A longtime South Buffalo countertop manufacturer has decided not to reopen after a devastating fire in January.

Blume's Solid Surface Products offices, fabrication space and equipment along Freeport Road were destroyed.

The owners, Gus and Dottie Blume and their children Michelle Goetzinger and Gus Blume Jr., at first vowed to rebuild but ultimately decided to close up shop.

My wife and I are past retirement age, and we looked at the scope of what all it would take to reopen, said Gus Blume of Springdale. And we decided we didn't have the energy for that.

After 27 years in business, it was one of the most difficult decisions they've ever had to make.

It's one thing to open a brand-new shop when you're small, but to reopen at the size we were at, it was too daunting of a task, said Goetzinger, of Vandergrift. We would have to rebuild the building, and it takes six months for some of the equipment to get set up.

The Jan. 13 fire that destroyed the business was sparked by an electrical problem in the engine or dashboard of a box truck parked at the loading dock.

High winds that night whipped the flames to the building, which went up quickly.

Blume's announced its decision not to reopen on its Facebook page.

With great sadness and heavy hearts Blume's is announcing that we do not intend to reopen, the posting said. We want to thank all of our employees, customers and vendors.

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South Buffalo family business decides not to rebuild after fire

Additions to Skyplex, an entertainment complex under development on International Drive, will include a 10,000-square-foot Perkins restaurant and alter the path of Skyscraper, bringing the world's tallest roller coaster looping near the corner of I-Drive and Sand Lake Road.

The plan probably will demolish the current Perkins on that corner by the end of the year, said Joshua Wallack, managing principal of Skyplex. The new restaurant, which would be the largest Perkins in the world, would open with Skyplex in 2017, he said.

The new restaurant will anchor a new open-air promenade called SkyPlaza, developers will announce Wednesday. A pedestrian bridge will connect Skyplex and SkyPlaza, which will house additional retailers.

"We are delighted to be part of this exhilarating and premier development project," said Jeff Warne, CEO of Perkins. "We look forward to sharing details with the community and our guests as plans unfold."

The current location is the top-grossing Perkins in the country, Wallack said. The company is enthused about the project, he said.

"They are believers," Wallack said. "They love it."

The addition reorients parts of the project. From the pedestrian standpoint, Wallack said, the front will move to the southwest corner of the 14-acre site, Wallack said.

Wallack Holdings, developer of the $300 million project, also released a video simulation of Skyscraper and its new path. The coaster will top out above the 500-foot mark.

The simulation shows the ride beginning inside the complex. Eight-passenger vehicles curl steadily upward around the observation tower. The descent starts just below the observation deck.

Plans for Skyplex, which was announced last year, now include a 2,400-car parking garage. The observation deck 535 feet above the ground will be accessed through glass elevators. The path includes sharp curves, corkscrew movements, deep drops, hills and loops before returning to ground level inside the complex. The changes do not affect the previous track design around the tower, just the lower route about three stories above street level.

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Giant Perkins added to Skyplex lineup

Published: Tuesday, March 3, 2015 at 10:09 p.m. Last Modified: Tuesday, March 3, 2015 at 10:09 p.m.

The School District wants to add 348 new employees in 2015-16, a 5.9 percent increase in manpower compared to this year.

Superintendent of Schools George Tomyn and his administrative team unveiled the new staffing plan to the School Board on Tuesday.

The staffing plan is a wish list that will need School Board approval and adequate funding from the state to come to fruition.

The additions will be paid mostly from new 1 mill property tax dollars $15 million annually that will become available for the 2015-16 school year and continue to 2018-19.

The referendum, approved by voters in November, mandates the money be used to restore music and art programs, as well as add back physical education teachers and librarians to all elementary schools. The money also can be used to meet state class size mandates and bolster vocational programs.

In recent years the district has cut hundreds of positions. Tomyn said it's time to start adding some back to meet student needs.

The district wants to add 196 more teachers to meet the mandates set out in the referendum; 135 more non-instructional staffers, mostly paraprofessionals; and 17 administrative staffers.

A work session on Tuesday focused on the administration and district-level support staff. On Thursday, the district will unveil in more detail the school-level staffing plan.

The board was given a choice to continue the work session into Tuesday afternoon in order to get an overview of the school-level plan. All but one board member said they wanted to continue the work session until Thursday.

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Superintendent's 2015-16 plan includes 348 new employees

Allure vinyl plank wood flooring installation

By: DFW Complete Home Services

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Allure vinyl plank wood flooring installation - Video

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Nothing adds a distinctive air (and increased resale value) to your home like natural wood flooring. But hardwoods beauty is just one of its many virtues. In case of damage to your wood floor, just repair or partially replace the affected area -- there's rarely aneed to pull up the whole floor. This will save you money and keep your flooring looking great for many years to come. Here we troubleshoot 7 common forms of damage to hardwood floors, and discuss how to fix them.

Scratches and Scuffs. Often scratches and scuffs on a hardwood floor do not go any deeper than the finish coating, making them easy to touch up. For shallow damage, clean the surface, followed by a gentle buffing with steel wool in the direction of the grain, and then apply sealant and finish. Deeper scratches will require sanding the wood itself before resealing and refinishing. Always buff or sand in the direction of the grain.

Cupping or Crowning. The term cupping means that the floorboards are distorted, with edges higher than their center, while crowning refers to floorboards which have become higher at the center than at the edges. Both are due to excessive damp, which could have been caused by water spills, leakage, or overly high relative humidity. Clear up the source of the moisture first and allow the floor to dry thoroughly. Afterwards, sand the boards flat or replace them as needed.

Buckling. Buckling of your wooden floorboards means that they have pulled away from the subflooring. This may be a reaction to more severe moisture than in the case of cupping or crowning, such as flooding, or to extreme fluctuations of indoor temperature and humidity. Alternatively, the condition can be a result of insufficient drying of the boards before the wood floor installation or inadequate perimeter clearance. It may be possible to correct the buckle by weighting the floor. Address the source of the moisture problem, as well; a dehumidifier could be advisable.

Mold. Black or white blotches or fuzzy patches are signs of mold growth, again caused by overly high levels of moisture in the home. Because mold and its spores are very dangerous to human health, the National Resources Defense Council recommends having a trained professional wearing protective gear sand down the wood floor to physically remove the growth, because cleaning with bleach or other surface treatments is not enough to get rid of the mold spores. The moisture problem must also be remedied.

Squeakiness and Loose Boards. A squeaky wooden floor comes from loose boards rubbing against each other, nails, or adjacent pipes or ductwork. The floorboards may have loosened as the result of contraction due to an overly dry indoor atmosphere in winter; introducing a small amount of humidity might help. Loose boards that present a tripping hazard can be fastened in place, from either above or below, by means of inconspicuous screws.

Black Stains. Black stains on wood flooring are often an indication that a cat or dog had an "accident" in that area, which was not cleaned up promptly. Try sanding, bleaching if necessary, and staining the section to match the rest of the floorboards. However, pet urineis one of the hardest types of damage to repair, and partially replacement of the wood floor may be necessary.

Burns. Small burn marks are usually due to cigarettes. Depending on the seriousness of the scorching, you may be able to remove the marks with a magic eraser, steel wool, sandpaper, or an X-Acto blade. (Sand after using this latter.) Restore the color with a touch-up pen for a small spot, or wood stain for a larger expanse.

Laura Firszt writes for networx.com.

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Troubleshoot wood floor damage

San Jose, California (PRWEB) March 04, 2015

Follow us on LinkedIn The demand for carpets and rugs is largely reliant on housing renovation and new residential construction activity. Carpets find use in residential as well as commercial buildings as floor dcor and performance floor coverings. A key factor driving the adoption of carpets includes its ability to add aesthetic appeal to the interiors of a building and offer thermal and acoustic insulation benefits. Use of carpets is therefore high in countries with extremely cold climatic conditions. Carpets also provide safety, as the texture of the fabric protects children and senior citizens from falls and enhances comfort while walking as compared to bare flooring. Carpets come in a wide range of colors and textures, with most of them tufted or woven using polyester, nylon or other synthetic materials. The rise in energy costs worldwide is driving the emphasis on thermal insulation. Against this backdrop, demand for carpet underlay is growing strongly. Insulation of homes ensures greater resistance to heat flow by slowing the process of flow of heat through the building envelope. The more the heat flow resistance, the lower will be the cooling and heating costs. Good insulation material conserves ambient heat and significantly cuts down on heating energy requirements and is therefore the key to achieving energy efficiency.

Carpets are therefore witnessing strong preference as compared to substitutes such as engineered hardwood, laminate or ceramic tile. The use of wall-to-wall carpets increases the insulation level of the carpet area, resulting in savings in utility costs. Therefore, technology developments in material science that help enhance insulation properties of carpet fibers will benefit the market. With growing consumer preference for soft padded floors, demand for carpets made from soft handed fibers is witnessing strong growth, especially in the residential sector. Carpet tiles are also witnessing strong demand worldwide, given their ease and speed in installation, higher economic value due to reduced costs as a result of lower wastage during installation, and availability of better design options. Synthetic carpets, particularly those made from fibers derived from polyester, polypropylene and nylon dominate the global carpets market. Although currently taking a major share of the market, nylon is expected to continue to lose sheen due to the growing demand for low cost polyester options. A promising development currently underway in the market is nanotechnology based molecular carpet weaving. Also expected to witness strong demand are eco-friendly carpets made from natural, biodegradable renewable fibers like sisal.

As stated by the new market research report on Carpets and Rugs, Tufted Carpets represents the largest product market. The United States and Europe constitute the leading markets worldwide, supported by their cold climatic conditions. Future growth in the market is forecast to come from developing markets. Asia-Pacific ranks as the fastest growing market worldwide with a CAGR of 4.5% over the analysis period, led by factors such as, rapid urbanization, expanding base of middle class population & a parallel rise in demand for well provisioned houses, lifestyle upgrades & increased spending on home furnishings and interiors, and robust demand for decorative rugs.

Major players covered include Atlas Carpet Mills, Axminster Carpets Limited, Balta Group, Beaulieu of America, Beaulieu Canada, Brintons Carpets Limited, Cormar Carpets, Desso Group, Dream Weaver Carpet, Heckmondwike FB, Hokanson Carpets, ICE International, Interface, Inc., J+J Flooring Group, Masland Contract, J&J Flooring, Mohawk Industries, Nobel Carpets, Oriental Weavers Group, Scott Group Custom Carpets, Inc., Shaw Industries Group Inc., Tandus Flooring, Tarkett, Thomas Witter Carpets, Victoria Carpets Pty. Ltd., and Whitestone Weavers Ltd., among others.

The research report titled Carpets and Rugs: A Global Strategic Business Report announced by Global Industry Analysts Inc., provides a comprehensive review of market trends, drivers, mergers, acquisitions and other strategic industry activities. The report provides market estimates and projections for Carpets and Rugs in dollars for all major geographic markets including the US, Canada, Japan, Europe (France, Germany, Italy, UK, Spain, Russia and Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (China, India and Rest of Asia-Pacific), Middle East and Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, and Rest of Latin America). Key product segments analyzed in the report include Woven, Tufted and Other Carpets (Needlefelt Carpets, Knitted Carpets, Needlepunch Carpets, Knotted Pile Carpets, Hooked Rugs, and Braided Rugs).

For more details about this comprehensive market research report, please click here

About Global Industry Analysts, Inc. Global Industry Analysts, Inc., (GIA) is a leading publisher of off-the-shelf market research. Founded in 1987, the company currently employs over 800 people worldwide. Annually, GIA publishes 1500+ full-scale research reports and analyzes 40,000+ market and technology trends while monitoring more than 126,000 Companies worldwide. Serving over 9500 clients in 27 countries, GIA is recognized today, as one of the world's largest and reputed market research firms.

Global Industry Analysts, Inc. Telephone: 408-528-9966 Fax: 408-528-9977 Email: press(at)StrategyR(dot)com Web Site: http://www.StrategyR.com/

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The Mower County Extension office will move into a new home later this year.

The county board unanimously approved a plan Tuesday for the extension office, which is most known for coordinating 4-H, to move into the vacant former environmental services building near the public works office on Eighth Avenue Northeast.

They have looked at it and theyre very enthusiastic about the possibilities, Commissioner Polly Glynn said.

Other county offices in the Mower County Government Center are in the process of being moved within the building. The coordinators office moved from the east side of the building to a spot on the south side of the building, and veteran services is set to move into the old coordinators office.

Extension had originally been set to move from the Government Center basement to the current veteran services office, which is on the far north side of the building. However, the spot doesnt have adequate space for extensions needs.

The countys building committee discussed building or remodeling office space at the Mower County Fairgrounds, since much of extensions work is done at the fairgrounds, especially during fair season. However, costs could have topped $200,000.

Instead, the board settled on the former environmental services office, which was left vacant when the department merged with public works a few years ago.

The space is currently being used for storage, and the county plans a small remodel to convert a lab into a conference room, upgrade the bathrooms, install a safety door, paint and possibly to install new carpet. Commissioners estimated the efforts could cost $30,000 to $40,000, if not less, depending on bids.

The board would like to get the office ready and moved before the fair this August, but board members didnt want to rush the move.

Excerpt from:
County extension office moving; Vacated environmental services office to become new home

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) March 04, 2015

Representatives with Alcon Lighting announced today that the company has added new LED high and low Bay lighting for office lighting applications.

Alcon Lighting's Indoor High and Low Bay Lighting luminaries are designed for applications with ceilings of 20 feet or higher, said Steve Hakimi, Director of Sales for Alcon Lighting. Alcon Lighting's LED High Bay lighting fixtures provide specific light patterns for many applications, including maintenance lighting, warehouse lighting, recreation center lighting, hangar lighting, storage lighting and office lighting.

Alcon Lighting, an e-commerce LED lighting distributor geared toward trade processionals like lighting designers, architects, electricians, interior designers and contractors, specializes in high-end energy efficient architectural LED lighting products.

Alcon Lighting's fixtures, according to Hakimi, provide industrial and commercial lighting to help improve safety and energy efficiency while enhancing productivity.

The new Office Lighting fixtures can be viewed at: http://www.alconlighting.com/alc-d910.html and http://www.alconlighting.com/alc-round-led.html.

So what's the difference between high and low bay lighting?

When choosing between a low bay light and a high bay light, the most important factor to consider is the height of the ceiling where the light will be mounted, Hakimi stressed, before adding, Typically, a low bay light is used where the ceiling height is between 15 and 25 feet. High bay lights are used with ceiling heights of 20 to 40 feet. The illumination of light will differ between high bays and low bays and it is always important to choose the right one.

For more information, please visit: http://www.alconlighting.com/blog/

About Alcon Lighting

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Alcon Lighting Introduces LED High and Low Bay Lighting for Office Lighting Applications

[BOSS TONE CENTRAL] ME-80 played by Tom Searle of Architects
http://bosstonecentral.com/ 8 diverse patches from the creative mind of Tom Searle of Architects. This live set contains patches suitable for the choppy and ...

By: BOSSchannel

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[BOSS TONE CENTRAL] ME-80 played by Tom Searle of Architects - Video

Architects - Naysayer (Live Zurich Komplex HQ)
23.2.2015 Zrich Komplex Switzerland.

By: zora161

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Architects - Naysayer (Live Zurich Komplex HQ) - Video