Soccer Rapid City representatives report that they have raised more than $500,000 toward the group's share of an estimated $4.5 million, 12-field sports complex in northeast Rapid City.

The group broke ground in November on the project off North Elk Vale Road that was approved for $3.8 million in city Vision funds in 2005. Project officials anticipate the complex will be open by the fall of 2015.

Soccer Rapid City, through its fundraising leg Dakota Fields, ramped up its efforts to secure private funds this past summer after getting a green light in April from the Rapid City Council to move forward.

"There are a couple gifts that will actually be in-kind donations. In lieu of cash, it would be contribution of services or contribution of material," Roger Tellinghuisen, executive director of Dakota Fields, said Monday. "The bulk of it is cash donations."

Aside from gifts and cash, Tellinghuisen said the organization is soliciting donations for naming opportunities at the complex, where fields, scoreboards or gazebos would display the name of a major donor.

Tellinghuisen said the group is remaining secretive at this point in the campaign about the total amount of money they need to raise for the long-discussed facility.

"We're trying to keep that under wraps for a little longer yet," he said. "Let's just say we are making really good progress, but we still have a ways to go."

Soccer Rapid City originally proposed a 21-field complex with an indoor championship arena with a price tag of more than $10 million. Additional fields at the 80-acre, 12-field complex will be added as more funding becomes available.

"We really do appreciate the companies and the people that have stepped up to make these wonderful pledges and donations, and we're anxiously moving forward with this project," Tellinghuisen said.

In a related development, the Rushmore Soccer Club and Rapid City Youth Soccer League have unified into one organization.

More here:
Group says it has raised $500,000 for soccer complex

Gazebos come in both hard top and fabric top models, and are a great option for shading a seating or dining area in your backyard. Paired with a casual seating set, a gazebo delivers a breezy sitting area perfect for enjoying a coffee and reading a newspaper. Setting up a gazebo over a bistro set creates a cool and intimate dining space for two. However you choose to use it, Kmart has the right gazebo to suit your backyard style. An elegant curtained Garden Oasis Grandview Hexagon Gazebo with Netting fits right in among manicured shrubs and neatly mowed grass. Not only does the stylish all weather fabric top resist rain and sun, the attractive side panel curtains double as mosquito netting to keep out the bugs.

For poolside shade, it's hard the beat the Garden Oasis Terrace Gazebo. Set up this breezy gazebo with a couple of lawn chairs and a bar set for your very own poolside resort.

It's nice being able to take your favorite music outdoors without dragging along a stereo or mobile audio devices. There's nothing like relaxing with easy listening tunes in your backyard, or throwing on your favorite party mix to pump up a backyard gathering. Bluetooth patio furniture comes with wireless capability and high-quality speakers built right in for your convenience and listening pleasure. The Garden Oasis East Point Bar Set combines sun protection, bar service and your favorite music, all in one stylish gazebo set.

Pergolas are longer and thinner as compared to canopies, and are used to shade walkways rather than sitting or dining areas. If your backyard has a vegetable garden, flower bed, poolside area and children's playset, you might set up a pergola to connect any or all of these areas. The Garden Oasis Pergola with Canopy comes with a durable and stylish fabric top which provides immediate relief from the sun as soon as it's set up. For a more natural approach, you can assemble the Garden Oasis 8ft x 10ft Steel Pergola with Open Roof and encourage creepers to grow over the top. With a lush growth of attractive and fragrant vines like clematis and ivy, this open-topped pergola becomes a verdant, inviting sun shade. And for evening entertaining, your guests will be able to see where they're going as the Garden Oasis 8ft x 10ft LED Lighted Pergola lights up your garden walkways.

Read the original here:
Gazebos, Canopies and Pergolas: Get the Best Backyard Gazebos ...

Add richness. Add value. Add a touch of the Old World to your landscape with an elegant gazebo painstakingly handcrafted by a master Amish craftsman. Visit our Gazebo Buyer's Guide to see how easy it is to customize your gazebo with many creative options. See just how affordable it is for your dream gazebo to be delivered right to your door.

Quaint, delightful, surprisingly affordable; that's what you'll find with our Amish handcrafted playhouses. It'll also warm your heart to see your children playing grown-up and gathering with friends, right in the safety of your backyard. No matter your landscape, no matter your style, find a durable playhouse to delight the young ones in your life - and to please your eye.

There's something about Amish handcrafted patio furniture that says luxury, that says quality. And there's something about Cabinfield patio furniture that says more value for your dollar! Choose among beautiful gliders, rockers, chairs, swings, tables and footstools, bridges and arbors anything and everything you need for timeless outdoor entertaining and living.

A whimsical wishing well here, a handsome bird feeder there; accessorize your home and garden with our exclusive selection of fine Amish handcrafted lawn ornaments. You'll find wooden planters, windmills, water wheels, wishing wells, bird feeders, lighthouses and nautical dcor, mailboxes, weather stations and more - all in a variety of designs with many options.

Enhance your home with Amish accent items you'll treasure for years. Shop for handcrafted wood toys that spark imaginations and entertain for hours.

Link:
Cabinfield - Amish Furniture - Amish Made Gazebos and ...

QUEENSBURY Smokers at SUNY Adirondack will be snuffed out this fall.

The colleges Board of Trustees voted Thursday to move forward with a plan to become a tobacco-free campus in September 2014. The plan would prohibit using cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco and even electronic cigarettes from campus.

The administration will begin implementing the policy in March and stress voluntary compliance and education rather than punishments, according to SUNY Adirondack President Kristine Duffy.

We all stand ready to take the time and compassion to make this work the best we can, she said.

Chairman Mark Bulmer said it is not up to the board to dictate how the policy is implemented.

We expect the administration to use great discretion as we go forward and make good decisions. We expect them to develop the appropriate procedures to enact this policy, he said. I think we all recognize that this a cultural shift and we have to be cognizant of that.

College officials are planning smoking cessation activities in conjunction with the Student Senate and the College Activities Office.

Student Trustee Dan Roberts said two anti-smoking speakers are already booked and seminars planned. Students are organizing other incentives such as offering discount cards for the campus coffee shop for people who quit smoking and promoting use of the fitness center.

Not everyone is happy about the policy. Student Christopher Schmidt of Queensbury spoke before the board and presented a petition with at least 150 signatures.

He said people he has talked to in opposition to the policy have stated that it infringes on the rights of smokers, especially veterans who have served their country. Some opponents said they would leave the school.

Read more:
SUNY Adirondack will ban smoking in September

A Range of Magnificent Wooden Garden Gazebos - Style to Suit Your Home
Our range of high quality wooden garden gazebos are sure to impress. Constructed from pressure treated softwood to ensure maximum protection against the elem...

By: Gazebo Direct - A Range of Garden Structures

Read more here:
A Range of Magnificent Wooden Garden Gazebos - Style to Suit Your Home - Video

Topics: angling, christmas, fishing

ANYONE who fishes much will tell you it's important to have the right gear and, for non-fishing people, choosing useful angling gifts can be tough.

It's important to get the right advice when faced with such a bewildering selection.

That's where your local tackle store really shines.

The staff sell nothing but fishing gear all year and they know what works and doesn't, what is junk, what colour, type and size of lures catch local fish and a whole lot more.

Many locals are parts of buying groups and their products are often as cheap as, or cheaper than, the big stores.

So head down to your local for gifts and be confident you're buying the right thing.

Christ Doust at Suffolks Sports in Keen St, Lismore, says Megabass lures have been very popular since the prices dropped about 25%.

The Griffon 6CC deep diver has done well on local bass and is retailing now for $29.95.

Suffolks also have the popular Gulp soft lures at three packs for $25, plenty of crab dillies and some great rod and reel combos from Shimano for estuary, beach or offshore.

More here:
How to always hook a winner

Shelters and Gazebos 3
for website http://www.TentsandTools.coom.

By: Ann Peek

Here is the original post:
Shelters and Gazebos 3 - Video

MORIAH The bells that once summoned students to Mineville and Moriah schools are ringing again, thanks to Moriah Middle School student Brooke Mildon.

Brooke, 12, discovered the historic bells had been in storage since their removal from the old school buildings decades ago.

A Cadette Girl Scout, she decided that restoration and display of the cast-iron bells would make a great Silver Award project, the highest honor available to Cadettes.

The bells were recently rededicated during a ceremony outside the school.

PROMOTED TEAMWORK

The Mineville, Port Henry and Moriah school districts merged in 1968, the last time the Mineville and Moriah bells were used until now.

I pursued the project because I had a passion for the historic bells, the seventh-grader said. I learned a lot about being a team leader and what teamwork really means.

She had to hold fundraisers to finance restoration of the bells and construction of two gazebos outside Moriah Central School in which to display them.

People assisted by baking for bake sales, donating bottles and cans, purchasing food from bake sales or the spaghetti dinner, she said.

She thanked the Mineville Veterans of Foreign Wars Post for letting her use their facility for the spaghetti dinner.

See original here:
Bells ring again for old Mineville, Moriah schools

Gazebos.

They can be found in many towns throughout the region, in places that want to offer more than just the concrete and steel of progress.

At a time when communities are squeezing every dollar in their budgets, one would expect that some curmudgeon would complain about the building of a gazebo or the upkeep of one. After all, isn't a gazebo -- like the one in Avon, Olmsted Falls or Chardon -- a little more than a romantic fashion accessory?

Wouldnt the money be put to better use by building a garage or buying a new police car?

Gary Starr, the mayor of Middleburg Heights, said if anyone feels that way, then no one has voiced that opinion in the past 32 years he has lead the city.

In fact, the reverse usually is true.

Gazebos are the center for the community, something charming to look at, a taste of New England and the turn-of-the-century, Starr said. It helps define your community as something other than buildings and shopping centers. That's the look of the city I try to project warm, traditional, family-friendly. You can't buy that.

Middleburg Heights, like Chester Township, Avon, Olmsted Falls, Chardon and other cities cherish their gazebos and put them in places of honor.

The open-aired, roundish structures differ slightly in size and design, but are always recognizable. Few venture far from gazebos that existed thousands of years in a score of lands, including China, Italy and Great Britain.

Beyond their inherent tranquil beauty, gazebos are useful.

Read the original here:
Gazebos found throughout communities, lend touch of romance and beauty (photo gallery)

The family of former president Nelson Mandela will accompany his remains on the flight to the Eastern Cape on Saturday morning.

The town of Qunu is busy preparing for the funeral of Nelson Mandela on Sunday. (Delwyn Verasamy)

"Tomorrow [Saturday morning], the body of Mr Nelson Mandela will leave Waterkloof [Air Force Base] at 10.45am," family spokesperson General Temba Matanzima told reporters in Johannesburg on Friday. "He will leave Waterkloof with members of the family, who will accompany him." Matanzima said members of the military would also accompany Mandela's remains.

"When they land in Mthatha, at about 12.45pm, the body and the delegation ... will be met by members of the family, members of the Thembu nation and others who are prepared to meet and accompany the family."

From there, the convoy would proceed through the streets of Mthatha. "There will be two stops. There will be a stop on York Road, next to the old stadium, and there will be another stop at Ultra City for 10 or 15 minutes for people to see," Matanzima said.

From there, the convoy would proceed to Qunu, where the remains would be handed over to the Mandela family by the military. "The members of the family will [then] do their part, taking the body into the house of Madiba, and there they will wait until the next morning, when the official funeral will take place."

Matanzima said the government would provide further details of the funeral programme. In Qunu the police, the military, government officials and the media were preparing on Friday for the funeral Mandela.

He died at his home in Houghton, Johannesburg, last Thursday at the age of 95.

White tape On a hill at the Nelson MandelaMuseum, a few kilometres away from the Mandela homestead, international and local television cameras were being set up. Journalists used white tape and plastic markers to designate their spots on a hill overlooking the village. Some have been there since last week and have set up gazebos where presenters can stand for live crossings.

The Mandela homestead, where the funeral will be held on Sunday, can be seen from the hill. A large structure, a few metres high and wide, with a round roof and a wide bottom, can be seen in the distance. Work on the structure began last Friday. It has been finished off with panels, and a large white marquee has been erected nearby. Outside broadcast vans, more gazebos, satellite dishes and generators have been set up close to the media centre, which is in a marquee set up at the museum. Journalists covering the funeral will not be allowed any closer than this. The South African Broadcasting Corporation will furnish them with images and sound.

Original post:
Mandela family to accompany remains to Qunu