Reader response brings win/win tip

Last week’s column mentioned my husband, Bert, and his sneak attack on our backyard bald-faced hornet nest. It prompted an email from reader Merry Dingman, a Master Gardner volunteer with the University of Idaho-Extension, Kootenai County.

Can I just say how much I enjoy hearing from readers? I’m routinely amazed at the really interesting and engaging people I may never meet in person but who feel like friends. I’ll add Merry to that list.

She offered a suggestion for a much safer way to remove wasp and hornet nests and prevent stings. A local company many of you may not be aware of offers the service free of charge because it uses the wasps and hornets to make anti-venom shots for those allergic to insect stings. Merry said several Master Gardners have used the quick-to-respond service. Your problem becomes a solution for others. Winning!

www.freebeenestremoval.com

So what is this company? ALK Source Materials is a pharmaceutical company in Riverbend Commerce Park in Post Falls. It produces over 150 different allergens used in allergy immunotherapy treatments, diagnostics and analytical testing in its 60,000-square-foot manufacturing facility.

The company relocated to Post Falls from Washington in 2009, just four years after Buck Knives relocated its corporate offices and manufacturing plant to Riverbend Commerce Park from California. Those were heady years for economic recruitment for Post Falls, especially the Jacklin’s commerce park.

While I had no knowledge of the free nest removal service until Merry’s email, I did tour the ALK facility in 2010 with my River City Leadership Academy class. It was fascinating then and still is!

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My plans for these fleeting final days of August are simple. Sunshine and water … pool, lake and river water. Gratefully, we have ample supplies of each to achieve a state of summertime Zen.

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Happy Main Street Birthdays today to Sofia Armstrong, Warren Bakes, Pam Grenny, Cam Crollard, Julianne Rinard, Perry Peterson, Irene Watkins, Troy Blood, Lita Balbin and Phil Higgs. Tomorrow, Jan Berry, Peggy Sawicki, Ed Mitchell, Mike Wood and George Forgacs blow out their candles. On Friday, Dirk Scott, Freya Jensen, Jack Reiswig, Marissa Leupold, Steve Slaney, Michelle Garcia, Samantha Dirks, Becky Fletcher, Darlene Johnson, Judy DeTar, Karen Huber, Laurie Sutton, Loretta Richards, Pearl Brown and Spencer Messina take another trip around the sun. Best wishes on Aug. 29 to Jeannie Peugh, who shares the date with Ashley Smart, Stacey Holley, Randy Marmon, Cindy Foulk, Bob Myklebust, Lori Barker, Cody Jewell, Merle Bartlett and Arvada Schumacher. Marking another year on Sunday are Cyndie Lempesis, Luke Sommer, Carrie Kralicek, Jarin Bressler, Bjorn Handeen, and Stefany Mealey. On the last day of August, Andrew Houser, Ron Nilson, Jill Delavan, Patti Shea, Gen Twete, Craig Wilcox, Jamie Ostbert, Dan Poole, Donna Euler, Mike Gerber, Nicole Stark and Rondi Renaldo are enjoying their birthday cake. On the first day of September are birthdays for Kathy McKahn, Terry Lee, David Mills, Kim Routh, Sharon Latimer, Missy Hansen, Paul Ebert and Travis Best.

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Kerri Rankin Thoreson is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and a former publisher/editor with the Hagadone Newspaper division. Main Street appears every Wednesday in The Press. Kerri can be reached on Facebook or via email at [email protected].