Homemade Carpet Cleaners: World photo/Don Seabrook

World photo/Don Seabrook - The Wenatchee World Online

<div readability="158.281766326"> <div class="inline inline_photo inline-left " readability="8"> <p class="thumbnail"><img class="photo" src="http://wenatcheeworld.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/20110916-172024-pic-6098608_t310.jpg?fea3b5f97b151dfb0b2dafe96b67ccc3bb6495b2" alt="photo"/></p> <p class="byline"> World photo/Don Seabrook </p> <p class="caption">A sign talks about a stolen sign from Sun Basin Carpet Cleaner's and a reward for information. The sign is located at the entrance to Crescent Bar.</p> </div> <p>You CSI buffs can follow the thread of this carpet crime to maybe earn yourself a quick $500.</p> <p>That's the reward Wenatchee businessman Bill Henley is offering for info leading to the arrest of the hooligan (or hooligan horde) who's stealing the roadside signs for his Grant County company, Sun Basin Carpet Cleaning.</p> <p>"It's a mystery," he said about the sign thefts, which began in 2009 and have continued right up till about a month ago. So far, he's lost about $1,000 in signs posted in customers' front yards and along roads.</p> <p>One of the weird things about the thefts, he said, is how determined the rascals are to make the signs disappear. The last sign stolen — 4-by-8-feet, metal backed — had been bolted in place with more than 50 torque-head screws. He even purposely damaged the threads to make removal more difficult.</p> <p>But he looked one day, and the sign was gone. </p> <p>Elsewhere, another sign on two posts had been ripped from its place near the road and dragged into the sagebrush. Henley reset the posts in concrete and re-hung the sign. Again, it was dragged — sign, posts and concrete footings — off into the brush.</p> <p>Now, Henley's posted a sign offering a reward for info to catch the thief or thieves. On it, he suggests the culprit could be a competitor. </p> <p>"I mean, who else would go to this kind of trouble?" he said.</p> <p>Henley's been in the carpet business since 1972, when he opened The Clean Connection in Wenatchee. He sold that business a few years ago and in 2008 opened Sun Basin Carpet Cleaning to serve homeowners in Grant County.</p> <p>People with information on the vandalism should call the Grant County Sheriff's Office at (509) 754-2011.</p> <p>In the hole: While a judge was making a critical ruling on the city's financial future, Wenatchee City Councilwoman Karen Rutherford was not only out of town, but, gulp, out of cell phone range.</p> <p>Rutherford had already arranged a hiking trip into the Grand Canyon with her college sorority sisters long before the court hearing was set for Sept. 8 to determine whether the city could legally back the Town Toyota Center's debt.</p> <p>So she was in the bottom of the canyon the day the judge ruled that the city in fact could not back the debt without exceeding its state-mandated debt limits.</p> <p>Rutherford said finding out the judge's ruling was her "carrot" to hike out.</p> <p>She did not expect to get cell service until she reached the Canyon's south rim sometime late Friday. But when she and her friends were about halfway up, at a place called Indian Gardens, they happened upon a rescue in progress and learned from a park ranger that that exact location was the only place in that part of the canyon where they could get cell service.</p> <p>Rutherford immediately pulled out her cell phone, turned it on and had 10 text messages from her husband and fellow council members. They ranged from several that just said "debt" to some longer ones.</p> <p>"The hardest part of the hike out was still ahead of me — six miles of switchbacks," she said. "It was a great way to think."</p> <p>In their cups: So far, the Worm has failed to expose any bikini baristas who might want to flash their beans to local caffeine lovers. </p> <p>But the Seattle band Quickie, which would love to supply the soundtrack for any lingerie-latte grand opening around here, hasn't been so retiring. </p> <p>You'll remember that about 10 months ago the idea of regulating lingerie espresso stands — sometimes called "brewlesque" in the industry — was bared at an East Wenatchee City Council meeting and immediately put under cover. They may have even used a wet blanket.</p> <p>The Worm, always ready to jump on such revealing stories, reported the issue and stirred up a double-shot of comments from readers and even this newspaper's good-humored editorial writer.</p> <p>That's when Lou Trez, Quickie's leader, zapped us a note to say that Wenatchee Valley residents should make no decision on bikini baristas until they view the pop-punk trio's music video, which is appropriately titled — you guessed it — "Bikini Barista." On YouTube, the video gives the flavor (hazelnut mocha?) of the bikini barista scene, he wrote.</p> <p>It's a catchy tune with racy visuals that has gotten the band tons of play in the alternative-music press and on edgier TV shows. In fact, just lately they've been featured on the ABC-TV show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and will soon provide musical backdrop to the premiere episode of "The Secret Circle," a teen-witch series on the CW network.</p> <p>"We're hoping that delving into witchcraft will help our image," joked Trez, alluding to the bikini barista controversy that follows them everywhere.</p> <p>Well, except to East Wenatchee.</p> <p>This week's Worm was compiled by World reporters Mike Irwin and Michelle McNiel. Got a tip? E-mail newsroom@wenatcheeworld.com.</p>  <div id="interact"> <like href="http://wenatcheeworld.com/news/2011/sep/17/i-gotta-take-this-important-call-roadside-signs/" show_faces="true" width="450" font="lucida grande"/><div id="PDRTJS_809276_msg_ww"> <span id="rcmd">» <strong>Recommend</strong> this story.</span> </div>  <div id="share-more">» <strong>Know more</strong> about this story? <strong class="emph">Tell us.</strong> </div>  </div> </div>

Homemade Carpet Cleaners

World photo/Don Seabrook - The Wenatchee World Online

Pages

Site Map