Butler Countys 10 public school districts have spent a combined $24.4 million in construction, renovations and capital improvements this summer.

For many schools districts the repairs were as routine as re-paving parking lots, but many were also upgrading classrooms to accommodate STEM classes and updating buildings with more security features and energy-efficient systems.

Students in the Hamilton, Middletown, Madison and New Miami districts were the first to file back into the classroom last week. Students in those districts were welcomed with more than $1.2 million in repairs and upgrades, including STEM classrooms at Middletown Middle School, new roofs and re-paved parking lots.

The 2014-15 school year begins this week for Edgewood, Fairfield, Lakota, Monroe and Talawanda.

The Ross school district is the latest to start back this year Aug. 26 for Elda Elementary and the middle and high schools; Sept. 2 for Morgan Elementary.

Greg Young, Ross superintendent, said the late start at Morgan is to accommodate finishing construction on a $10.5 million renovation and addition to the 32-year-old building. The district has renovated 46,440 square feet and added 7,165 square feet to the school.

With the completion of Morgan, all our kids will be in 21st century learning environments, Young said.

Renovations to Morgan include secure entrances; a new energy efficient geothermal heating and cooling system; an enlarged cafeteria and kitchen; new music and art classrooms; new life/safety systems including sprinklers, fire alarms and security cameras; all doors and windows replaced; new furniture; and all new ceilings, floors and paint.

We gutted the buildings, Young said, including new electrical, plumbing and sewage systems. The inside of the buildings completely transformed. Theres a fresh, new appearance to the building.

Sharon Estridge, of Hanover Twp., said she has two daughters a first grader and fourth grader that attend Morgan Elementary. Both Estridge and her children are excited to get a look inside the renovated building.

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Butler County schools pour $24M into building improvements

Gold Medal Service, an award-winning heating, cooling, plumbing, electrical, drain cleaning, and waterproofing service company serving all of New Jersey, encourages area homeowners to make sure their own water supply is clean, and to take steps to avoid polluting municipal water supplies, during National Water Quality Month in August.

"Water is one of the most important substances on the planet, so it's important that everyone has access to clean water, both in and out of their homes," said Mike Agugliaro, Gold Medal Service co-founder. "Since August is National Water Quality Month, it's a good time to have a plumbing expert assess the water quality in your home, and learn the steps you can take to minimize your impact on your municipal water supply."

A plumbing services expert from Gold Medal Service can install a water conditioner or a filtration and purification system. These systems make the water that circulates through a home as clean as possible, ensuring that it is safe for families to use for drinking, bathing, and cleaning. Purified water also minimizes the risk of illness, improves foods' taste, and ensures that a home stays cleaner.

However, it's also important for homeowners to do their part to protect their municipal water supply and the delicate ecosystems that each supports. Especially vital in coastal states like New Jersey, polluted rain runoff can lead to beach closures and fish kills from too much bacteria in the water. Polluted storm water can also contaminate local drinking water supplies.

The risk of pollution in water systems grows as populations surge, especially in urban parts of the state that have seen a lot of recent growth. In fact, 21 cities in New Jersey face a looming deadline to get permits by the end of this year, and submit plans to control and upgrade their sewer systems.

Clean Water Action recommends the following steps for homeowners in New Jersey, and nationwide, to reduce their impact on water systems:

* Avoid using antibacterial soaps and cleaners that contain triclosan, a pesticide known to harm fish.

* Don't flush unused or out-of-date medications down the drain or toilet, but dispose of them in the garbage.

* Don't put oil, pesticides, fertilizers, or detergents in storm drains only water.

* Fix car leaks and use a driveway liner to catch any oil or other dripping liquids.

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Check your home's water supply for quality

Coatings giant PPG Industries Inc. ( PPG ) announced that the Mutual of Omaha Regional Office in Miami, which is now known as Colonnade Plaza, is the first ever building to install the company's SOLARBAN glass. SOLARBAN glass is one of the first coated glasses designed in to block solar radiation and thus mitigate air-conditioning-related energy consumption.

SOLARBAN is a brand which includes a broad range of high-performance solar control, low-emissivity glasses, some of which also include PPG's proprietary triple-silver coating technology. PPG Industries' technology enables architects to design and build more sustainable buildings through their ability to transmit daylight and block solar heat, thereby reducing heating, cooling and lighting demands.

The architect who designed the eight-story Omaha Regional Office in Miami incorporated the elements in such a way that those when combined with the SOLARBAN glass will minimize solar heat gain in south Florida's plentiful sunshine, thus saving energy and enhancing occupant comfort.

PPG Industries released its second-quarter 2014 results last month. The company topped earnings expectations in the quarter on healthy results across major markets, notably Europe where earnings jumped 28%. Cost reduction measures and strength in the automotive OEM coatings market supported results.

Profit from continued operation (as reported) was $393 million or $2.80 per share in the second quarter, climbing roughly 24% from $318 million or $2.19 per share posted a year ago. Consolidated profit rose 13% year over year to $386 million or $2.75 per share. The improvement was led by strong performance in Europe as PPG gained from gradual economic recovery in the region.

Barring one-time items, the company raked in earnings from continuing operations of $2.83 a share in the quarter that topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.79. Revenues moved up 5% year over year to $4,082 million in the reported quarter. It fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4,097 million. The company benefited from higher volumes across major regions in the quarter.

PPG Industries is a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock.

Better-ranked companies in the diversified chemical space include Celanese Corporation ( CE ), Johnson Matthey Plc. ( JMPLY ) and LyondellBasell Industries NV ( LYB ). All of them hold a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

PPG INDS INC (PPG): Free Stock Analysis Report

CELANESE CP-A (CE): Free Stock Analysis Report

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PPG Industries' SOLARBAN Glass Installed at Miami Building - Analyst Blog

DECATUR Finally, the science rooms at Eisenhower High School have flooring.

A problem with moisture seeping up through the concrete last year made it impossible to lay the flooring in time for students to move in after winter break in January. The floors of the classrooms and corridors on the lowest level, including the Servery where students eat, remained bare concrete for the spring semester.

Because the science tables and equipment were already in place, said project manager Phil Hazenfield, it was a complicated process for the installers to cut in the flooring around them, and it took longer than it would have if they'd been able to lay flooring during the original renovation.

The flooring manufacturer has a relative humidity limit to applying to surfaces, and the lower level exceeded that, said Mike Sotiroff, buildings and grounds director for the school district. There are some other adhesives that will work in higher humidity areas and in one area, we did mitigation where it seals off part of the floor. We analyzed the situation and determined where we needed the extra-high-moisture adhesives and where we can use the normal adhesive.

Other areas where work is continuing include the loading dock. The area where semitrucks unload is difficult for the trucks to get to they have to back up the driveway and then hook around. That door is being moved so they can back straight to it. The area where Aramark unloads its trucks into the kitchen area had a hard pack ramp, which is being replaced with concrete, and the manholes have to be raised to that level. Additionally, the loading dock for the food trucks was the wrong height, and that is being corrected.

Work on the sports track also continues, though the football field is ready for games and practice, and a new practice field north of the playing field, with a newly cut swale, helps alleviate some of the former problems with water and mud sliding down the hill in heavy rain.

Before that, it was all draining this way and it would just gully wash and we'd have big ponds of mud, Hazenfield said.

The rubberized track surface, similar to what is in place at Millikin University, can't be applied unless the asphalt already there is dry and clean so the adhesive will work, much like the problem they had in the lowest level of the building.

We've had erosion problems, and I'm still concerned about those, Hazenfield said. We have to redo the drainage so it's not washing mud out over the track. We're going to leave this (silt) fence up for some time, even though it's something nobody wants to see, but until this grass gets established, we're going to have to leave it here.

The fencing surrounds the football field and track area and the new grass is growing well, thanks to the regular rains, but has not yet taken hold adequately to prevent runoff.

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Crews tackling problems with high school modernization

Published: Sunday, 8/10/2014 - Updated: 1 minute ago

BLADE STAFF

The next step for Perrysburg High Schools athletic field improvements will be completed by November as the schools will install a concession stands and restrooms near the baseball and softball fields.

Spent will be $300,000 for the concessions and restrooms. The money, approved by the Perrysburg School Board last week, will cover heating, cooling, and plumbing in the buildings and will come from the districts permanent improvement levy passed by voters in 2010. There will be additional funds from the improvement levy that will make a walkway to the fields.

Youll enter from the high school and have a walkway to the concessions with nice landscaping, said Ray Pohlman, athletic director.Weve had muddy feet. We cant go another season walking through the mud.

The next steps from the permanent improvement levy will include building a track which Mr. Pohlman said could be under construction in 2015.

After that, tennis courts will be built at the high school. The concessions and restrooms will serve for all the facilities. Mr. Pohlman said the booster club is excited to have the space to use for concessions.

Construction is set to start in a few weeks and expected to be completed by Nov. 1.

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$300,000 OK'd for concessions

KREMLIN, Okla. On the ballot Aug. 26 for residents of the Kremlin-Hillsdale Public Schools district is an $8.8 million bond issue to build a new high school/middle school facility and a few additional projects.

School officials hope for the nod to:

Build a new 34,500-square-foot, 16-classroom high school/middle school building with a safe room, secure entrances and district and administration offices inside the front entrance.

Install a new heating and cooling system in the existing large gymnasium attached to the elementary building and cafeteria.

Add new drive lanes, drop-offs and parking to ease congestion and increase safety.

Build a new vo-ag facility.

Build an all-purpose practice facility and performing arts building and locker rooms attached to the high school.

Build a new transportation building with garage bays to accommodate full-size buses, store more district vehicles, easy access to bus loop and a maintenance shop.

Scott Vrooman, director of architecture for Tulsa-based TriArch, noted the new design preserves some of the heritage of the original Kremlin school.

The design retains the original brick facade from the 1931 original building, Vrooman said. We are keeping it as a gateway.

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Kremlin-Hillsdale seeks voter approval on new school facility

Under the graceful arches of St. Vincent Basilica, a heavy winch on a scaffold stood ready to hoist the first and largest of more than 3,000 organ pipes to the galley.

Four men lifted the 300-pound, 18-foot-long, tin-alloy pipe, which lay on the floor nestled in a wooden box, near the holy water font in the Unity basilica.

The principal organist, Father Cyprian Constantine, said he will relish the first notes from the new $1.5 million organ as they ring out into the cavernous space.

The basilica is a beautiful space for music acoustically because we have six seconds of reverberation, so sound just carries, he said.

Six employees from John-Paul Buzard Pipe Organ Builders in Champaign, Ill., have worked since early July preparing the structure of the organ the wind chests to provide air and toe-boxes that hold the pipes before the first of German-made metal tubes were hoisted into the gallery and set into place last week.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime project ... because of the size of the room and the acoustics, said Brian Davis, tonal director for the organ builders.

The instrument replaces a Moller organ installed in 1955-56. Because it was controlled by electro-pneumatic action using leather, that instrument showed signs of wear as early as 1971, when Constantine first visited St. Vincent, he said.

Depending on heating and cooling and dirt in the air and that kind of thing, they can be damaged, the organist said. If you have a leather cover on a book, eventually, it can wear through. It just wore out and became very difficult to repair.

Some notes would stop working entirely, or wires crossed and notes played on the wrong key, Constantine said.

The pipes in the new instrument range from the largest first open diapason low C to the smallest at less than a half-inch in diameter, Davis said.

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St. Vincent Basilica pipe organ worth $1.5M nears completion

LITTLE ROCK, AR (News release) Petit Jean Electric Cooperative member Connie Jefferies of Damascus has won the seventh annual contest sponsored by the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas.

According to Bret Curry, manager of residential energy marketing for the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas, this years makeover contest was designed for members who reside in manufactured homes.

Manufactured homes comprise 15 percent of Arkansas housing stock, have some of the highest electric bills and are very uncomfortable during hot and cold weather extremes, Curry said. The makeover project serves as a teaching resource for all Arkansans.

As the makeover winner, Jefferies 1999 singlewide home will receive up to $50,000 in energy efficiency improvements. During a recent energy audit, electric cooperative energy efficiency experts pinpointed reasons for the high electric consumption in the 840 sq. ft. dwelling. Jeffries had an uncomfortable home and $300 electric bills last winter, he said.

Our diagnostic testing revealed that 50 percent of the air volume within the home was leaking to the outside, Curry said. We also discovered substandard and improperly installed insulation, inefficient windows, no moisture barrier, an inefficient heating and cooling system and non-Energy Star appliances.

A properly built dwelling of this small size should average total monthly electric bills of $100 or less, Curry said. The good news is our makeover project is a wonderful medium for teaching Arkansans how they can resolve their energy problems, improve the comfort of their homes and lower their utility costs.

The makeover team will begin work immediately and work to finish in three to four weeks. Jefferies will receive an ultra-efficient Water Furnace geothermal heat pump installed by Rood Heating & Cooling. WeatherBarr Windows will provide high-efficiency windows. Rheem Marathon will provide the energy efficient water heater. Roof King will provide a high efficiency overlay comprised of foam, radiant barrier and metal roofing. General Electric will furnish Energy Star appliances. SealantTech and Summit Builders will install closed cell foam to the underside and encapsulate the ductwork. The makeover team will install a high-density moisture barrier.

Cooperative members submitted more than 1,500 applications in this years contest. In addition to the grand-prize winner, 16 runners-up will receive a 40-gallon Rheem Marathon energy efficient water heater.

Winners of the 40-gallon Marathon water heaters are:

The Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas comprise 17 electric distribution cooperatives; Arkansas Electric Cooperatives, Inc. (AECI), a Little Rock-based cooperative that provides services to the distribution cooperatives; and Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp. (AECC), a generation and transmission cooperative. The distribution cooperatives provide electricity to approximately 500,000 homes, farms and businesses in Arkansas and surrounding states.

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Damascus Woman Wins $50K Energy Efficiency Home Makeover

This post comes from Marilyn Lewis at partner site Money Talks News.

Homeowners fantasize aboutmakingfabulous changes to their homes: adding rooms, beautifying the grounds, and remodeling kitchens and baths. In reality, however,these dream jobs may not be financially possible.

Don't let that stop you, however, from taking good care of the home you have.

Here are 15 small jobs that let youinvest in your home andhold down household costs:

1. Change HVACfilters

Your furnace and air conditioner filters trap airborne allergens and dust so you breathe clean air. These filters need changing on a regular basis while you're using your furnace or air conditioning.

Angie's List says 60 percentof furnace and air conditioner service calls are because of dirty filters. Those tiny particles of dirt can hurt yourfurnace's heating coil and fan. Changingfilters regularly also canlower utility bills$100 a year, becausedirty filters force HVAC systemsto run harder and use more energy.

Changing filters is a simple, important homeowner skill. Filters can be simple or higher-tech, as BobVila.com explains:

Consult your owner's manual to locate your system's filter. Inspectfilters regularly and install new ones every month or two, or even more often. Thatdepends on how dirtythe filteris (BobVila.com shows examplesof dirty and clean filters).

2. Fix leaky faucets

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Stop putting off these 15 home repairs and upgrades

Waco, Texas (PRWEB) August 05, 2014

Mold doesnt ask for much when it comes to a place to call home. In fact, all mold needs is a warm, moist surface to settle in and begin growing and causing damage and health issues for homeowners. Rainbow International says its important for homeowners to have a professional assessment of affected areas, remove the damaged materials, and eliminate moisture sources to reestablish a healthy home environment.

If not prevented or treated quickly, mold can grow and cause health issues for those living in a home. Headaches, breathing difficulties, persistent cough, cold symptoms, burning or irritation of the eyes, nose, throat or lungs, asthma attacks, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, skin irritation, allergic reactions, and infections in immune-compromised individuals are all common symptoms families experience when mold is present in the home.

The best way to prevent mold in the home is to control moisture and clean up water damage quickly. Consider these basic suggestions for mold prevention in the home:

If you suspect mold issues, dont wait. For information on dealing quickly with mold in your home or preventing it in the first place, contact your local Rainbow International or visit RainbowIntl.com.

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Stop Mold In Its Tracks Before It Spreads: Rainbow International Offers Tips on Controlling Mold in the Home