Smith Honda, Chevrolet open on Sunnyside Road

Stafford Smith inside the new Smith Honda dealership on Pioneer Drive, off Sunnyside Road.

With a lot of kinks still to be ironed out, Smith Chevrolet and Smith Honda are looking at an Oct. 15 soft opening for their new dealerships off Sunnyside Road.

The Honda operation moved from Holmes Avenue to its new facility in late September while the Chevrolet dealership began selling cars and trucks there on Tuesday. The Chevrolet service department is due to open today.

For Stafford Smith and his staff, this represents the culmination of more than a year's worth of work. A few administrative people are still working at the buildings on Holmes, but for all intents and purposes both dealerships are now on 17 acres south of Sunnyside, each in buildings just shy of 30,000 square feet. Smith said he plans to have a grand opening in spring 2015, but is happy to show the place to guests now.

Smith Chevrolet started in 1917, when David Smith set up his dealership with two cars in the lobby of the Hotel Idaho on C Street (now Constitution Way). The dealership was downtown until 1963, when they moved to North Holmes Avenue, which was farmland at the time. They added Honda in 1970, starting with the tiny 600 series cars. The new dealership has been certified with Honda's Environmental Leadership Platinum Award, one of a handful in the United States.

Right now, access to the dealership on Pioneer Drive is closer to the Interstate 15 Exit 116 than Smith or the Idaho Department of Transportation are comfortable with. The address for both dealerships is listed as 3477 S. Pioneer Road, but as it stands now Pioneer Road empties onto Sunnyside just east of Teton Volkswagen and goes nowhere to the south.

Excavation of Bank of Commerce parking lot begins

Excavation work Wednesday at Yellowstone and A Street

Four months after an errant crane broke through the pavement revealing an underground parking structure, repair work has begun at the Bank of Commerce's parking lot at A Street and Yellowstone Avenue.

The incident occurred May 6 when the driver of a 40-ton crane tried to make a wide turn coming out of the alley onto the thoroughfare. Although the existence of the parking structure came as a surprise to many, it's no secret to anyone who has lived here a long time. The bank stands where Dad Clay's Garage used to be. Clay built his garage in 1910 and briefly sold Buicks and Fords before other businessmen acquired exclusive dealership rights.

Bank of Commerce CEO Tom Romrell said the door to the underground parking structure is on the bank's south side. He said that while some city officials claimed after the accident that they might not have been aware of it, it had been inspected as recently as five years ago.

In case you're interested, this week is the 50th anniversary of the Bank of Commerce's downtown branch, which opened in early October 1964. There was an open house that featured a display of federal reserve notes from $1 to $10,000. Who was on the $10,000 bill, you ask? Salmon P. Chase, Abraham Lincoln's treasury secretary.

Large denomination bills were last printed in 1946. Since then, the largest bill you can get at the bank is $100, featuring the picture of my favorite American, Benjamin Franklin.

Since you're dying to know, here's who was on the larger bills, or Gold Certificates, as they were officially called by the Federal Reserve:

$500: William McKinley
$1,000: Grover Cleveland
$5,000: James Madison
$10,000: Salmon P. Chase

The race is on to get foundations poured

The race is on to get foundations poured before the ground freezes, but Mother Nature has not been helping with the 3.5 inches she dumped on eastern Idaho last weekend and another copious storm Tuesday night.

Nevertheless, in between downpours the work is proceeding apace. Freddy's Frozen Custard, on Woodruff Avenue, was having its foundation poured Wednesday while the footings for the Noodles & Co. on Hitt Road, were also being prepared. Preparation for the Home2 Suites at Snake River Landing were also coming along.

A few of you have asked about the backhoes and dirt in between WinCo Foods and Family Dollar on Woodruff. According to Brian Tomsett, our answer man at the Idaho Falls Building Department, it is the result of excavation work in the WinCo parking lot. Fairly extensive soil settling problems forced WinCo to excavate the dirt -- hence the big pile -- and dump in several truckloads of 3/4-inch gravel, 16 inches deep.

stay tuned as we bring you up to date on the west side Walgreen's, Smith Honda and Chevrolet and the new Melaleuca world headquarters, all of which are entering the homestretch.

Idaho Falls Regional Airport posts survey

Do you want to win two airline tickets? The Idaho Falls Regional Airport is seeking input from passengers. Please share your opinions about the airport, its customer service and the amenities it provides. Participants who complete the short online survey (link below) will be entered in a drawing to win two airline tickets. The survey is open until Friday, Oct. 10.

http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e9u9scxgi02xodwp/start

Vino Rosso starts Art-Wine-Music event

An example of one of Fire Art Design's photos

Now that Alive After 5 is over, if you're looking for a place downtown to socialize and have something wet Vino Rosso, 439 A Street, has started First Wednesday: Art-Wine-Music.

It runs from 5:30 to 8 p.m. This first one will feature photos by Fire Art Design's Tony Deschamps and music by Jessica Marie Nichols.

For a look at some of Fire Art Design photos ("Modern Photography for Commercial Design") visit this link: www.fireartdesign.com.