Christmas crafts stolen

Patty Williams works for months making her “towel tops” to sell at Christmas bazaars in the area, but somebody stole them from her basement last week, she told The Star.

Williams makes the product, which combines two kitchen towels with a middle piece that lets them hang nicely over an oven door handle, each year. On low income, she uses the money to buy Christmas gifts.

She figures she lost $450 to $500 worth of the items, which she sells for $10 each even though she sometimes hates to let them go.

She made them between May and September this year, unable to start on them earlier because of a broken arm.

“I even gave a prayer for whoever took them on Sunday,” she said. “I hope they treat them nicely.”

She’s hoping whoever took them will be nice enough to bring them back.

She noted that each towel is marked with “Designed by Patty Williams.”

Fireworks group will meet loudly this weekend

If you hear some loud bangs and see the skies light up Friday and Saturday nights, don’t be alarmed, we are not being invaded by North Korea.

It’s a meeting of members of the Northwest Pyrotechnicians Association. Hosting the gathering is Alan Cain, a member of the organization.

Cain said that the firing of rockets and bombs will likely be from about 7-9 p.m. both nights.

“We may fire off some fireworks during the day also,” Cain stated. Cain is licensed by the state.

The fireworks will be set off from the hill above the highway in the Spring Canyon area.

Cain said the group will clean up any debris on Sunday.

Electric City sets snow removal plan

Electric City has sent out its snow removal notice to residents. Residents are asked to clear the streets of vehicles in the following manner for snow removal: Residents with houses with even numbers are asked not to park on their side of the street on even days, and those with odd numbers not to park on their side of the street on odd numbered days. Vehicles must be removed on designated days by 7 a.m.

New phone scam targets businesses

The state Department of Revenue is warning businesses to be aware of a new telephone scam in which the scammers fraudulently claim to be from Revenue and request over-the-phone payment to renew expired business licenses.

“Revenue will never ask for or take payment for license renewals over the phone,” a press release issued Tuesday states. “The department mails businesses a notice about six weeks before their renewal is due and a delinquent notice a week after the license expires.”

Businesses that receive such fraudulent calls and want to check their license status should visit the My DOR website at https://secure.dor.wa.gov and log in to review their account information.

If a business is unsure about correspondence with the Department of Revenue or has questions related to this scam, they are asked to call 1-800-451-7985.