The Slice: They have the power to give you a jolt

Several Slice readers have asked.

Do other residential Avista customers find the number of “Amount enclosed” boxes on the new-format power bill somewhat alarming?

There are now eight boxes to the left of the decimal. Maybe that’s in case, as reader Jeff Dreewes suggested, your monthly payment is $99,999,999.

“I just hope this isn’t a sign of things to come,” wrote another reader.

“Food for thought: Some days, The Spokesman-Review isn’t all that hefty. Subscriber Lawrence Killingsworth reasons that this lightness must make the paper hard for delivery people to toss. “For the carrier, it must be like trying to throw a Wiffle ball into a stiff headwind.”

He’s got a point.

“Not to worry, though. I don’t come to you with problems without providing innovative solutions,” he wrote. “I propose that you include one of those individual cereal boxes in the bag with the paper, to give it enough weight to carry. A classic win-win solution! Spokesman readers will get their morning news – right up on the porch – and breakfast, all in one.

“You could even customize the service by giving readers their choice of cereal. (I’ll take Honey Nut Cheerios, thank you.) Think how your subscriptions would soar.”

“One vote in favor of putting butts in the seats: Johnny Erp, who said he has been watching the KXLY news for years, has noticed Channel 4’s latest approach to presenting a newscast.

“It appears that they feel the news should be read while standing,” wrote Erp.

He doesn’t care for it. He wants them to sit back down.

Agree or disagree?

“Coping with winter: “One of the problems we have faced here in Cheney is where our dog can go to the bathroom,” wrote Judy McKeehan.

High walls of snow have severely limited access to parts of the yard the pooch normally uses for that purpose.

“And we think WE have it bad.”

“Snip, snip here … snip, snip there: The Montessori School of Pullman is holding a fundraising auction.

Here is a passage from a press release describing the event. See if you notice anything unusual.

“Auction items include a Washington State University basketball signed by the men’s coach Tony Bennett and the players; a vasectomy donated by Dr. Nathan Ullrich; a rafting trip from Salmon River Experience; a night at the Hazelton House Bed and Breakfast in Pullman; tickets to Silverwood Theme Park; skiing tickets to Bluewood and around 200 additional bargains.”

Yes, a vasectomy.

Wonder if Dr. Ullrich will use the Montessori method.

“Today’s Slice question: In your particular case, what’s the first sign of cabin fever?