After 12 years and two months (but who’s counting) Kay Chambliss at Century 21 is retiring and moving to the coast.

In her place, Jackie Smith, a longtime Bonners Ferry resident, will be in charge of advertising and other office functions in the little round building between Safeway and the middle school.

“I loved every minute of it,” said Chambliss, but she’s looking forward to quilting and annoying her kids, she says.

Chambliss was a Multnomah County Sheriff’s deputy, and owned her own business fabricating high-tech machinery before moving to Moyie Springs and starting with Century 21.

Also hailing from a law enforcement background, Smith recently retired from 22 years with Customs and Border Protection in Porthill. Another unique connection, both ladies make soap.

After she leaves, Chambliss is looking forward to traveling back to the south to visit family in Florida, and friends in Kentucky, where she grew up.

“I can’t sit still, I’m not a sit-around kind of person,” Chambliss says, “I’ve retired three times now, but this one is for real.”

Even with all that there is to do and remember, Chambliss is confident Smith can take over the job.

The hardest part of the job? All the interruptions, Chambliss says.

“It’s hard to stop something and then get back to it. It’s tough to finish things around here,” she says, especially when you’re always putting out fires.

“It’s such a good group to work for,” Chambliss said. “We have fun here. Mike is wonderful to work for. Family comes first.”

Chambliss will miss her window on the world though, she says. She enjoyed watching the police wait in front of the office for speeders. She would watch the kids testing the usually thin ice on the runoff pond by Safeway.

She is looking forward to being around family though, she said.