20130326Feng Shui Family-181
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20130326Feng Shui Family-181 - Video
Griswold softball coach Rick Arremony recalled traveling to Granby last year for a Class M state quarterfinal game, and watching helplessly as a line drive to center field just kept rolling with no fence to stop its momentum.
It didnt cost the Wolverines the game Granby won, 5-1 but, it was frustrating, he said.
Waterford coach Liz Sutman recalls standing inside her dugout at a state semifinal game at West Haven High School. Not being happy with the play on the field, she let her players know about it. Afterward, she realized CPTV, which was broadcasting the game, was attached to her dugout and may have heard every word that was said.
On most high school baseball fields in the state, an outfield fence and two dugouts are common. On most softball fields, the opposite is true.
Its kind of nerve-wracking, Griswold centerfielder Emily Slonski said. If its windy, the ball can just keep going and theres nothing to stop it. If the field is really bouncy, it can also send it shooting past you and it just keeps rolling.
Fences arent cheap, and softball fields generally are not reserved for high school teams.
Arremony, however, has a solution. In many Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference sponsored-sports, there are minimum standards. If a field doesnt meet those standards, a state tournament game cant be played.
Arremony wants to mandate temporary fences for those fields. If the fences arent in place, the home team loses a home game and, sooner or later, the message will be delivered.
Does the Waterford baseball team have that concern? Arremony said. Schools should accommodate the sport and take care of it, if theyre going to have it. They owe that to the sport. Who deserves it more than Liz, with what she has done with that program?
Veterans Field, where Waterford plays, has a fence but is well beyond the recommended National Federation of High Schools distance of 185 to 235 feet. Sutman has looked into a temporary fence, but the field is town-owned, not Board of Education controlled. That means after every game, any banner the Lancers put up must be taken down. The same would be true with a temporary fence, and there is no place to store such an item.
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Lack of fences , dugouts hamper state softball programs
Originally published March 30, 2013 at 8:03 PM | Page modified March 30, 2013 at 10:29 PM
Every hitter at Safeco Field has a sob story (or 10) the blast he was sure was going out until it died in the marine layer.
Well, there's a flip side to that standard tale of woe, of course. For every hitter sulking in the agony of a tater lost, there has been a pitcher reveling in the ecstasy of an ERA preserved.
"If everyone looked back," said right-hander Blake Beavan, "you can think of certain pitches; you're like, 'I don't know if that's going to stay in ... oh, thank you.' That big, deep breath you let out."
Since the Mariners announced Oct. 2 they are moving in the fences for the 2013 season, much of the focus has been on the impact the change will have on hitters, who have exhaled in unison. But the other part of this equation is whether it will backfire by harming Mariners pitchers more than it helps their hitters.
The consensus in the organization is that the tradeoff will be worth it, an opinion strongly held by the Mariners' ace, Felix Hernandez. He gave general manager Jack Zduriencik his blessing for the move last season, and then proved his lack of concern by signing a seven-year contract extension over the offseason.
"I'm not worried at all," Hernandez said. "When we play on the road and play in short ballparks, we've pitched pretty good. I'm not worried about that. We need to keep the ball down and make good pitches."
Pitching coach Carl Willis, in fact, plans to preach to his staff to keep their same priorities.
"I don't think anything changes," he said. "You can't go out and necessarily pitch to the ballpark. We're going to continue to be aggressive early in counts, try to establish pitchers' counts, as opposed to hitters' counts. ... I don't think from our pitchers' standpoint it's going to be that much different."
But there's no doubt Mariners pitchers have thrived from playing half their games in Safeco. In all 13 full seasons since the ballpark opened, Seattle has had a lower earned-run average at home than on the road. The biggest discrepancy of all came in 2012, when Mariners pitchers put up a 2.96 ERA at home (second lowest in the American League) compared to 4.59 on the road (ninth in the AL). The difference of more than a run and a half a game (1.63) surpassed the 1.36 differential in 2000, the first full season of the ballpark.
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Mariners' pitching strategy won't change with fences moved in at Safeco Field
New Reality TV Series Kings of Crash features demolition derby competitions and a look at the lives of Ryan and Katy Sweat, parents of 5 who share a dangerous hobby with their family.
Heber, UT (PRWEB) March 30, 2013
The Utah based husband and wife team balance the priorities of an active family, working full time jobs, and running their 40 acre family ranch with a tremendously exciting and dangerous hobby and passion, demolition derby. Now the nation has tuned in to watch weekly episodes with the objective of smash or be smashed and feature Sweat family clips with their home and kids along with derby night drama.
Katy and Ryan Sweats TV fame started last year when they were approached by a production company that wanted to make a reality series about the demolition derby and its drivers. The Sweats drive in six demolition derby shows during the summer and work all year around their full time jobs and their childrens busy schedules to prepare. They agreed to let a camera a crew follow them through the competitive derby season so more people could enjoy the sport.
Demolition Derby is dangerous but not nearly as dangerous as it may seem. The Derby cars are built with the drivers safety in mind and the Derby rules also focus on safe competition, said Ryan Sweat. The film crew followed us through Derby season to show how and why we do what we do. Demolition Derby is our passion and is also a way of life for my wife and our kids.
Demolition Derby cars are expensive to build. They are stripped of fixtures, lights and glass and numbered. Drivers wearing at least a seat belt and a helmet race in heats that require them to hit another car every two minutes. The last running car that makes contact with another driver wins. As a team, Ryan and Katy Sweat drive for prize money that hardly covers the cost of repairing their demolition cars from event to event as they travel to county fairs and competitions in Utah each summer. Ryan and his wife, Utah natives, have been competing for 22 years.
Ryan Sweat who has had a knack for working on cars since he was a kid is also known for his aggressive driving style which has destroyed most of the cars he has built.
Preparing for the summers derby season is an expensive and takes all year, said Ryan Sweat, well known driver of car #57. We build the cars in our garage over the year and then in one wild crazy race the hard work could be smashed to bits and then we are back to rebuilding and finding parts for the next heat.
Katy says having the cameras following her family around their home and at the derbies took some getting used to but at the end of the season she hardly noticed them. She says between the kids and their school and sports and each of their jobs they just did what they normally did and got accustomed to being followed by a film crew while their family pursued their hobby.
My focus is my family and as a family we love to demolition derby. Thats what we do! said Katy Sweat. People ask me why we do something so dangerous when we have 5 kids, and I say that it really inspires us to see our kids cheering for us. We work together to build the cars and then we cheer each other on to destroy them! Plus hitting cars hard is a great stress relief I am a less grumpy mom after I rage in competition. Demolition derby is a dangerous hobby yet it makes us a stronger family!
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Demolition Derby Drivers and Parents of 5, Ryan and Katy Sweat are Fearless in New Reality TV Series
WESTWOOD, OH (FOX19) -
A four-year battle to save the historic Gamble House is almost over with demolition expected in just a few days.
The house, built in the 1830's, was the home of James Gamble for nearly six decades. Gamble was the inventor of Ivory Soap.
Since 2009, preservationists have been trying to save the Gamble House.
The house stands as a legacy to Gamble' devotion to community and philanthropy. Gamble lived a life of service and donated large sums of money to build Cincinnati's Christ Hospital and Nippert Stadium.
"I hate to see anything of the past, you know, go away because this is something that's irreplaceable," explained Westwood resident Rick Kesterman. "Once it's gone, it's gone and you need to have some of the past to know where you've been."
President of the Westwood Historical Society, Liz Kissel, says demolition of the Gamble House will be a needless loss.
"This is a clearly historic building for our community in particular because part of that building goes back to the 1840's," said Kissel. "[It's] very sad that people had it in their ability to help us save this and they chose not to."
Kissel says that preservationists offered to buy or renovate the Gamble House but were turned down by the Greenacres Foundation which owns the property.
FOX19 attempted to reach out to the Greenacres Foundation to get their side of the story but they have not responded.
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Demolition of historic Westwood house nears
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Kitchen Cabinet Refacing Seattle Can Save You Money 1-800-618-6032 - Video
Douglas County officials are getting ready for a major renovation project later this year, completely removing an old roof and installing a new one on the Judicial and Law Enforcement Center.
The project is expected to cost $625,000, but county commissioners agreed Wednesday not to go out for bids. Instead, the contract will go to Garland Co. of Cleveland, Ohio, a supplier that that has an exclusive arrangement through an organization that offers prenegotiated contracts for a large variety of supplies and services to state and local governments throughout the country.
The organization, U.S. Communities, founded in 1999, allows more than 55,000 local governments and educational institutions to piggyback on contracts that previously would have gone through competitive bids.
In addition to Douglas County, both the Lawrence school district and the city of Lawrence belong to U.S. Communities and have used it for a variety of projects, including contracting with Garland for roofing projectseven though Garland is typically more expensive than other suppliers.
"Typically it's higher (and) it's got a longer warranty," said Kirk Hinnergardt of Diamond-Everly Roofing Contractors, which installed a Garland roof on Kennedy School last year. "Their warranties are pretty user-friendly, but they are higher than everybody else."
Local officials say using the cooperative arrangement for new roofing saves them time and expense, especially on large, complicated projects for which local agencies lack the in-house expertise to manage a competitive bid process.
It's very complex when you get into it, said Jackie Waggoner, purchasing director for Douglas County. We've never taken a roof down to the deck, and that's what we'd be doing in this case. We have all of our core 24-7 operations in that building.
Waggoner said the alternative would have been to hire an outside project manager with expertise in roofing contracts and to have that firm interview several different roofing companies. She estimated that would have added $45,000 to $60,000 to the cost of materials and installation.
But Mike Greenamyre, owner of American Roofing in Leavenworth, said he believes local governments end up paying more because Garland uses what are often called proprietary bid specifications, meaning when it only hires local contractors who are approved to install the company's products, and they only use Garland's name-brand materials, even when equivalents are available from other suppliers.
The result, he said, is that the only thing being competitively bid on a local project is the cost of the labor.
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Local governments seldom bid major roofing projects
Lanham, MD (PRWEB) March 29, 2013
Thompson Creek Window Company, the mid-Atlantics leading home improvement replacement products company, today announced it has been again named to Window & Doors annual list of North Americas largest manufacturers of residential windows, doors and/or skylights. The national list is based purely on sales volume.
According to Window & Door magazine, The industry is poised for growth. Last year, most of Window & Doors 2013 Top 100 Manufacturers enjoyed the beginning stages of a recovery in the new construction and remodeling/replacement markets. Today, they are leaner and still cautious, but ready for more.
We are proud to be continually recognized on a national level for our regional success. From service to product to install to guarantee our priority is and will always be our customers. To be recognized and included in such a prestigious national ranking - based on sales volume only highlights our continued growth. This growth is a result of the business we generate from our satisfied customers and the great feedback they give that creates new customers. Our inclusion in this list is a clear sign that we are meeting and exceeding our goals, said Rick Wuest, president of Thompson Creek Window Company.
For a complete list of all winners, visit The Top 100 Manufacturers of 2013.
About Thompson Creek Window Company The Thompson Creek Window Company is a privately owned and family-operated manufacturer and installer of energy-efficient home improvement replacement products. Founded in 1980, Thompson Creek Window Company began as a manufacturer of energy-efficient, maintenance-free vinyl windows. Since that time, Thompson Creek Window Company has evolved into one of the leading specialty home improvement contracting companies in the nation. The companys product mix includes replacement windows and doors, vinyl siding and a clog-free gutter system. Thompson Creek Window Company is headquartered in Lanham, MD with an 80,000 square-foot manufacturing facility in Landover, MD.
About Window & Door magazine Published eight times a year, Window & Door serves the entire fenestration industry, including manufacturers, distributors, and dealers. Window & Door has an experienced editorial team and offers readers focused news coverage; insightful articles on market and design trends; regular columns on codes, legal issues, and marketing ideas; full coverage of new products; expert articles on operations and technology; and much, much more.
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Thompson Creek Window Company Named to Window & Door’s Top 100 Manufacturers List
The venerable Missoula County Courthouse has been a mess for months now.
Entire rooms are walled off by plastic sheeting, dust coats the floors and the sound of jackhammers fills the air.
Thats about to change.
Although the entire courthouse renovation will take at least three more years, the county will unveil the shiny new first-floor offices in the courthouse annex as of May 1 or thereabouts.
That means people renewing vehicle registrations, conducting land transactions or asking questions about voter registration wont have to traipse past construction zones looking for those offices, or await service in makeshift temporary quarters.
The staff and the public have been very patient, said Missoula County Commissioner Jean Curtiss. So have judges, whose solemn court proceedings often are interrupted by banging and drilling, said Dale Bickell, the countys chief administrative officer.
Our treasurers staff says theyve named 17 different construction noises, Bickell said.
For the next few weeks, people using the courthouse annex can peek through previously sealed-off doorways and watch the new Motor Vehicle Division, Clerk and Recorders Office, Elections Office and Treasurers Office take shape.
Those are among the busiest in the courthouse. Theyll be on the first floor of the annex, to the north of the original courthouse easy in, easy out.
These offices as well as the rest of the courthouse and annex, once renovations are complete will comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, said Paul Filicetti of A&E Architects, the projects architect. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification also is being sought, he said. Among other things, although the renovated courthouse will have more plumbing fixtures than before, it will use less water, he said.
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Missoula County Courthouse to unveil first-floor renovations