NEW BRAUNFELS Today, county commissioners will consider whether to approve a contract with a San Antonio company to remove potentially harmful mold at Comal County Jail.

Comal County commissioners on May 3 approved a legal shortcut around state competitive-bidding laws to speed up the process to remove the mold as soon as possible. They selected Fresh Air Certified Mold Remediation of San Antonio to complete the job at an estimated cost of $102,000.

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County to mull mold contract

NEW BRAUNFELS Comal County Jails potentially dangerous mold problem should be resolved by mid-July.

On Thursday, Comal County commissioners voted unanimously, 5-0, to approve a mold removal contract with Fresh Air Certified Mold Remediation of San Antonio. The $102,000 job must be completed by July 20, said county purchasing director Ramona Womack.

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Originally posted here:
Commissioners approved mold removal contract for jail

EVANSVILLE Junie Wright, who lives on in the 1800 block of Young Avenue, said she's gotten used to the smell of the sewage from the septic tanks in her neighborhood.

"I'm in the lowest part of the area, so we smell everybody's," she said at a meeting held Tuesday at the Helfrich Middle School cafeteria to address such issues.

About 90 city residents attended the Evansville Water and Sewer Utility-sponsored meeting about a new plan to give septic-tank users access to sewer lines.

Two neighborhoods were the focus of attention Tuesday: Cave, which is southwest of Diamond and St. Joseph avenues, and Mt. Auburn, which is east of St. Joseph Avenue at Mesker Park Drive.

After planning since 2010, these areas were designated as priorities among the 29 neighborhoods that have failing septic tanks some of which are 70 years old as they may cause an array of health issues.

Although final costs have yet to be determined, adding the 160 affected homes to city sewer lines could cost just over $1 million, director Allen Mounts said. Bonds for the project would be retired mostly through utility user fees, and homes in the target area will have to pay for the conversion.

Wright said she looks forward to a stench-free area, but she said "I don't look forward to paying the tap in."

Homeowners have the choice between utility or customer connection options.

Under the utility option, officials there select a pit location and install a grinder and connection lines to the main line. It covers that cost, the cost for electricity for the grinder, the costs to maintain the grinder, which has a life span of about 15 years.

The user is responsible for a $1,200 tap fee, installing a lateral from the house to the grinder and collapsing the septic tank.

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City looks at extending sewer service for some septic tank users

By Alex Bridges -- abridges@nvdaily.com

Don't feed the bears, warn wildlife experts.

But not all Front Royal residents heed the warning or even know their actions attract bears into town.

"It's endemic of a urban environment in close proximity to a nature reserve such as the Shenandoah National Park," Town Manager Steven M. Burke said Thursday.

State wildlife experts and the town recommends residents remove any food sources from areas easily accessed by bears such as porches and patios. Residents who receive trash pickup from the town can ask the public works department to retrofit the garbage cans, Burke said.

Residents make sporadic bear sightings, but according to Burke the animals appear focused on certain neighborhoods in town that lie close to more rural areas. Bear sightings have been reported in the area of Ressie Jeffries Elementary School and around apartments on East Criser Road.

Burke noted apartment management, working with the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, retrofitted the garbage containers, which appears to have helped keep bears away.

The town also recently helped residents in the Happy Creek area by retrofitting their trash cans as well as educating them about keeping bears away by taking away food sources, Burke said.

"We have had incidents where people arrive home and bears were rummaging through their garbage cans," Burke said. "Some people have kept them in areas that were close to their homes so that has resulting in some interaction between bears and residents and at that point we do encourage our citizens to contact our police department and we'll try and assist them to scare the bear off of the property."

Trapping and removing the bears has little effect on the overall problem, according to Fred Frenzel, of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, who spoke to Town Council about the issue Monday.

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Bears encroaching Front Royal neighborhoods

CEBU, Philippines - Home owners are looking at the outdoors, the gardens and verandas, porches and decks asan extension of the house making ita wonderfulplace to gather,relax,dine and entertain.And manufacturers are eagerly responding.

Ensuring that outdoor seating is every bit as comfortable and stylish as its indoor counterparts, Heritage Muebles Mirabile recently unveiled its novelcompanylogo and presented their newfurniture collection.Guests of honor, Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, style icon Rosebud Sala and Ruby Salutan, consultant of the Cebu furniture industry didthe ceremonial ribbon cutting.

Our entry into outdoor furniture will expand our portfolio of products, said Charles Lim. With the introduction of these stylish collections, Heritage iswell positioned to meet rising consumer demand for comfortable and inviting outdoor living environments.

The exceptionalrich designs andthesupremequality of Heritage furniturehas given elegance to the outdoorfurniture segment in the traditional as well as modern aspect.

As the eveningcame to a close, several unique and innovative accent pieces were raffled off. The lucky winners included Honorary Consul of Spain Jaime Picornell, interior designers Maybelline Teh and CristabelleMuertegui,lovely couple Paolo and Michelle Garciaand columnist Joe Recio. Restaurateurs Loreta dy Tian and Rosita Te went homecontented with theiruniquewall framesmade of inlaid stone and stone cuts in various shades and sizes.

Hard-working and driven couple Charles and Sunshine Lim were all smilesas they received warm felicitations from friends who were more than impressed with their latest furniture collection. (FREEMAN)

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Heritage Muebles Mirabile

With new streets, fresh new homes with porches and a renovated community center, Eastons Neston Heights is open for renters and buyers across the socioeconomic spectrum.

But the full renovation wont be complete without homeowners, Easton Housing Authority Executive Director Gene Pambianchi said at the grand opening today of the Neston Heights model home.

Rising at the former Delaware Terrace public housing development, Neston Heights offers family rentals, a senior living area and, now officially, customizable homes for ownership.

The South Side always had the feeling of being on the wrong side of the tracks, said Mayor Sal Panto Jr., who grew up in that section of the city. "But changing neighborhoods changes society."

The look and feel of Delaware Terrace and the Delaware Terrace Annex, with its rundown barracks-style homes, did little to inspire pride among residents, said Panto and Mark Dambly, president of Neston Heights property manager Pennrose Properties. They were home to a perception and, repeatedly, reality of crime.

Rental properties in Neston Heights have not been crime-free, but Panto said the one little incident of Dashawn Cosme, a 19-year-old who allegedly shot and injured two men March 25, was blown way out of proportion. Cosme is still at large, police said today.

In addition to all-new housing, Neston Heights has new infrastructure, a clean-lined community center to replace the old Boys and Girls Club building, and includes elements such as a Neighborhood Networks Computer Center.

Delaware Terrace was built in 1953. Throughout the 1950s, public and low-income housing designers tended toward Bauhaus-style high-rise buildings free of embellishments, but this created the feeling that public housing was punishment, Dambly said.

The Neston Heights properties follow the tenets of New Urbanism, a way of mixing renters and property owners and low-income and high-income housing to create a sort of ready-made community spirit, Dambly said.

For more than 40 years, the Delaware Terrace property was under a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes system, meaning it represented very little tax value for the city. While the city is attempting to create a tax-incentive zone for home-buyers in the area, "these properties will be fully on the tax rolls, so this is a benefit to the city," said City Administrator Glenn Steckman.

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Neston Heights model home in Easton opens its doors

PANAMA CITY In front of a nearly full auditorium, and despite several protests, Bay County commissioners agreed Tuesday to abandon public rights of way associated with two Hiland Park alleys.

The decision clears the way for Hiland Park Baptist Church to break ground Sunday on a $7.9 million expansion.

About 150 people, most from the church, attended the public hearing. The churchs attorney, Nevin Zimmerman, and pastor, Steven Kyle, said the church has been looking to expand for almost a decade, but the project was put on hold because of the economy. The church has 2,000 members and is building a sanctuary with seating for 1,575 people. The congregation already has contributed $1.5 million to the expansion, according to church officials.

We dont have room for everyone, which is a great, great problem to have, Kyle said. We have followed every code and every requirement to date. We believe weve done everything exactly as required by law.

While both alleyways are surrounded by church property, they have served as an entrance and exit for three area property owners. The church offered a permanent easement to the owners, and commissioners required it as a condition of approving the abandonment. The easement would run through the church parking lot and between two stormwater ponds.

What we have here is a Walmart-sized project being squeezed into a neighborhood of small homes on 50-foot lots with little, and in some cases no, communication with the neighbors. The only difference is Ive never saw Walmart leave a house in their parking lot surrounded by stormwater ponds, neighbor Lee Clements said.

Other property owners said they were worried about the safety of driving through a construction zone and then a parking lot and others were concerned about what would happen if the stormwater ponds failed to contain runoff caused by the paved parking lots.

Those ponds are going to overflow and all the water is coming down on us right there, said Bishop Jordan Williams Jr., of Trinity International Outreach Ministries.

Williams suggested the church buy out adjacent property owners, but executive Pastor Carl Fondren said the church was not interested in buying the properties because they were not necessary to accomplish the churchs plan.

Most of the speakers praised the churchs good works in the area but complained they had not been consulted on the expansion plans that will have a significant impact on their neighborhood and they asked commissioners to postpone deciding on the rights of way until community meetings were held to work out differences.

Continued here:
Church request gets county blessing

By Luzi Ann Javier - 2012-05-16T09:43:02Z

Xstrata Plc (XTA), the worlds fourth- biggest copper producer, risks missing a 2016 target to begin extracting about $60 billion of minerals from its project in the Philippines because of opposition from the Catholic Church.

The central government in January rejected the companys request for an environmental compliance certificate for the $5.9 billion Tampakan copper and gold project, citing a ban by regional lawmakers on open-pit mining. With local polls due next year, South Cotabato legislators are reluctant to amend the law because they risk the ire of the Church, said Arthur Pingoy, the regions governor.

There are petitions and resolutions to amend the local law pending, Pingoy said in an interview. No one dares touch them because they fear a backlash from the Church, with priests campaigning against their re-election next year.

Xstrata is running short of time to bring the copper project in Mindanao on line by its 2016 target, a feat that would help ease global shortages of the metal used in power transmission, plumbing and autos, as well as boost economic growth. Opposition from the Church and other groups on environmental grounds is compounded by threat of attack against mines and workers by armed communist and Islamic rebels.

The issues that this project face are illustrative of intensifying political, social and environmental challenges that miners are facing in growing production, Gayle Berry, a London-based metals analyst at Barclays Plc (BARC), said in a May 8 e- mailed response to questions. There is now a long list of projects that have been delayed or faced big increases in capital costs as a result.

Copper futures traded on the London Metal Exchange have gained 18 percent in the past two years to $7,650 a metric ton, as global production failed to keep up with demand for a third straight year. Worldwide copper stockpiles have fallen to 463,618 metric tons as of May 15, the lowest since Sept. 10, 2009, according to data from exchanges tracked by Bloomberg.

Shares in Xstrata fell for a fifth day, losing 3.5 percent to 964.9 pence at 9:57 a.m. London time, set for the lowest close since Dec. 28. Indophil Resources NL, a partner in the Philippine venture, lost 5.1 percent to 37 Australian cents, the biggest decline since March 1.

We will surely vote against those who favor this project, said Dinualdo Gutierrez, a bishop who leads the Catholic Church in South Cotabato and Saranggani, two of the provinces that need to approve the mine. The local elections are set for May 13.

There are about 400,000 Catholics in South Cotabato alone, Gutierrez said by phone yesterday. That compares with 736,884 registered voters in the province, according to the Commission on Elections. The Church has also gathered 106,000 signatures calling on President Benigno Aquino not to allow Xstrata to start mining in Tampakan, he said.

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Xstrata $60 Billion Philippine Mine May Stumble at Church’s Door

Disgraced Roman Catholic bishop Raymond Lahey has been stripped of clerical duties by the church because of a child pornography conviction.

The Catholic Church announced the decision regarding Raymond Lahey today.

"We have been informed that the Holy See has dismissed Raymond Lahey from the clerical state, one of the most serious penalties that the Church can impose," according to a news release from the office of the bishop, Diocese of Antigonish, N.S.

"This will mean that he will no longer function as a cleric, will no longer have the rights and duties of being a cleric, is not permitted to exercise any ecclesastical offices or functions and is not permitted to preside at any of the sacraments or religious services. However, any sacraments that he performed prior to this decision continue to be valid and effective."

Lahey, a Newfoundlander, was acting as bishop of the Nova Scotia diocese of Antigonish when he was stopped at the Ottawa airport in 2009.

Police found a large quantity of child pornography on the computer he was carrying.

Last January, Lahey was sentenced to 15 months in jail for possessing and importing the images.

The Crown's case against Lahey involved 588 photos and 63 videos, with the Crown pointing out that some involved adolescent boys engaged in sex acts while wearing a Crucifix and rosary beads.

Some of the images shown to the judge depicted scenes of bondage, featuring young men who were bound and on all fours.

At a sentencing hearing in December, Lahey apologized for his actions, describing himself as a man who became addicted to internet-based porn "on an indiscriminate basis."

See the article here:
Catholic Church strips Raymond Lahey of duties

By Sean Dalton sdalton@heritage.com Twitter: @seankdalton

Webster Township'saltruistic activist congregation is making a second push for funds for its community outreach ministry in time for Memorial Day this year.

The church, at 5484 Webster Church Road, is offering provisions, including barbecued chicken, baked beans, cole slaw, potato salad and corn with dessert choice of cookies or cake, to those who want to eat on site or take their food on the go into the village for the Memorial Day parade, to another park area or a backyard.

The May 28 barbecue will cost $11 per adult and $6 for children 12 and under. The event will take place in the fellowship hall of the church near the FarrellRoad entrance. Weatherpermitting,organizerswill have picnic tables set up outside, picnic style, and inside as well.

"A lot of people like me usually end up working in the yard all day and the last thing you're thinking about is making food," saidWebster Church of Christorganizer Judy Bemis. "We expect that a lot of people who have the day off and will be at the Dexter parade would rather have someone else do the cooking."

The congregation has held a barbecue with takeout option in the past and has brought the tradition back from five years ago to build on the $2,000 raised earlier this year with a live concert fundraiser held earlier this year to fund the efforts of the various ministries within the church.

Bemis said her congregation is attempting to aid Camp Take Notice, as well as fund upkeep of camp grounds that the church board have considered selling to the Department of Natural Resources at one point, but church members decided that the camp ground had too many good memories and potential for more in the future to let go for any sum of money.

"We have a lot of people who say they have good memories and there were many good events from their childhood there," Bemis said.

Webster Church of Christ also sponsors Habitat for Humanity houses, raises fresh vegetables for Food Gatherers and is looking for a replacement for the Ghana ministry that is winding down in the final time of the 10-year period of commitment that the church initially committed to. That ministry has resulted in the construction of a dozen water wells, aiding villages and refugee camps, and providing school and scholarship money to better the lives of several African children.

"Our community outreach efforts have been very successful," Bemis said. "We have had many peoplefrom the community who weren't members or regular church goers or friends of Webster, but they showed up because they wanted to support the camp."

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WEBSTER TOWNSHIP: Webster United Church of Christ to hold barbecue fundraiser after Memorial Day parade