From the time they met, Mark and Christina Thomas were married within a year. Yet they werent exactly an instant match.

We didnt hit it off right away, because hes bold and Im a little more shy, Christina said. The first question he asked me was, If you were to die today, would you go to heaven? I was like, Yeah, of course. What do you mean? Then I pondered that thought and began considering what it meant. I thought that was a little strange and bold, but it did make me think.

The Carmel couple will celebrate 21 years of marriage Feb. 12, two days before Valentines Day. Mark, raised a Baptist, was 30 when they married, and Christina, raised a Catholic, was 10 years younger.

Former Colts defensive end Mark Davis celebrates a tackle of former Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe during a home game. (Submitted photo)

The two met in a Chicago gym where Christina worked. Mark, a defensive end, had played with the Chicago Bears but was now playing for the Indianapolis Colts and was in the process of a move. He learned Christina was going to school for interior design, and she suggested he look at furniture from her uncles store for his new home in Carmel. She came to Carmel to help him set up his house.

The couple would meet with Colts teammates Hunter Smith, Jeff Saturday, Justin Snow and Adam Meadows on Monday nights for a Bible study born out of the Champions for Christ athletic ministry.

The couple was supposed to get married April 1, 2000 but moved it up to hold a ceremony at a Champions for Christ conference in Orlando.

We were champing at the bit to get married, Mark said.

They would later have a wedding ceremony in the Chicago area, but Mark wanted football and ministry friends to attend. Close friends attended as well.

We had an ulterior motive. We wanted people close to us to get a dose of Jesus and we knew they would never come to a conference, Mark said. Members of (Christinas) family got saved. Her parents got saved. It was a powerful week. It wasnt the most aesthetic wedding. It was borderline cheesy. We were married in a ballroom. But lives were forever changed from the wedding.

When Mark retired from the Colts after the 2001 season, he attended a two-year program with Champions for Christ in Austin, Texas, to become a pastor. He returned to become pastor of a Carmel church in 2003, leaving in 2018. The church, which has undergone several name changes, is now The Well in Carmel.

Because I wore so many hats as pastor, I started counseling people, and then more and more people came as couples and Christina would join us, he said. We work well together. We were five years into marriage and shes only 25 and counseling people that are twice her age. The Lord just gave her wisdom and people benefited from it. We enjoy doing it together, and the way were wired is so different.

Sometimes, it was a one-week counseling session and sometimes it would be 10 weeks. If he was going to perform a marriage ceremony, Mark said he would usually have six to eight pre-marriage counseling sessions.

The couple could speak from their own experiences.

We faced a lot of challenges early in our marriage with job loss and moving across the country. We had four kids in six years, Christina said. Our youngest has special needs.

Christina said they dont officially charge for the counseling service.

Weve just always said whatever you think its worth, but weve never said this is our rate, Mark said. It hasnt been that formal. Its just been they need help, and they are our friends, or they introduce us to their friends.

From left, Katelyn Thomas, Christina Thomas, Deb Hudson and Mark Thomas attend a house church session. (Submitted photo)

Besides counseling couples, Mark Thomas leads a group of friends in a service called house church in the home of he and his wife, Christina, or a cabin on their property. Its typically a group of approximately 20 people. House church is a term given to a group of Christians meeting in private homes.

What we like about it is that it fosters, almost necessitates, community, he said. This is who we are with all the time. Realistically, three to five times a week these people are in our home. We actually do life together. The other thing it really cultivates is participatory gatherings.

Instead of a minister delivering a sermon, everyone participates.

Its discussion-based, instead of just monologue, Mark said. What this does is, my kids are all involved, and they love it. The dialogue process helps people grow and mature.

The couple has four children: Caleb, Katelyn, Naomi and Jude.

The couple conducted services by Zoom for nearly two months when the COVID-19 pandemic forced a lockdown.

All of us in the family then had COVID around the same time at Thanksgiving, Christina said. We think our youngest son got it from going to an arcade.

But they have been able to resume services after a break.

Once every other month, well do it at someone elses house to spread it out, Mark said.

The cabin on the couples 8-acre property was the first house built in Carmel. Constructed in 1828, it was originally owned by the Kinzer family. The main house was built in the 1840s.

The deed is on sheepskin, Christina said of the property, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The couple also keeps busy as Mark has found a way to assist in Christinas home design business.

Instead of just wanting interior design ideas, she was finding clients would want a new master bathroom or kitchen.

We decided to do a design and remodel business, said Mark, who has taken on the role of project manager. I handle the construction, and she handles the design.

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Legacy of love: Former Colt, wife work together to improve marriages, homes Current Publishing - Current in Carmel

The bishop of a Chattanooga church has died one day apart from his wife and longtime fellow church worker, and they will be remembered in a joint funeral service on Monday at 11 a.m.

Prior to that, Bishop James M. Scott, Sr., 87, and Mother Virginia Scott, 83, both will lie in state on Sunday from 1-5 p.m. at the church where they long labored together - Holy Temple Church of God in Christ on Bliss Avenue.

Mother Scott died Sunday and Bishop Scott passed away the next day.

He was born in Pickens County, Mississippi on November 29, 1933 to the union of the Elder Matthew and Melissa Reed Scott. The sixth of 10 children, he was saved at a very young age. At the age of 14, he lost his father and pastor, but shortly after, he was called into the ministry. A born leader, his life was exemplary for others even in his youth, it was stated.

As a young adult, he remained at home with his mother and younger siblings in an effort to assist her with the family farm. This decision did not allow him to go to college, but he was able to train the younger siblings to safely operate the necessary farm equipment. He would work his mothers land and then work his land.

In 1954, he married his beautiful bride, Virginia Washington.They met when she was 15 and were married two years later.

Shortly after marrying, "God led the young couple to Chattanooga in 1956 where they joined Holy Temple Church of God in Christ. This move was clearly ordained by God, and in 1957, he was appointed pastor of the Holy Temple Church by Bishop Audley King. He worked 10 years for Preserving Wood for $40 a week, but was able to take care of his family, the church and even build his first home. He told his children, 'Your money will do whatever you tell it to do.' Eventually he was able to get his GED and become a contractor. Meanwhile, God also blessed this union, and added four childrenthe late Elder James, Jr., Zenobia Norman, Elder Mark Scott and Lotneice Hinton, along with seven grandchildren and four great- grandchildren.

"Bishop Scott has remained committed to God, and served his family, his church and his leaders faithfully. He has held various positions in the jurisdiction including President of the State Sunday School Department, Chairman of the Ordination Board, Member of the Finance Committee and District Superintendent. And in 1996, God elevated him to Bishop of the Tennessee Eastern Second Jurisdiction.

"As a gifted leader, Bishop Scott knows how to reach and serve the youth, the elderly and all of those in between. He was a great teacher for young men, often telling them how to be effective husbands and fathers. He used his gifts to shepherd Gods people and his talent and vision to edify the church. He has been credited with the construction and renovation of countless churches throughout the eastern part of Tennessee where he has left his footprints. He was also responsible for the former and most recent construction of The New Holy Temple Cathedral COGIC at 2311 Bliss Ave. It is a beautiful edifice that also functions as the State Temple.

"A kind-hearted and generous person, his leadership style allowed all people an opportunity to blossom. His commitment to Christ and deep love for Gods people has thus sustained him as pastor of The New Holy Temple Cathedral Church of God in Christ for nearly 64 years. And it is there where he leaves his legacy through the many lives he touched, leaders he groomed and the family he enriched."

Mother Virginia Scott, was born Virginia Washington to the union of Elder Frank and Zenobia Washington in Teoc, Mississippi.She was the second oldest of 10 children. "She was saved at an early and filled with the Holy Spirit at the tender age of 10.Even from her youth, she was a witness for her family, friends and classmates.She often told of being teased for being saved, but later those that teased her would watch her and later accept Christ. Being the eldest daughter, she was often needed to help take care of her younger siblings.She often talked about helping her mom and the nurse midwife with the delivery of her younger siblings."

A short time after she was married, "the Lord led this young couple to Chattanooga, Tennessee.She and Bishop joined Holy Temple Church of God in Christ in 1956 under the leadership of Elder Pinkard. The following year in June of 1957 and at the young age of 19, she became a First Lady after God elevated her husband to the position of Pastor.

"Mother Scott began working in the church in her youth, where she could often be found singing, working with the youth, teaching Sunday School, selling dinners and even playing her drum for the outreach street ministry.She has worn many hats in the local church, district and even state where she held several positions over the years.When her husband was away, she picked up many of the saints for church and carried them home as well, sometimes not getting home until after midnight with four children in tow! A great example in the home, she taught her children the scriptures and often made them sing gospel songs while she hit a tune on the piano.She served her husband with joy, raised her children with purpose and loved on all of Gods children.When asked for advice on how to be an effective Pastors Wife, she would always say, 'Just love all of the people the same.'

"Outside of the home, she worked and took care of Carl and Nancy Fischer.Since the couple had no children, they were very dependent on her and she was the trustworthy and gentle spirit they needed.She remained with them for nearly 19 years until both passed away.

"Over the years, Mother Scott was the sweet and steady fragrance at Holy Temple. She remained faithful to God, her family and the church.She always had a kind word and often reached out to the saints via phone when they needed encouraging.Her signature song was and remains 'Will You Reach Me A Hand of Kindness!' "

The funeral service will be at the church with Elder Mark Scott as the eulogist.Burial will be in Hamilton Memorial Gardens.Arrangements are by Taylor Funeral Home of Chattanooga, Inc.

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Man And Wife Who Long Pastored Chattanooga Church To Lie In State Together, Have Joint Funeral - The Chattanoogan

The Arlington County Board is slated to review plans for two residential towers at 1820 N. Fort Myer Drive that include substantial affordable housing contributions.

The proposal from Arlington-based Snell Properties would replace the Ames Center office building across from the Rosslyn Metro station. A south tower will abut the Hyatt Centric hotel and a north tower will surround the existing Arlington Temple United Methodist Church and Sunoco gas station, dubbed Our Lady of Exxon.

Although the church and gas station will be redeveloped in place, the skywalks which provide an elevated pedestrian connection to the Metro station will be demolished, according to the County.

Along with plans for the Holiday Inn and the RCA building, the proposal from Snell will further change Rosslyns skyline, demolishing the existing building, formerly occupied by the Art Institute of Washington.

The proposed towers, 30 and 31 stories tall, include 740 multifamily units and about 10,146 square feet of retail space. Up to 225 of the residential units may devoted to an interim hotel use, while the apartments are leased.

In a report, staff highlighted the affordable housing units in the building, committed as such for the next 30 years.

The Rosslyn Coordinated Redevelopment District area, where this project is located, is one of the most expensive rental markets in the County, staff said. There are currently no [committed affordable units] within the RCRD.

Twenty-four one- and two-bedroom units will be reserved for households making up to 80% of the Area Median Income.

Typically, such units are reserved for those who make up to 60% AMI, but staff said Rosslyn is so expensive that reserving units for up to 80% AMI will better leverage the community benefits value while providing much-needed affordability directly in this area.

Snell Properties is also committing nearly $2.5 million in cash toward affordable housing. The County said this sum could create about 29 units in future developments that are affordable for households earning up to 60% of the Area Median Income.

The project additionally includes a $5 million cash contribution for the Fort Myer Drive tunnel project, which includes plans to convert the road into a two-way street, remove the tunnel, widen sidewalks and add protected bike lanes.

A cement plaza will separate the two towers and form one segment of a planned pedestrian pathway that County planners call the 18th Street Corridor. This street-level walkway will replace the existing, elevated passages. Mid-block crosswalks will join the plaza to 18th Street N.

Those who participated in community engagement from July and September were universally in support of [the] removal of both skywalks, staff said.

The towers will share four levels of below-grade parking and the south tower will have four levels of above-grade parking 574 parking spaces in total.

The County said there are no outstanding community issues but the mechanical penthouse roof and elevators may block or hurt the view of D.C. from the Central Place Observation Deck.

The south building will be built in phase one, along with an interim open space and other streetscape improvements. The second phase will see more activity: construction of the north tower, the plaza and remaining streetscape improvements, as well as the removal of the skywalks.

The County Board is expected to review the project at its Saturday meeting.

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County Board to Review Rosslyn Residential Development That Preserves Church and Gas Station - ARLnow

As one who frequents the Hixson and Red Bank areas more than other parts of town, I have followed the new construction and new businesses just by being in my car.

And because of an inner pull to document places for historical purposes, I decided amid Saturdays sunny blue skies to take pictures of some of the completed sites. I did that, even though under-construction photos are the more interesting to look at as time goes by!

I did not take pictures of every new business or development, as I think some residential developments are underway off the side roads near South Dayton Boulevard.

The ones I went by were mainly places seen from Hixson Pike and Dayton Boulevard.

I started Saturday morning by going past the Webb Family Orthodontics building at Hixson Pike by Williams Road. It was probably completed about a year ago, and I had been meaning to get a picture of it. It is nice and stands out among some older and lower-quality, metal-siding buildings on that stretch of the street, although there are other good-looking buildings, including even some fast-food structures.

Speaking of fast food, I then went by the Jacks in Red Bank by Ashland Terrace and Dayton Boulevard, which has been open only a few weeks.

It seems to be well received in its few weeks of operating.

I then stopped again at the large lawn/meadow amid suburbia that is uniquely the old Red Bank Middle/High School site a little farther south on Dayton Boulevard. Proposals are being sought for mixed-use development there including park space. Red Bank and other entities will likely get going on some kind of plans soon, even though some people have hoped it would all become park space.

It still has the old New Deal-era constructed wall and steps along Dayton Boulevard.

I next took a picture of the old Shoneys a little farther south and across the street, which is slowly being remodeled into a future Mojo Burrito. Pre-pandemic plans called for opening this restaurant and using the current one near the intersection with Signal Mountain Road as a catering kitchen.

For the record, I love their ground beef burritos!

While I was there, I also took a picture of the convenience store across Dayton Boulevard that has been selling Union 76 or 76 gas for several months. Since I had not seen an orange 76 ball for a number of years, the view of the business has been a nostalgic trip down memory lane.

What next, the old Red Bank Lion and Texaco stations will reappear farther north on Dayton Boulevard, and the convenience store on Ashland Terrace across from the Coulter Chapel of Lane Funeral Home will start selling DX gasoline as an ode to the late John Browns station?

Keeping in mind when the sun was illuminating the front of many of these new places, I then drove over to Northpoint Boulevard and Executive Drive to see the outside of the new Everlan by Dominion independent living community for those 55 and older.

Although it sits at an unspectacular location near Northgate Mall, the numerous medically focused office buildings and some railroad tracks, hats off to the architect and builder. It looks a little like a Western lodge or vintage Wyoming hotel or at least a classic Eastern golf and country club clubhouse. Views of pretty Signal Mountain in the distance can be seen from the slightly elevated location as well.

I then took a picture of the nicely constructed building on the outside of Northgate Mall that now houses Buddys BBQ and Buff City Soap.

After a nice lunch and, yes, a brief nap, I broke away from the seemingly dozens of college basketball games on TV at mid-afternoon to finish my tour. I first went to see the Chicken Salad Chick restaurant that has opened in recent weeks in the old Karls Family Restaurant building.

In my opinion, they did a great job of reusing an old building and giving it an eye-catching, modern and refurbished look. Hopefully business will continue to be good for them.

I then stopped in the Publix shopping center parking lot farther out Hixson Pike and took a picture of Jacks across Hixson Pike in between countless cars zooming by. Both Jacks have a nice architectural look for a fast-food restaurant.

I also realized that you will probably not hear anytime soon many residents of Hixson or Red Bank say that they wish they had a Jacks closer to them.

I concluded my tour by stopping at the Valleybrook Presbyterian Church parking lot and taking pictures again across Hixson Pike at the new Lullwater at Big Ridge apartment complex. And yes, I once again tried to click my shutter in between passing automobiles.

More of a typically modern Chattanooga suburban apartment complex, it is not quite as eye catching as the Everlan complex to me. But it still had an appealing look, with balconies, a good-sized clubhouse and a runoff retention pond that should add a nice aesthetic for residents.

After I headed south on Hixson Pike and back home, I started thinking that it would sure be nice for the old Earth Fare store north of Northgate Mall and the railroad tracks to be converted into a Fresh Market or Trader Joes grocery. After all, does every really popular chain business have to be built only on Gunbarrel Road?

And while you are at it, could we have a Krispy-Kreme doughnut shop a little closer than Brainerd Road?

If that occurred, it would certainly be sweet music to my ears and taste buds!

Jcsheaer2@comcast.net

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John Shearer: Checking Out The New - And News-Making - Places In Hixson And Red Bank - The Chattanoogan

January 22, 2021

LUMBERTON A local faith-based group of ministers has begun to include law enforcement in its mission to promote peace, and offer healing and justice for all people.

Members of the Ministers for Justice group met Tuesday with Lumberton police Chief Mike McNeill to offer resources to officers and to victims of crimes, said Brianna Goodwin, executive director of the Robeson County Church and Community Center, whose vision helped lead to the groups formation. The meeting also was used to discuss negative police perception by some members of the public across the nation and how it translates locally.

Chief McNeill said the police department has worked with local pastors before and welcomes the collaboration.

The meeting went real well, he said. I think its gonna benefit the community with support groups like that praying for the officers and the community here. I think its a good thing. Its a good thing for us.

The police chief said he looks forward to meeting again with members of the group.

I just want to be a part of the healing in our community when it comes to law enforcement and the perception of law enforcement and the way that people interact with them, and you know, that involves recognizing the good things they do and connecting them with resources so that they can do some of that, that other work, that community work, Goodwin said.

The group and RCCCC are willing to partner with officers to give items like clothing or comfort items to children in Child Protective Services situations when a social worker is not available immediately. Goodwin also said pastors will provide guidance, prayer and support to police officers when needed, especially in situations when force is used or trauma is involved.

Part of our mission is to actively pursue justice for all citizens of our county. We decided to start by building relationships with our city and county leaders. We chose to start with our law enforcement officers first since its the one area where injustice can result in deadly consequences. It is our desire to be proactive rather than reactive to potential tragedies, said Rev. Leslie Sessoms, minister of youth at Godwin Heights Baptist Church and group member.

The group advocates for all victims of injustice, including victims of police brutality and police officers on the receiving end of injustice in other situations, Goodwin said.

Rev. Derek McNair, pastor of First Missionary Baptist Church in Red Springs, described the meeting with Chief McNeill as wonderful, informative and inspiring.

It was our hope and goal to create a relationship with Chief McNeill and staff to let them know that they do not stand alone, McNair said.

It was encouraging to hear what he and his officers are doing in the city to build positive connections between his officers and the people they serve. Our hope is that this meeting will be the beginning of a relationship built on mutual respect, one in which we can celebrate the positive contributions made by our law enforcement officers and one in which we can work hand-in-hand to resolve any negative issues that currently exist or should arise, Sessoms said.

I think he has a wonderful philosophy on community policing, Goodwin said of the police chief.

The meeting is the first of many to come with law enforcement agencies across the county, she said. The group will also branch out to meet with and serve organizations like the countys public school system.

One of our goals is to meet with every police chief in Robeson County as well as our sheriff, Burnis Wilkins, Sessoms said.

The Ministers for Justice group began holding meetings at RCCCC in July 2020 to discuss racial issues and promote unity in the county. The pastors who attended were to take a better understanding from discussions with others of different races and spread the message of unity to decrease racial tension in the county, McNair told The Robesonian in October.

I believe we are called to be a voice for the voiceless, Sessoms said. If we remain silent in the face of injustice then we are complicit in it.

The group of ministers continues to meet every fourth Thursday of each month. The December meeting was held via Zoom video conference with 11 ministers in attendance, Goodwin said.

For information on how to get involved, contact Sessoms by email at lhsessoms@nc.rr.com.

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Construction work on Fayetteville Outer Loop to cause detours off I-95 - The Robesonian

Charles Winokoor|The Herald News

FALL RIVER The sight of his cancer-stricken mother-in-law sleeping on a floor in Vietnam motivatedDavid Nguyen to go into the bedding business.

That was three decades ago, and since then the owner of US Bedding in Fall River has positioned himself to be one of the major bedding manufacturers on the East Coast.

Nguyen was born in 1962 in Hanoi, capital city of the former North Vietnam.

Nearly 18 years later, in late 1979, after his mother had bribed local police officials to get him phony Chinese identification documents so that Nguyen could board a small boat bound for Hong Kong with 100 other people he had only one thought in mind: making his way to the United States.

It didnt matter that it was less than five years since the last remaining U.S. troops left what was then known as Saigon in South Vietnam after a decade-long military conflict that led to the deaths of 58,000 American soldiers and as many as an estimated 600,000 North and South Vietnamese civilians.

Nguyen, now 58, says he had just graduated high school and planned to go to college.

His father died when he was two years old leaving his mother, who ran a small market, to support him and his six siblings, all of whom helped her run the business after school.

His college plans were dashed after he got word that he would have to serve in the Vietnamese army either in Cambodia where Vietnamese troops were fighting to oust Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge regime -- or on the northern border where Chinese and Vietnamese troops were clashing in what is known as the last Sino-Vietnamese War.

Nguyen says he didnt hesitate to leave Vietnam, despite the fact that he was leaving behind his mother and siblings.

I didnt like the government, he said. It was too dangerous for me to stay there, and anywhere is better than living in the communist country.

Nguyen says that he and his future wife survived their 43-day sea journey to Hong Kong, which at the time was under British control, from the capital city of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam where he had grown up.

It would only take 45 minutes to fly there, he said. But we couldnt go on the open sea. We had to stay close to shore. And we hit the rocks two times.

After living for more than a year in two refugee camps, the young couple, who were allowed to live together and had plans to marry, qualified to travel to the United States.

Nguyen said they had earlier been offered safe passage to other Western nations such as Britain, Australia and Holland. But he said they waited until it became possible to travel by ship to America.

During his time in Hong Kong, Nguyen says he searched for his older brother who had also planned to escape from Hanoi. But he says his sibling was grabbed by police before he could leave and ended up spending a year in a Vietnamese prison.

Nguyen says his two brothers and four sisters all survived and went on to lead what is be considered normal lives in Vietnam.

He attributes the improvement in the quality of life to the communist government adopting a more lenient attitude in regard to free-market capitalism.

After a total of two weeks of English language classes in the second of two Hong Kong refugee camps, Nguyen and his now-pregnant wife arrived in Boston where they were sponsored by an organization affiliated with a Catholic church.

Nguyen says their first residency was a one-bedroom apartment on Main Street in Charlestown where the couple shared space with six other Vietnamese refugees, all of whom were single men.

He said they all slept on pieces of foam mattress. After two months Nguyen and his wife and another couple moved into a two-bedroom multi-family house in Everett.

It was while living there that his wife gave birth to a daughter, the first of five children.

While his wife stayed at home with the baby, Nguyen found a job cleaning a wholesale marketplace where other workers had spent the day cleaning vegetables.

I spoke no English, but I did a great job, he said. The owner offered me another job, so now I have two jobs, and Im working 16, 17 hours a day, six days a week.

After two years, Nguyen says he began renting a three-family house in a Dorchester neighborhood with a sizable Vietnamese population.

He began learning how to do construction work and repairs and became adept at installing hardwood floors.

Within two years Nguyen had started his own construction company. By then his wife had given birth to her second child.

One day while working a job on Beacon Hill Nguyen says he spotted a full-service laundry business for sale complete with dry cleaning services and clothing alterations.

Not long after buying the business from the elderly female owner who wanted to retire, Nguyen sold his construction firm to a friend and eventually opened five more laundry and dry cleaning locations. He called his new business American Dry Cleaning.

Nguyen says he was able to buy a piece of land in West Roxbury where he built a house for his growing family.

The trajectory of his business life, however, took a detour after he made a return visit to Vietnam in 1989.

Nguyen says it was the first time he had met his mother-in-law, who by then was dying of cancer.

She was a very skinny lady, he said. And she slept on the wooden floor without a mattress like a lot of Vietnamese.

I felt terrible, Nguyen said. I tried to get her a mattress, but I cannot find it anywhere. People dont even know what it is.

He said he finally found a piece of foam in a store.

Nguyen said he paid the equivalent of $150 American dollars for that item, which struck him as absurd: My sister was a doctor, and she made $17 a month. No wonder no one had anything like that, he said.

Returning to Boston, Nguyen says he couldnt stop thinking about that beautiful mattress.

In my spare time I would ask around, Where do they make mattresses in Boston?

One day Nguyen walked into a mattress manufacturing company in Chelsea and asked the general manager for a tour.

I just showed up at the front desk and said, I want to learn how to make the mattresses, because I want to make them in Vietnam, Nguyen said.

The manager declined his request and suggested that Nguyen pick up a copy of Bed Times Magazine.

One of the ads he spotted in the trade magazine was for a Webster company called Jeffco Fibres, Inc. Nguyen said he asked for the founder and owner Alfred Lonstein, who referred him to his son Jeffrey.

Jeff shows me around so I can see fabric panel and quilting. Step by step the whole process, Nguyen said.

During a recent interview in his US Bedding office in Fall River, Nguyen answered a phone call from Jeffrey Lonsteins son Eric, who now works in hisfamily business and sells bedding material to Nguyen.

Returning to his story, Nguyen said, I bought a machine and material and put it in a container and shipped it to Vietnam.

The year was 1994, and he enlisted a brother in Vietnam to help him open what would not only be Nguyens first bedding business, but also what he says was probably the first bedding manufacturing business in the country.

But I got into the market too early, he said.

Three years later, after his wife underwent open heart surgery, and with five kids in high school, Nguyen said he sold his share of the business to his brother in Vietnam.

Nguyen said by the time his brother sold it in 2005 the business had proven to be very successful.

It was amazing to people, he said, adding that there are many others now. If I had hung around I could be a billionaire.

Nguyen said the first mattress made in the Hanoi factory went to his mother, who has since passed away.

She was sleeping on that mattress when she died, he said.

Nguyen, meanwhile, in 2000 sold all six of his dry cleaning stores to his employees in order to open US Bedding.

He began by buying a 25,000-square-foot warehouse in Canton. Five years later Nguyen relocated after purchasing an old mill building on Quarry Street in Fall River.

He recently paid Walmart $5.25 million for the former Sams Club building less than a mile from his Quarry Street site.

Nguyen says the relocation move will allow his business to grow by leaps and bounds and eventually will result in his hiring an additional 100 workers.

He and his wife also plan to move from West Roxbury to Tiverton where Nguyen says he'll build a house on farm land he bought.

Nguyen says despite the recent political turmoil in the country he has no intention of altering the name of his company.

America is the best country in the world, hesaid.

I always tell my friends and kids that if they work hard and are honest they basically can do whatever they want, Nguyensaid.

Originally posted here:
How this Fall River business owner went from Vietnamese refugee to successful entrepreneur - Fall River Herald News

CNA Staff, Jan 24, 2021 / 06:01 am MT (CNA).- A group of Christian leaders who advocate for the Holy Land this week reiterated a call for Israeli and Palestinian authorities to negotiate directly for the sake of peace in the region. They also encouraged Israel to make COVID-19 vaccines accessible to Palestinians.

The Holy Land Coordination group, which was founded by the Catholic BishopsConference of England and Wales, is comprised of bishops from the U.S. and Europe, as well as a bishop of the Church of England. Since 2000, the group has taken an annual trip to the Holy Land, and promotes awareness, action, and prayer for the region.

During the bishops January 2020 trip, they visited Christians in Gaza, East Jerusalem, and Ramallah. The bishops met virtually in January 2021 with Christians in the West Bank, Gaza, and Israel.

Due to the pandemic, this year is the first since the groups founding that the bishops have not been able to meet in the Holy Land.

The Christian community, though small, is an important guarantor of social cohesion and a bearer of hope for a better future. We eagerly await a time when Christians from across the world can once again make pilgrimages to the Holy Land to witness and support this first-hand. Until that point, we encourage our communities to provide any assistance that may be possible and hold all the regions peoples in our prayers, the group wrote in a Jan. 22 communiqu.

The delegation included Bishop David Malloy of Rockford, chairman of the USCCB Committee on International Justice and Peace.

The delegation noted that the absence of pilgrims to the Holy Land in the past year has exacerbated unemployment and poverty.

The bishops concluded that these factors, along with continuing political conflict, culminate to mean, there is today less cause for optimism than at any time in recent history.

Security borders have impaired Palestinians ability to work and travel, including travel to Muslim and Christian holy places, while Jewish settlements in the West Bank are a continuing source of tension.

Israel suspended the annexation of some parts of the West Bank during August 2020 as part of its normalization of relations with the United Arab Emirates, but tensions remain.

The lack of political progress, along with relentless expansion of illegal settlements and the impact of Israels Nation-State law, continues to erode any prospect of a peaceful two-state solution, the bishops wrote.

The nation-state law refers to a 2018 measure which defined Israel as the historic homeland of the Jewish people who have a singular right to national self-determination within it. The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem has criticized the law as discriminatory against Israels Christians.

The bishops also encouraged Israel to make COVID-19 vaccines accessible for Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. Israel has one of the highest per-capita rates of COVID-19 vaccination in the world, but until this week was not allowing vaccines into Gaza or the West Bank.

The Vatican recognized the state of Palestine during May 2015. During May 2020, the Holy See reaffirmed its support of a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, and respect for the borders internationally recognized before 1967.

In a July 2020 statement, released in response to possible Israeli action to annex Palestinian territories, the Holy See reiterated that Israel and the State of Palestine have the right to exist and to live in peace and security, within internationally recognized borders.

Then-US president Donald Trump and Israeli president Benjamin Netanyahu in January 2020 proposed a two-state peace plan for Israel and Palestine, which included an independent Palestinian state with a capital in East Jerusalem.

Trump insisted that Jerusalem would also remain Israels undivided very important undivided capital. The United States moved its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem in 2017.

Under the plan, none of Jerusalems Old City or territory within the current security wall would be ceded to the Palestinian state. The agreement also preserves the status quo policy regarding control of various religious sites, including the site of the Temple Mount and Al Aqsa Mosque, and, under the proposal, Muslims would still have access to the site.

Trump's proposal for peace called for the creation of a Palestinian state, but gave Israel sovereignty over 30% of the West Bank. The Palestinians reject this.

Palestinian leaders, the United Nations, and European and Arab countries oppose unilateral action from Israel and consider Israeli settlements on land captured in 1967 to be illegal, Reuters reports. Israelis who back annexation cite biblical, historical, and political roots in the West Bank territory.

The plan also proposes the construction of a West Bank-Gaza Tunnel to connect the two halves of Palestine, and that a third of the Gaza Strip be designated as a high-tech manufacturing industrial zone.

As part of the plan, Trump also pledged money to the Palestinian state for job creation and poverty reduction. Trump said that if Abbas and the Palestinian Authority choose the path to peace, that the United States and other countries will be there, we will be there to help you in so many different ways.

Newly-inaugurated President Joe Biden is likely to reverse some of Trumps policies in the Middle East, pledging as a candidate to restore humanitarian aid to Palestinians and opposing Israeli settlement activity in the occupied West Bank, NPR reports.

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Bishops reiterate need for direct Israel-Palestine negotiations if there is to be peace - Catholic News Agency

A church at Malappuram district in Kerala has initiated a novel way of raising funds to complete a new building under construction.

Unlike the usual practice of collecting donations from believers, members of the parish are being initiated to various types of farming activities and the revenue earned out of it would be used for completing the construction work.

The St Mary's Orthodox Church at Edakkara, about 50 kilometres from Malappuram town, has initiated the novel method. Financial hardships owing to the back-to-back calamities as well as Covid-19 had prompted the church authorities to come out with the fresh initiative.

The church has initiated organic farming in about two acres of paddy field and plantain farming. Fish farming is being carried out at four places with the support of parish members. Goats, cows and hens are being distributed among the parish members for farming purpose.

Convener of the church construction committee Babu K Paul told DH that though the church did not expect a huge revenue from these farming initiatives, the initiatives would help the new generation members of the parish attracted towards the farming sector. The parish members participated enthusiastically in the farming initiatives of the church.

The new church construction was initiated a couple of years ago with an estimated cost of Rs 1.5 crore. The work began with the funds available with the church. The members of the parish are not generally financially sound enough to make huge contributions. But the church hoped of getting donations from nearby churches as well as well-wishers.

As Covid-19 and calamities stopped the church from going for fund collection drives considering the financial constraints of the people, the farming initiatives were launched, he said.

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Kerala church initiatives farming activities by believers for church construction - Deccan Herald

The COVID-19 pandemic created both opportunities and challenges for builders in Wilkes County in 2020.

Wilkes County Inspections Department records show new single family home construction and other types of building activity increased in 2020.

The department issued 96 permits for construction of new single family residences in 2020, up 14% from 84 in 2019. Eighty such permits were issued in 2018, 109 in 2017 and 78 in 2016 in Wilkes.

The Wilkes Building Inspections Department covers all of the county except North Wilkesboro. Additions and renovations accounted for most of the construction activity in North Wilkesboro in 2020, said Curt Hayes, the towns building inspector.

By far the biggest factor driving this (increase in construction) is low interest rates for borrowing money, said Gary Hayes, president of the Wilkes & Yadkin Home Builders Association.

Next to this I would say, or am told, is the low supply of existing houses on the market for sale in Wilkes, said Hayes, adding that people moving to rural areas also increased construction.

Eric Huffman, a builder and Realtor in Wilkes, agreed about low interest rates being the single biggest factor driving construction and real estate activity in Wilkes in 2020.

There are also a lot of people moving here from out of town and out of state because COVID-19 is so bad in big cities and they want to get away from it, said Huffman. The impact is countywide, he added.

The average U.S. mortgage rate for a 30-year fixed loan dropped to multiple record lows in 2020, including 2.67% in December. Interest rates continued to fall after the U.S. Federal Reserve's cut in its key interest rate to near zero in March to help buttress the economy amid the pandemic.

Interest rates are expected to rise in 2021.

Builders were challenged by shortages of building materials and resulting higher prices in 2020. In many cases, these shortages resulted from supply chain problems. COVID-19 surges worsened a shortage of construction workers.

The combined value of single family construction in Wilkes was $22.3 million in 2020, $18.8 million in 2019, $18.9 million in 2018, $22.6 million in 2017 and $17.6 million in 2016, according to permits issued by the Wilkes Inspections Department.

Square footage of this construction totaled 183,084 in 2020, 164,572 in 2019, 152,231 in 2018, 201,505 in 2017 and 154,363 in 2016.

Among the four largest (dollar-wise) construction projects the Wilkes Inspections Department issued permits for in 2020, three wont generate property taxes because the owners are nonprofit organizations.

The most expensive is a new 18,680-square-foot place of worship under construction on N.C. 115 for Cherry Grove Baptist Church, with a current church building off Vannoy Ridge Road in the Brushy Mountain community. Permit records list the one-story, wood-frame facility with a value of $5.13 million. This includes a sanctuary, kitchen and more. The general contractor is Brushy Mountain Builders Inc.

The 17,883-square-foot Planet Fitness building on Two Rivers Drive (off Curtis Bridge Road) in Wilkesboro was recently completed and is open for business. This structural steel building is listed with a value of $4.97 million.

A building permit also was issued for a 21,000-square-foot aircraft hangar for nonprofit Samaritans Purse at the Wilkes County Airport, listed with a value of $2.51 million. James R. Vannoy Sons Construction Co., the projects general contractor, has started construction. Samaritans Purse recently completed a three-story, 47,000-square-foot office building on its 21-acre N.C. 268 East campus in North Wilkesboro.

Another of the four is the Town of Wilkesboros new ABC store, nearly complete along U.S. 421 near the Browns Road intersection. This 5,207-square-foot, wood-frame building is listed with a value of $1.21 million. Luray Construction Services Inc. is the general contractor.

The Wilkes Inspections Department issued permits for additions, renovations and other improvements valued at $44.95 million in 2020, up 21.8% from permits for similar work worth $36.90 million in 2019.

Permits were issued for placing 89 mobile homes in 2019 and 91 in 2020. They were issued for six modular homes in 2019 and 11 in 2020.

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Low rates, in-migration drive construction increase - Wilkes Journal Patriot

James Malachi (Jimmy) Brown Jr.

NORWAY -- The Rev. James Malachi "Jimmy" Brown Jr., 74, of Norway, passed away on Saturday, Jan. 2, 2021.

Graveside services will be held at 3 p.m., Monday, Jan. 4, 2021, at Beaver Creek Baptist Church with the Rev. Wilton Gleaton officiating. The family will receive friends from 2:30 to 3 p.m. at the graveside prior to the funeral.

Rev. Brown was born in Orangeburg County, a son of the late James M. Brown Sr. and Mateland Baltzegar Brown. Rev. Brown was a retired builder. He loved people and never met a stranger. After retiring from construction work, he pastored Beaver Creek Baptist Church in Neeses for nearly 14 years. He loved the Lord and always desired to work for Him. He was a loving husband, father, and grandfather, and was fondly referred to as Jimbo by his grandchildren. There are no words to express how much he will be missed.

Survivors include his loving wife of 53 years, Candy Morehead Brown; one daughter, Tammy (Mike) Whetstone; one son, Robert (Joni) Brown; grandchildren, Mitch Whetstone, Brandon (Lacey) Whetstone, Kristen (Landon) Sandifer, Chandler Brown, and Brantley Brown; two great-grandchildren, Garrett Whetstone and Owen Sandifer; three sisters, Ann Griffith, Myree (Bob) Steele, Joyce (Tom) Bochette; one brother, Charlie (Billie); and a number of nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks memorials be made to Beaver Creek Baptist Church Sound System, P.O. Box 340, Neeses, SC 29107.

A message of condolence may be sent to the family by visiting http://www.mcalhanyfuneralhome.com.

Culler-McAlhany Funeral Home is assisting the family.

Published by The Times and Democrat on Jan. 3, 2021.

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James Malachi Brown Jr. Obituary - North, SC | The Times and Democrat - Legacy.com