HEAVY rain also brought mayhem to some residents in Tanjung Bungah, Penang, as three cars were crushed by a minor landslide.

In the 9am incident, a retaining wall in a residents garden collapsed after an overnight downpour, leaving the cars under tonnes of debris.

Businesswoman Cheng Wui Yiun, 30, said she had been parking her car at the same spot behind the house for the past 10 years.

Im shocked to see my only car in this condition. Nothing like this had happened before, said Cheng, who is renting a room in the house.

The houseowner, who declined to be named, said she was in her sitting room when the incident occurred.

Suddenly, I heard a loud noise behind my house and upon checking, I was shocked to find my backyard wall had collapsed, she said.

She added that she had been living in the house for the past 30 years and no such incident had happened before.

Tanjung Bungah assemblyman Teh Yee Cheu arrived at the scene shortly after the incident yesterday.

He said both the car owners and house owners should make individual reports to the Penang Municipal Council.

State Health, Welfare, Caring Society and Environment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh said the incident was disturbing and requested the council to conduct a thorough investigation.

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Downpour causes retaining wall to collapse in Tanjung Bungah

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. Yes, it was for charity.

But dont tell Jarvis Jones or Scott Bailey or anyone else associated with the West team that Friday nights Sertoma Grin Iron Classic wasnt important.

Jones, a recent Webb City graduate, had an 83-yard touchdown pass and Bailey, who coached Lamar to a state title last fall, guided the West to a 34-14 win over the East at JFK Stadium, keeping the Easts meager Grin Iron win total at one.

As soon as we got here, (Bailey) was like This isnt just for fun, we want to win the ball game, Jones said. He didnt want that only other loss on his watch. And we didnt want to be the ones who gave up that one other loss.

Jones long touchdown pass, from Nixa quarterback Sam Rehegan, came in the middle of a furious 17-0 streak by the West that broke a scoreless tie and was interrupted only by halftime.

Cassvilles Garrett Barnes kicked a 28-yard field goal with 1:11 left in the second quarter for the games first points. An East three-and-out and long punt return set up Rehegans 17-yard touchdown pass to Stocktons Dalton Freeze with just 25 seconds left before halftime.

Less than a minute into the second half, Rehegan the Wests offensive MVP found Jones behind the defense for an 83-yard score.

It was called Rolling Thunder. You run it once and if the corner gets tired, you run it again, Jones said. I guess we wore him out on the first one so we ran it again and I got past him pretty easy.

The East pulled to within 17-14, but Rehegan and Freeze hooked up for two more touchdowns and Barnes kicked a 36-yard field goal for the final margin.

Joplin receiver Dayton Whitehead didnt get in the end zone but had a handful of catches for the West and said he could feel the offense starting to come together more as the game progressed.

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West decks East in Grin Iron Classic

Carolina Wrens (Thryothorus ludovicianus) seem attracted to human dwellings. Your yard and porches provide wren edibles, including spiders, beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, ants, small bees, wasps, millipedes, sowbugs, moths and snails.

One quirky habit that amuses and surprises is Carolina Wrens pick some unlikely places to build their nests: an old bucket turned on its side, a hanging planter or a bicycle helmet left out on a porch, an old shoe forgotten in a shed, a mailbox. One season, my resident pair announced they were ready to settle down and begin their first nest of the spring.

Research has shown that Carolina wrens often pair for life. This male announced the nesting cycle by singing his wichity-wichity-wichity song to let the female know he had nest sites to show. I watched as he began exploring a corner of my porch. First, he brought three leaves and placed them on a shelf, then called until the female appeared from neighboring shrubs.

After hopping about and trying out the nest site, the female declared her rejection by simply leaving. The patient male showed his mate two more offerings. She rejected both. Suddenly, the male perched on a loosely woven grapevine basket I had hung high on the porch wall. The female again appeared and explored the basket inside and out. Then they both disappeared and returned several minutes later to began tucking materials into the basket. For three years I cleaned out the old nest and each year they returned to the same basket, rebuilt the nest and raised their young where I could pull up a chair and watch.

Dont panic if you find a wren nest with one or two eggs in it and no wrens tending the nest. The female comes to the nest once a day to lay one egg and wont begin incubating until shes laid four to five eggs. When she begins incubating, expect eggs to hatch in 12 to 14 days. Once chicks hatch, both parents collect insects for the developing chicks until they fledge, usually in 10 to 14 days. The parents then call from nearby shrubs and undergrowth to encourage the chicks to flutter-fly and begin their initiation into wren adulthood. The whole family stays in touch with soft contact calls, so even when you cant see them, you know where they are. Carolina Wrens prefer to hunt insects in leaf litter and low in thickets or your garden.

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Gail Compton: Carolina wrens quirky nesters

For two years, the class of 2012 at Richland High School has wondered: Who is the Ding Dong Ditcher?

A few came close to discovering the identity of the prankster who left boxes of Hostess Ding Dongs on their doorsteps.

One student said she was tipped off by some handwriting on a box. Another student went through his entire list of friends and gradually eliminated possible suspects.

In all, about 100 students, along with some parents and others, including Principal Tim Praino, received boxes of the cream-filled chocolate cakes.

Thursday, though, all was revealed, when Praino handed boxes of Ding Dongs to seniors Jessica Danoff, Bridgette Nickeson and Heather Eadie during graduation rehearsal at the Toyota Center in Kennewick.

The three friends said they don't remember what initially got them started playing the joke on friends, but they worked long and hard to cover their tracks.

"We knew no one would suspect us," said Nickeson, 18. "We wanted it to be as perfect as possible."

The premise was simple put a box of Ding Dongs on someone's front step, ring the doorbell and run away before anyone sees you.

The Hostess website says such games have different names in various countries and have been played since the 19th century.

Danoff, 18, said the joke started with her and her mother, Shelley Damrell Horton, and was based on a similar prank that an aunt and uncle played on their friends.

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Sweet ending to saga of Ding Dong Ditchers

31-05-2012 21:03 The oldest catholic church in NC is building a new house of worship at its location on Village Drive. This video is a compilation of work being done. More to follow as construction progresses.

Excerpt from:
The New Saint Patrick Church Fayetteville NC Construction Chronicles - Video

01-06-2012 06:57 A special thank you to all of the churches of the North Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church

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Construction - Video

Published: Saturday, June 2, 2012, 12:01 a.m.

For months, church leaders have been raising money to replace the hefty antique brass bell that used to toll for services. The bell was stolen in November and busted up for a quick profit as scrap metal. Police were able to recover some of the pieces but not all.

Nevermind all that now. The church is nearing its fundraising goal for a new bell and tower -- with a little help from a neighboring parish.

On Wednesday night, the Angelus Handbell Choir from Holy Family Catholic Church in Kirkland played a fundraiser concert at the Monroe church.

Roughly 60 people attended, including Monroe parishioners, handbell fans and neighbors of all faiths, the Rev. Phillip Bloom said.

The concert reminded Monroe church members of the generosity and solidarity they have found in others since the theft, Bloom said.

He credited the Kirkland handbell choir director, Pam Gunderson, for putting it all together.

"I was blown away by what she accomplished with the handbell choir," Bloom said. "This was the first time I'd ever actually attended a concert like that. I did not realize the range and the versatility they had, and the types of sounds they could make with those bells."

The choir also performed a few numbers with two teenage Monroe musicians: violinist Marianne Martinoli and pianist Arielle Howard.

That "really raised the whole musical layer way, way up," Gunderson said. "That was really a nice serendipity that happened."

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Monroe church finds help in replacing stolen bell

IBADAN, NIGERIA : Five workers were killed on Thursday morning when a church under construction collapsed in southwestern Nigeria, local media reported on Friday. Two other workers were seriously injured.

The accident happened at a building which is part of the New Covenant Church in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State in southwestern Nigeria. The Nigerian Tribune newspaper reported that the victims were waiting to collect their daily wages when the building collapsed, killing five of them and injuring two others.

Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi, who visited the scene, blamed the accident on the contractor who allegedly used inferior materials to save money. "If the contractor had not compromised quality, this incident would not have happened," he told the newspaper, adding that his repeated warnings to ensure quality were ignored.

During the Easter weekend in April, 22 people were killed and 30 others were injured when a Catholic church in rural Nigeria collapsed ahead of an evening mass to celebrate the death and resurrection of Christ. Panic broke out when strong winds and heavy rains hit the area, prompting people to flee inside the hall of the church to seek shelter. A strong wind gust caused the roof of the building to collapse shortly after. (BNO News)

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Church under construction collapses in Nigeria, killing 5

Students honoured with interior design awards

Staff Reporter / 2 June 2012

The competition was organised by Danube in partnership with the Association of Professional Interior Designers (APID).

Al Qattami highlighted the importance of interior design in the industry, encouraging students to strive for excellence in their approach. The event also marked the presence of Zarine Khan, Bollywoods favourite interior decorator.

The Danube-APID Student Interior Design Competition was developed as an adjunct to typical course work, in which students could utilise skills learned through their current academic development in the design of an interior environment with far-reaching appeal. The registration process started in March 2012 inviting post-secondary students from the GCC to apply for the competition.

The inaugural competition awarded 12 winners with total prize money of Dh85,000. The winners were chosen from over 280 entries submitted in the two categories, the Reception Lounge Category and the Display Vitrine Category. The grand winning entry, Group Ad.Infinitum, was rewarded with a cash prize of Dh20,000 and the winners in the CEOs category, Group AGU, were awarded with a prize of Dh5,000. The competition recognised five winners in each category with special merit awards. The designs were evaluated on aspects such as functionality, presentation, innovation and usability.

Interior design in the Middle East is developing at a rapid pace. Launching the competition was part of a move to help boost the regions interior design industry and also to discover the talent of emerging interior designers. The success has given us the assurance to lay the groundwork for a more exciting and activity-filled second edition of the competition,said Rizwan Sajan, founder and chairman of Danube Group.

Farida Kamber Al Awadhi, president of the APID, said, The overall quality of the submissions was of a high standard. The entrants demonstrated a holistic approach to sustainable design that communicates a forward-thinking approach. Each submission featured a unique solution to the ever-evolving concept of interior designing. news@khaleejtimes.com

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Students honoured with interior design awards

The wife of Jack Kelley, a Tulsa architect and entrepreneur who later made headlines as a globe-trotting undersea explorer, Jean Kelley had an adventurous streak of her own, family members say, and regularly joined him on his expeditions.

Scuba-diving together as they visited the sites of ancient shipwrecks, she was by his side as he became a recognized authority in the field and led wreck recovery efforts.

"There was nothing my grandmother wouldn't try," the couple's granddaughter Whitney White said. "Once, during one expedition, they lived in little huts on the side of a rocky cliff for a few weeks.

"She and my grandfather had a wonderful 61-year marriage. It was definitely an adventure."

Jean Rhodes Kelley died Wednesday in Tulsa. She was 82. A visitation is set for 5-7 p.m. Monday at Ninde Brookside Funeral Home. A service is planned for 11 a.m. Tuesday at Asbury United Methodist Church.

Kelley moved to Tulsa from Texas as a child and graduated in 1948 from Central High School.

It was as a student at the University of Tulsa, where she was the 1951 homecoming queen, that she met her future husband.

The couple eloped before she finished school.

Kelley never returned to complete her degree, but with her gift for interior design, it didn't hold her back. She ran her own business, Designers Inc., for many years in Tulsa.

Dividing her time between that and being a full-time wife and mother, along the way she took up a variety of philanthropic interests.

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Tulsa interior designer and community volunteer Jean Kelley dies at 82