle. If the reservoir is low, they'll top it off for free. If it's empty or near empty, they'll offer to sell a gallon of the deicing wash for $3.
"That's my definition of service without surcharge," he said.
Walker, a former competitive race car driver in California, said many seniors have no trouble driving, but navigating hazardous lots on foot is another matter. Until she wrote to The Press, her calls for help had gone unanswered.
"I had called Eldercare last summer," she said. "They thought it was a great idea but did nothing."
She also contacted area senior centers and, while they sympathized, they told her there was nothing they could do.
Now she's going to spread the word - and maybe even a little wealth.
"Every senior I know will be happy to tip the attendant or pay a little more for gas," she said. "It's well worth it."
Paschane said there will be no extra charge for gas, and that if business does pick up, more good things could be in store.
"This will be my pilot project," he said. "But no matter how it goes, I'll do it through the winter."
The Press will help by publishing notices each week from November through March, telling readers where they can go for a real service station experience.