KANKAKEE, Ill. (AP) - High school students in a city that David Letterman lampooned as an awful place to live are plotting some tongue-in-cheek revenge, more than 15 years later.

The late night TV talk show host piled on in 1999 after Places Rated Almanac called Kankakee and its surrounding area in northern Illinois the worst metropolitan area to live in the U.S. and Canada. One of his famous Top 10 lists suggested area slogans, including "We put the 'Ill' in Illinois," and "You'll come for our payphone - you'll stay because your car's been stolen."

To spruce things up, Letterman sent Kankakee two gazebos, which the students plan to turn into a rocking chair to commemorate Letterman's upcoming retirement.

"I think we know that Dave likes a good joke," Barbara Wells, the area's board of education president, told the (Kankakee) Daily Journal. "So, I thought he'd like this. And I like seeing the kids get so involved. This will be one class they tell their kids and grandchildren about."

A spokeswoman for CBS' "Late Show with David Letterman" said crews plan to film the project next month and to air the footage on the show.

Removing them has become a two-semester project. Students have demolished one gazebo next to an old train depot and hope to do the same with the other in a nearby park. Much of the wood has rotted, though students saved wood for building the chair.

Although residents were irked by Kankakee's lowly ranking and the buzz it got, many grew to appreciate the gazebos. Couples got married in the white, wooden structures, and some residents are unhappy with their removal.

While working on the project, the students are also raising money for new gazebos, hoping it'll help show how their community about 50 miles south of Chicago turned a national embarrassment into a positive message.

The project's organizers admit that part of their motivation was to bring renewed attention to the improvements the city has made since Letterman's gag.

Junior Sam Foster told the newspaper he's enjoying the class.

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AP National News Video

Back in 1999, the city of Kankakee, Illinois was deemed the worst metropolitan area to live in in both the United States and Canada by Places Rated Almanac. David Letterman had some fun with that, with a top ten list of slogan suggestions for Kankakee County. Slogans included We put the Ill in Illinois, We also put the annoy in Illinois, and Ask about our staggering unemployment rate.

Well, a little over 15 years later, students in Kankakee are getting their revenge on Letterman and The Late Show will be documenting their progress.

See, back then Letterman actually sent the town two gazebos to spruce up the place, and now students are demolishing both and using the wood to make Letterman a rocking chair for his impending retirement.

The town has mixed feelings about the gazebos being taken down, and the people behind the project say they want to draw attention to how much better their city is now compared to when Letterman teased them.

And yes, CBS cameras will be documenting the whole thing next month and the footage will air on The Late Show.

[image via screengrab]

Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac

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Students Finally Get Back at Letterman for Ragging On Their Town

Bespoke Summerhouses & Gazebos | All our summerhouse and gazebo timber buildings are bespoke so the summer houses shown here have all been manufactured to our clients individual specifications

Our Summerhouses & Gazebos are constructed on a framework of 75mm x 50mm and clad in Norwegian redwood tongue & groove which has been machined to our own specification to give a deep groove for superior weather resistance and is aqua vac treated for a 30 year desired service life against insect attach and fungal decay.

The specifications of our summerhouses include :

We are able to supply any shape of summerhouse or gazebo building to suit your site and requirements. Summerhouses also make ideal garden/home offices.

Our summerhouse and gazebo prices are inclusive of delivery and assembly within 100 miles of our workshop, providing the site is accessible. Additional labour charges may be incurred for difficult access.

Summerhouse delivery is usually three to four weeks from placement of order.

Please visit our workshop from Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm.

All our summerhouses are supplied shiplap Tongue & Groove clad with plywood lined walls and roof, felt shingle roofing and 4 top hung opening windows, glazed double entrance doors and Tongue & Groove varnished floor. All glass is single glazed safety glass. Optional extras as below:

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Summerhouses & Gazebos

RANGERS fans today called on the under-fire Ibrox board to stand down en masse - and save the Glasgow club the cost of staging an EGM.

Dave King has declared he is "absolutely certain" he will receive enough backing to take control at his boyhood heroes at a general meeting.

South Africa-based King needs to get the support of 51 per cent of the shareholders in order to oust the current despised regime.

Gers directors who are desperately trying to cling onto power have been examining whether the "notice is properly constituted".

Senior officials at the SPFL Championship club are legally required to announce a date for the EGM by tomorrow at the latest.

And sources at the club, which agreed a controversial 10 million loan with Mike Ashley last month, have claimed it could cost up to 250,000.

But Chris Graham of the Union of Fans, an amalgamation of the six main supporters' bodies, believes there is an easy way around that.

He has called on James Easdale, Barry Leach, Derek Llambias and chairman David Somers to resign and save Rangers the money.

He said: "The sensible thing to do given the level of backing that clearly exists for Dave King would be for the board to stand down.

Continued here:
Under-fire Rangers directors urged to stand down

Founded in 1985 in Greensboro, NC by Stan Gingerich, Dutch Barns was born out of the belief that high quality storage buildings at a fair price were in demand. Stan was raised in a Mennonite home and began working with wood at a very early age. During his teens he worked with his father's carpentry crews building homes, where he would often hear his dad say, "If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right." Today these values still live on at Dutch Barns.

Although our products and services have expanded to include gazebos, garages, sunrooms, room additions, renovations, workshops, studios, garden rooms, playhouses and home improvement, our employees are committed to providing the same level of quality that Dutch Barns has become so well known for. Now operating out of Greensboro, NC serving Central North Carolina.

If asked what really makes Dutch Barns different, one may think the response would be "quality", or "heritage", or "an old-fashioned work ethic". And while those attributes are important and certainly are pillars of Dutch Barns' history in the Triad, above all else, we strive for one thing: providing EXACTLY what the customer wants.

7/6/2012 - Business Journal article featuring our COO, Al Benz. 8/2012 - Business Profile article featuring Dutch Barns

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Greensboro Storage Buildings - Greensboro Barns - Gazebos ...

Interesting gazebo reviews
Full reviews you can read in http://ofme.net/best-gazebos-reviews.html Gazebos are very interesting structures. You can buy gazebos online but before you buy...

By: goodvortex

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Interesting gazebo reviews - Video

Green Acres Outdoor Living Gazebos
A quick look at Gazebos at Green Acres Outdoor Living!

By: Fein Schmecker

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Green Acres Outdoor Living Gazebos - Video

THE GROVE by Rockwell

(Third in a series)

Inquirer Property has been running a series featuring the newest projects of the Philippines key developers this year. This week, Filinvest Land, Rockwell Land and Robinsons Land reveal their defining developments.

Update of The Grove

Valerie Soliven, Rockwell Land SVP for sales and marketing, disclosed an update to The Grove by Rockwell in Ortigas: We will be unveiling the retail center at The Grove, which will offer a lineup of dining, service and retail establishments that will complement and sustain the lifestyle of the existing Rockwell community there.

Soliven said that this year, Towers C and D will also be turned over to its unit owners, adding to the already thriving neighborhood at The Grove. Its amenity deck will be available for residents use this year, completing the lineup of amenities residents are already enjoying. The deck will include a swimming pool, gazebos, barbecue pits and a spacious lawn for various activities.

PHs first designer residences

ROBINSONS Lands Signa Designer Residences

Continued here:
As Rockwell and Robinsons go vertical, Filinvest goes horizontal

Timber gazebos
Timber gazebos from Tuin.

By: Richard - Tuin

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Timber gazebos - Video

Jan 28 2015 at 7:55 PM

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Olinda is a small and rather beautiful settlement located 44 km east of the Melbourne city centre atop Mt Dandenong. It is noted for its scenic situation and its many art, antique and handicraft galleries. The golf course on the Olinda-Monbulk Rd offers excellent views.

The Wurrundjeri people once inhabited this area, passing on to Yarra Valley where they passed their summers on the banks of the Yarra River. The first European known to set foot in the Dandenongs was botanist Daniel Bunce who was drawn from Melbourne by the image of the looming western slopes in 1839. Guided by a party of Aboriginal people he climbed Mt Corhanwarrabul (628 metres) and Mt Dandenong (633 metres) - the two highest peaks in the ranges. Bourkes Lookout (see subsequent entry) is now situated atop the former.

The first European settlers in the Olinda area were the Holden family who camped on the slopes from 1855 and felled mountain ash until the turn of the century. Official settlement began in the 1870s and fruit-growing accompanied timbergetting. Guest houses and tea rooms were established to encourage tourists when fruit prices fell.

Olinda was the only settlement in the hills to be formally laid out thanks largely to the efforts of John Dodd who opened the first shop in the main street in 1893. Distinguished Australian artist Arthur Streeton bought a house here in the 1920s. Novelist Arthur Upfield stayed at a lodge on Mount Dandenong in 1938 and used the area as the setting for two of his detective novels, The Devil's Step (1946) and An Author Bites the Dust (1948).

Markets are held at Olinda on the second Sunday of each month.

Tourist Information The Dandenong Ranges and Knox Tourism Information Centre is located at 1211 Burwood Highway atUpper Ferntree Gully, tel: (03) 9758 7522.

The National Rhododendron Gardens The National Rhododendron Gardens attract 50 000 to 60 000 visitors annually. They are set in a natural amphitheatre of mountain ash, oaks, maples and beeches which tower over 43 ha of outstanding botanic gardens which are home to 15 000 rhododendrons, 12 000 azaleas, 250 000 daffodils, cherry tree groves and laburnums, all of which blossom in spring. The 3000 camellias are best seen in winter and there are also proteas, magnolias and Japanese maples. Birdlife includes the superb lyrebird, king parrots, crimson rosellas and peacocks. Ducks and geese can be fed in the lake.

Self-guide walk signs open up the possibility of a full three-hour exploration or you can simply pursue shorter subsections. The paths offer outstanding views of the Australian Alps which form a backdrop to the east, beyond Silvan Reservoir Park (see entry onKalorama).

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Olinda, Victoria: Travel guide and things to do