Coming soon to the Silver Lake Mall

New businesses have “Coming Soon” signs at Silver Lake Mall, although some are seasonal for the upcoming winter holidays.

The largest is Encore Shoes, taking up combined spaces that antique and sport stores left when they moved across the hall. Offering “quality products with service and value,” the company originated in North Carolina in 1960 and has 1,131 stores nationwide, including two in Spokane also selling handbags and accessories. Check www.shoeshow.com.

Other “Coming Soons” in the mall include the Nail Lounge, Pizza & Pretzels and See’s Candies. Grove Ayers, mall manager, said the mall will have its fewest vacancies in eight years.

Command Center Staffing

opens in Sunset Village

Offering help with finding temporary employees for labor and staffing, Command Center has opened in Sunset Village at 296 W. Sunset Ave.

The employees can be in manufacturing, warehouse, construction, labor, cleanup, housekeeping, hospitality, banquet servers and more. Employees are encouraged “to come with a positive attitude ready to go to work with the possibility of growth and development.”

Hours at Command Center Staffing are 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays with on-call opportunities Saturdays and Sundays. Phone 208-667-9590. Check www.commandonline.com.

Precision Powder & Blast opens on Boekel Road

Complete powder coating and sandblasting services are offered at Precision Powder & Blast, now open at 6615 W. Boekel Road in Rathdrum.

With a 40-foot curing oven in the 7,500-square-foot facility, Precision can handle extra-long items such as boat trailers, indoor and outdoor railings, flag poles and more with quick turnarounds. The blast booth is 48 feet, and the spray booth is 40 feet. Salesman is Clint Bower. Owner is Wade Gagnier.

Hours are 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Phone 208-712-3519 or 208-699-3029. Check www.precisionpowderandblast.com.

Southern Utah offers a special outdoors

Early October is a great time to visit the outdoor wonders of Southern Utah.

Oct. 1-17 my wife, Mary, and I joined five friends to tour fantastically special places I hardly knew existed. We saw terrific rock formations of arches, steep canyons and balanced rocks of a rainbow of colors, remnants of dinosaurs and prehistoric ancient developments and artwork of ancient peoples.

The special places included Zion, Bryce and Canyonlands National Parks. All have terrific visitor centers and vista points. You visit some from roadside vista points and you hike to others, some just walks and some real hikes. The rock formations and views of the Colorado River are awesome. We crossed south to Nevada and took a cruise boat trip on Lake Powell to the huge Rainbow Bridge rock formation.

I thought Bryce to be the most beautiful. You enter Zion through a 2-mile one-way tunnel. Once at the visitor center, you take free tour buses to the vista and hiking points. We rented rubber shoes, soaks and pants and hiking poles to walk miles up a steep canyon called The Narrows. The Arches State Park has 2,000 natural stone arches, small and huge. We went on an 11-mile circular hike over some tough rock outbreaks to see some of the more spectacular arches.

We rented houses in nearby towns with all our activities and great lodging arranged by John Schwandt. We alternated meal duties. I was bothered that none of these towns in Southern Utah had access to a daily newspaper. A Zion Park official told me his park has 4,000 visitors a day, 90 percent foreign (mostly from China and Germany).

Put this on your bucket lists. We should have done this many years ago.

Now for the Tidbits

- In late December MoMo sushi bar, wok and grill will be where Bonsai Bistro was at 101 E. Sherman. On Appleway watch for Firehouse Subs and Dairy Queen.

- Future new hotels include a Staybridge Suites in Riverstone and a Fairfield Inn on Northwest Boulevard. The Shilo Inn on Appleway will change to Comfort Suites after a major remodel.

- Openings coming on Fourth Street include Voiage Salon at 754 N. Fourth, the Relic Moon offering piercing and body jewelry and the White Pine coffee place. Slate Creek Brewing has closed at 1710 N. Fourth. Massage Envy will be in Ironwood Square.

- New construction off Mullan Avenue in Post Falls will be a Coachman Auto Body. And neighboring Kootenai Motors is moving to Hayden. Post Falls openings include Riverstone Dental Care on Mullan. Downdraft Brewing is closing with its final weekend party Nov. 17-19.

- A new Asian eatery will be where the Kynrede Cafe was removed in Hayden. Watch for El Taco Loco off Canfield Avenue, EyeGuys Optical in Hayden, Rumour Boutique expanding on Government Way and Vine & Olive restaurant in Riverstone.

- Watch for a remodel on the entry to Costco. One thing that business does right is provide wider spaces in its parking lots as each space has its own side markers.

- A patient’s comment during a colonoscopy: “Now I know how a Muppet feels.”

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Contact Nils Rosdahl at [email protected].