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Great Eagle Businesses (Page 2)
As I wrote on the
bottom of the My Eagle Story page, we have some of the best of 'em right here in
Eagle. Here are some of my favorites:
Church and
State…
My first Sunday morning in Eagle,
I decided to go to a church. After much trepidation (40+ years between visits is
too long), I drove over to the Eagle United Methodist Church. Wow—the congregation welcomed me warmly, and I
enjoyed the uplifting experience. Since that nice experience, recently I have
met and come to understand the importance of religion and family values to the
successful development of loving and caring families. I am proud to say that a
wonderful family in my neighborhood, by the loving and caring way they live their lives, have
shown me The Way. I love them. They reintroduced me to goodness and to
God. I have embraced their religion as my religion. The Church accepted
me--with all my failings. On January 7, 2006, I was baptized into The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am truly humbled. And blessed.
“Trust me…I’m from the Government and
I’m here to help you…”.
Unbelievably, we have some great
government people working here in Eagle.
If there is a nicer, more friendly and enthusiastic
United States Postal Service employee than our own Liz, I don’t know
who that would (or could) possibly be. Liz makes it a joy to stand in line at
the Eagle Post Office, listening to her friendly interaction with the patrons in
front of me, all the while performing in an efficient, professional manner.
The Ada County Sheriff’s
deputies here in Eagle are outstanding. My first day here, twice I was
disappointed to see the ‘ol “State C” Crawl -- drivers continuing to make
left turns from Eagle Road on to State St. long AFTER the light turned red. I
went to our sheriff’s substation and told the 2 deputies what I had observed.
The deputy in charge and another deputy went out that afternoon and ticketed the
scofflaws they observed. For good measure, they also ticketed drivers speeding
through the School zones. Bravo! They’re anxious to know what law enforcement
concerns we have. Drop on by, or give them a call at 938-2260.
The City of Eagle
has great people, too. Nice folks have
researched and answered my public information requests. Just think how much nicer it will be when our city hall moves to its
larger and more modern quarters. There, we citizens will be able to attend more
public meetings and workshops, and even sit down....
The Business of
Business
From Eagle Road, traveling east along
East State Street, our
Eagle Chamber of Commerce is an asset to our community. Call Teri Bath
personally for assistance.
Rosie’s Barber Shop (939-8725)
is located in the historic Eagle Hotel building. Rosie
is fantastic. Of course she’s an excellent barber, but who goes to the barber
shop just for a haircut? It’s a social thing. Part philosopher, part sage, Rosie
knows the real estate situation out west of town as well as anyone and better
than most. Caution: you must ACT on Rosie’s knowledge, not just say, “uh, huh.”
...If only I’d just FOLLOWED her advise in the Summer of 2004 about investing in Middleton
and Emmett land….
Down S 2nd St takes us to the Eagle Plaza and Eagle Pavilion
shopping centers (there's than name again).
Hope Blooms - Flowers and Things! (939-4022,
Web site ). Dorothy Hope
does flowers. And gifts and things. She and her family run one of Eagle’s premier small
businesses from her new, West State Street location, but she used to be way back in the Plaza’s northeast corner. Everyone is so
friendly and helpful. Sheila
knows what everyone likes. These girls rock! Just stop by and browse for an hour
or so; I guarantee you'll leave happy.
Speaking of the northeast corner, The UPS Store (938-1478)
occupies that spot in the Albertson’s-anchored Pavilion center. When Dan
Sparks
bought the store, I was concerned that the friendly spirit and
the laughing at my jokes would end. Surprisingly, it hasn’t (yet). The new
"team" (Dan's wife, Tamiko, Tracey, and, especially my two pretty
young girlfriends...) is excellent. Shipping and receiving our mail and packages is quick
and efficient; easy in, easy out. For those of us
that have copy jobs bigger than our office copiers can handle (or handle
economically), Dan now has lower prices on large B & W and color jobs.
The definition of “personalized,
friendly service” is Idaho Banking Company (939-7040,
Web site). I have already
expounded about why I love these people (well, except a certain person who shall
remain unidentified [her initials are “Becky F."]. If you’re stupid enough
(like me) to take out a variable rate line of credit at the bottom of the
interest rate cycle, then every time I walk in, this anonymous person is reminded to run over to the “Raise
this nincompoop’s interest-rate up another notch” key on her computer
keyboard and pound it a few times…. Just kidding…). Idaho Banking Company also
has the very best online banking and bill pay service anywhere (I have been
using online banking and bill pay for over twenty years, have used many other
systems - including B of A, Mellon Bank, Union Bank, Intuit (Quicken and QuickBooks), and
many others, both mega bank and regional or local banks, etc.). Idaho Banking
Company contracted for the
most complete and easy to use and understand system available, with the added
bonus of having Diane, our own online banking guru, just a local phone
call away. I write very few "hand" checks anymore (or mail payments @
42¢ postage each); and the online banking data
easily integrates with Quicken, QuickBooks, as well as with
Microsoft Money (it even exports directly into Excel).
Mongolian of Eagle is a good restaurant for those of us
who want to select exactly what we eat…IF we stick to the healthy stuff. The
Mongolian cooking style is entertaining to watch; the cooks are adept at
picking just the right sauces if you ask them to.
Back up to East State Street,
let’s turn right and proceed…
Eagle Auto Repair (939-6654) is complete auto care indeed. Owner Johnny Rinker and
his automotive technicians are helpful and knowledgeable. They do excellent work
and at reasonable prices.
The
China Palace restaurant
(939-8938) is good. It is quiet with both tables and
booths. Their lunch specials are quick and good. I really like the ginger beef
and the seasonal asparagus dishes (see...fat people don’t have to always eat bad stuff).
Across the
street, on the north side in the Eagle Plaza II building, is Customedica
Pharmacy (939-8008). Customedica is nearly everyone's favorite Eagle businesses.
Chief Pharmacist Shah Afshar has a friendly, trained staff of vigilant
professionals. They don’t just take your script and put it in the stack of
to-be-filled orders (I cannot understand the many local folks who run off to
Costco, Wal-Mart or even Walgreens, to have their prescriptions filled by a
harried group of people who you don’t know, and, more importantly, don’t know
you. Moreover, you may never see the same technicians twice. Just filling more
than a thousand scripts a day, and, if they find the time, calling the doctors
to decipher or verify the Rx doesn’t make them more careful). I have found that
Customedica Pharmacy’s price is often the same or very close to the super-center
prices, but the stable staff has taken the time to know me and my medical
history. That counts for a lot more than maybe saving a couple of dollars by
driving many miles and waiting around for a long time with a bunch of (sick?)
strangers.
Back on the south side of East
State Street are some folks that I know (they’re my neighbors, next to my rented
office space):
Wright Brothers, The
Building Company (939-0377,
Web
site) anchors the west side of Kittyhawk Plaza.
Those guys (actually, 3 “brothers” and a sister—and none named Wilbur or
Orville) must have taken pity on me, because they allow me to ask them construction questions
and to harass their staff (I have to be careful of Wendy, or she’ll high-port me
right out the front door…). Their motto is “Building the Future.” So, after
checking them out (they are well respected by both their peers and their
clients), I hired them to build a Boise office building for me (near
Costco, perfect for medical professionals and/or office and retail, too). It’s almost finished and still
standing (Martha calls that, "a good thing."). Seriously (always), Bob,
Joe, Terry and Terri are four of our finest
citizens and business professionals. They believe in giving back to our
community. Big time.
Eagle Mini
Storage (939-0221), just south of Kittyhawk Plaza through a shared
driveway, is a great business with an awesome (there’s that word
again) group of people. Manager Jolene, along with Sandi, Caley and
Kevin, are a
joy to be around: they, too, sometimes laugh at my jokes, hear my Monday morning
stories of the weekend’s trials and tribulations, and, most importantly, help me
input my entry code when I forget it (who said, “A mind is a terrible thing to
waste”?). I rent a storage space for my junk and even used to rent a covered parking space for my
gas-guzzler pickup.
Just east of
Kittyhawk Plaza is Evan’s Building Center / Ace Hardware (939-6435). I
have found many of the staff to be knowledgeable and helpful. Often, a price not
much different that Home Depot, but combined with individualized service, is
just the ticket for me (and still many local contractors and serious hobbyists,
too).
A beautiful new office along a stream, at 1025 S. Bridgeway Pl., Suite 180, in the Eagle River
development is the new home of attorney Sandra L. Clapp (938-2660,
Web site). She is the best estate-planning attorney that
I know of. Period. Sandra's husband, Roch, manages her law office, and she has
two excellent paralegals. But, as most of her clients know, the real power is
Terri. So give Terri a call to make anything happen.
And now back on East State Street, lets turn south on Plaza Drive, and
move on down to the
Rocky Mountain Business Park, at the southwest corner of Plaza and Iron Eagle.
Marion L. Luque, M.D.
(938-5680) is an excellent physician--a caring Internal Medicine specialist with
a multi-faceted practice. She even has an
easy-going manner when scolding me for occasionally “getting off the (weight
loss) wagon.” Give Paula a call if you need anything, she’ll work with you on
scheduling. Dr. Luque has a wonderful Choose to Lose program for
those of her patients who have had the light bulb of reality turned on. Patti is the
great weight loss coordinator; she’s been there, done that! It’s nice to
be able to relate to someone who was once fat, er, pleasantly plump,
er obese, herself. I (usually) look forward to my Wednesday morning
evaluations with Patti (for where I go first, it's…
…Eagle Physical
Therapy (939-3332) may have, literally, saved my life. Dr. Luque sent me
there for (physical) therapy after I endured terrible pain with a degenerative
back disease problem (NOT weight related, but probably exacerbated by 150 extra
pounds…). Bob Wright recommended Sarah (thank you, sir). After
Randy and Sarah evaluated me, Sarah proceeded to inflict great bodily
harm upon me for about a month. What a masochist she is! But it worked. Sarah is
young (anyone not on Social Security is “young” to me) and a relatively recent
graduate of physical therapy college training, so she is “hip” to new
medical findings that an older (no pun intended) physical therapist may not be
as “up” on. They invited me to enroll in an independent study exercise program,
so that I could continue to improve my conditioning and weight loss (needless to
say, I exercise here for an hour before walking across the parking lot to my
weekly Choose to Lose sessions with Patti at Dr. Luque’s office)…. Even though
Randy, Sarah and Steve are the licensed physical therapists, Cheryl runs
the practice. Call her to schedule a tour or for an evaluation.
Speaking of
walking across the parking lot, Eagle's best restaurant is just across the street, at the southeast corner
of Fitness and Iron Eagle: the Road House BBQ
(939-8108, Web site). Ross and Polly Tilbury are the nicest, most unpretentious
restaurateurs I have known. Polly greets most of the customers and suggests just
the right meats for the occasion. In addition, she will “mother” those of us who
may tend to stray on occasion…if necessary. Ross is a fabulous chef who has
catered for most of the Who’s-Who of the Country and Western scene. Those
folks demand the best, most healthy barbeque available—and that is Ross’
cooking, often described as southern Bar-B-Que with a Texas flair. I say
southeastern Texas. Ross and Polly do not cook in fat and do not let the meats
wallow in fat.
Ross' legendary ribs are delicious, custom smoked and dry rubbed - void of that greasy feel
- no dripping fat here. They prepare all the veggies using lean vegetable oils—not butter. What can be
healthier, after a hard workout and medical exam (which includes a weigh-in),
than celebrating the results with a meal of impeccably prepared, lean cuisine at
the Road House BBQ…?
Further east on
Iron Eagle is the Les Schwab Tire Center (938-7936). What a gem! The
store is always clean, the people there are always helpful, and the popcorn and
coffee are fresh! Even more important is their outstanding (and unadvertised)
customer service. They fix your flat tires, adjust your tire’s inflation
pressure, check the tire balance and wheel alignment, and more. All without
charge! Amazing (all they ask is that we consider them when it’s time for a
wheel alignment and new tires). Wow.
My last recommendations aren't even
physically located in Eagle, but do much of their business here.
Real estate
attorney JoAnn C. Butler is a partner with the downtown law firm Spink Butler, LLP
(388-1000, Web site). She is a neat lady and a super sharp attorney (you do not
want to be on the opposing side). In addition to general real estate (including
land use, planning and zoning matters), JoAnn also specializes in commercial and
environmental law. The firm represents many developers and local governments.
Alex Conger’s
Webmajik (webmajik.com)
isn't even Earth-bound at all--it's out there in Cyberspace. Well, he does occasionally come down here with the
rest of us—you’ve undoubtedly seen his mustard yellow Hummer (the one with all
the antennas) cruising along State Street. Alex can be reached 7/24/365 anywhere
on (or off) this Earth. For Internet stuff, Web site design and hosting, etc., I
recommend that you contact Webmajik.
Thank you for looking at my
thoughts about members of our business community who I have observed performing
well above and beyond what has become the norm.
___________________________________
Steven T. Older
PO Box 1715
Eagle, Idaho 83616
E-mail me |
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