Deer Park, Washington, United States

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Deer Park

Gazette

Local Writers, Local Photographers, Locally Owned

Category: Sponsored

PLEASE DON’T

Here are some things people do around cars that they shouldn’t:   I recently saw a young man under a car that was supported only with a bumper jack.  I knew 2 people who died that way. Never get under a car unless it’s properly supported with jack stands.  Also, even jack stands are not safe on soft surfaces like dirt, gravel, or even hot asphalt, unless you put heavy plywood or boards under the stands to distribute the load.  Having a car fall on you is a mistake that you generally don’t get to make twice. Another unsafe thing

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Joe Polowski April 10, 2019

World’s Worst Idea

I know that it’s a tough competition, especially in Washington D.C.  But Congressperson Cortez has set a bar that will be tough to top with her plan to rid the U.S. of petroleum powered cars, and replace aircraft with high speed rail in 10 years.  Bluntly, there is no way this is going to happen. Every combustion engine replaced with an electric motor requires an increase in generating capacity and infrastructure. If, tomorrow, all the the folks that live here in Deer Park bought plug in electric cars, Avista would have to spend 10 or 20 million dollars just in

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Joe Polowski March 22, 2019

Savagethc Moves Location

This is a sponsored article and does not necessarily reflect the positions of the Deer Park Gazette or its staff. North of Deer Park is the home of Stevens County’s first recreational and medicinal marijuana dispensary, Savagethc. Open since August 2014, it has cases filled with the best cultivators and processors that Washington State has to offer. From CBD topicals to top percentages of THC flower, this locally owned and operated business is the ‘gettin spot’. Entering the shop, they strive for customers to feel as if they are friends & family. The vibe is meant to resemble the living

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Press Release March 19, 2019

Cheap Nostalgia

Frequently, someone will tell me how much they would like to have an old collector car.  Then they will say they can’t afford it. They see huge prices for cars on TV auctions and don’t realize that there are fun old cars that can be bought quite reasonably.  They won’t be the highly desirable models like a 57 T-Bird or a Hemi Cuda, but they can still be a lot of fun, and some can even be a somewhat useful addition to your household. Here are some that can often be bought in good usable condition for less than $5,000.

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Joe Polowski February 1, 2019

The Bad Picture

I believe I have already talked about insurance companies asking folks to take pictures of the damage to their car and send it in so that they can create a so-called estimate. I thought that was the worst thing that they could come up with! Well, silly me! They proved me wrong. Now, some companies will tell you that they are sending someone out to your house to take the pictures. These folks are not insurance adjusters or even employees of the company; instead they are independent contractors being paid by the job. Kind of like an Uber driver. Real

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Joe Polowski January 21, 2019

Your Advanced Age

I recently had my gallbladder removed. I had a pre-surgery appointment with the surgeon. In reference to part of the surgery, he mentioned my “advanced age.” I’m 68! I found that comment very rude. But, it did get me to thinking about the sad fact that we do age, and as we do our physical abilities deteriorate. This includes our ability to drive. I know that my judgement is still as good as it once was, maybe even better. Experience and maturity tend to help that. On the other hand, I think my reflexes, while still very good, have slowed

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Joe Polowski January 21, 2019

Changing Seasons

By the way it feels outside today, summer is gone.  Fall is here and winter won’t be far behind. It’s best that we be ready for it.  Here are a few things to do to make our cars ready, and make winter driving less unpleasant. Aside from your regular maintenance, you should do these things: Check your wiper blades and make sure your washer fluid is full. It’s a good idea to stock up on washer fluid if you have room to store it.   Make sure your heater is working correctly.  You may not have used it all summer,

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Joe Polowski December 21, 2018

Winter Safety

Most people think that slippery conditions are the main cause of winter accidents.  At our shop we feel an important factor also includes the extended hours of darkness during the winter. More night driving in the winter makes your car’s lighting more critical.   The first thing to do is to make sure your lights are clean and working.  Even if it is too cold to wash your car, you can wipe the lights off with a rag. If you have a burnt out headlight bulbs are cheap, usually $20.00 or less and are generally fairly inexpensive to change. There

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Joe Polowski December 21, 2018

Overconfident

I have read that the most dangerous time for beginning private pilots is when they have around 250 hours flying time. Before that, when they have very little experience, they realize that they don’t know much, and as a result, they are cautious and unlikely to have a problem. But at that certain point they start to think they know more than they actually do, and start taking little risks that they shouldn’t. This overconfidence is, sadly, sometimes fatal. Perhaps the same logic applies to driving in general, and new driving experiences in particular. The first time you drive a

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Caleb Stapp December 11, 2018

Advice

On the back side of my business card is a list of services I provide. Some of these services, such as small welding repairs, are ones that a person might not normally associate with a collision repair business. But today I want to talk about the last service on my list. It reads: Advice (this one is free). Sometimes, folks have a problem and they don’t know where to go or what to do to take care of it. If it’s a vehicle problem and it’s not something I do, I can probably point you towards someone who can. For

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Joe Polowski August 25, 2018