26-01-2012 16:30 Nationwide Adjusting is the nation's leading site for public adjusting and reconstruction of water, smoke and fire damage. http://www.nationwideadjusting.com

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16-01-2012 16:45 CANTON (KYTX) - After years of planning and restoration, a Vietnam era fighter jet has finally arrived at it's new home - the intersection of highway 243 and highway 19 in Canton. People of Van Zandt county say the jet means the world to the community, especially to it's veterans. Carter Clark designed the Van Zandt County Veteran's Memorial, which now includes a fully restored FD Phantom fighter jet. He says, -Almost tears, from it being finished. It's taken so long! I was not able to serve in the military service and I decided this is something I could give back to our veterans.- He says it's the veteran's who seemed the most proud to have the plane on their home soil. -You talk to certain ones,- Carter says, -and tears come in their eyes.- Veteran Ronald -Red- Montgomery helped plan the jet's homecoming. Now that it's finally home he says, -It's unbelievable. So many things have happened, it's just unbelievable.- Clark and many other dedicated community members worked together to restore the jet. Field McConnell flew the fighter jet for 13 years. He says restoring and getting the plane to Van Zandt was the work of many dedicated community members. He says, -There's a whole lot of people all around us that not only support this Veteran's Memorial, but also the United States of America and it's just a real pleasure, it's my privilege to be here today.- He describes the special plane that will always be a part of him. -This airplane was at the North Dakota International ...

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Canton, Texas - After years of planning and restoration, a Vietnam era fighter jet finds a home. - Video

25-01-2012 16:05 Restoration of a small house,No job is to small at Nationwide Adjusting. http://www.nationwideadjusting.com

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The Bourne Historical Society project to move and upgrade the personal Gray Gables train station of President Grover Cleveland is making progress this winter.

Project manager Ted Ellis was planning to backfill the station foundation and proceed with roof repairs this week. The presidential rail station has been moved from next to the canal to the Aptucxet Trading Post entrance off Shore Road.

Society president Galon “Skip” Barlow and Ellis have been scouring rail yards, looking for a caboose or old train car – of the Keith Car Works vintage – to move next to the train station. “It would be a static display,” Barlow said.

Barlow also said plans also include re-painting the station in its original colors with a red roof. He said the society is also trying to gather artifacts to add to the site, such as vintage light ports and a telegraph machine.

“The telegraph was Cleveland’s lifeblood to Washington,” Barlow said. “It would make a great addition to the site.”

There are other plans unfolding as well. The society plans to invite President Cleveland’s grandson to the opening of the restored station.

And Barlow said he also plans to ask selectmen to add a sign to the highways entering Bourne, showing the late president in silhouette - in his fishing outfit – and announcing “The Summer Home of Grover Cleveland.”

Barlow says the plans are ambitious. But he hopes the station can open about the same time as the trading post; if not then, perhaps in June.

All this is part of a systematic sprucing-up effort at Aptucxet. The goal is to be ready for the 2014 canal centennial celebration, which undoubtedly attract people to the trading post replica next to the canal.

Art studio

There are also new plans for the Joe Jefferson Windmill and Gift Shop across the driveway from the rail station. They involve moving the gift shop to the neighboring information booth transferred to the Aptucxet site from the North Sagamore rotary a few winters ago.

Then the windmill would be restored as an art studio. Barlow said Joe Jefferson, the celebrated 19th century stage actor with a national reputation used the windmill as a studio. Jefferson and Cleveland were fishing buddies.

Barlow said inmate crews supplied by the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Department have been working and clearing brush and dead limbs at Aptucxet. The trading post caretaker’s home as well has been refurbished.

“I think that overall all this is real positive thing for Aptucxet,” Barlow said. “The place will be more attractive. There will be more visitors. It will bring more people to the site, especially with the canal celebration. Hopefully groups would use the art studio; perhaps The Painted Ladies.”

Railroad stop

Thought has also been given the longer-term prospects of making Aptucxet a stop on the Cape Cod Central Railroad trips from Hyannis to Buzzards Bay.

The vegetation next to the rail bed along Aptucxet Road has been cleared. Rail excursion passengers in the future would be able to visit the trading post complex while the train proceeds across the canal to Buzzards Bay for the turnaround and then board on the return trip to Hyannis.

Barlow said work to date at the Aptucxet entrance has not pivoted on requests for Community Preservation Act funding. He said the society held fundraisers instead to help pay project costs.

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Upgrading Aptucxet: Restoration of Grover Cleveland’s train station continues

MEDFORD, Ore. -- One look at Rick Keesling's resume and you'll see that he has a long work history in a variety of jobs, but his love for and experience in restoration, is what really makes him stand out.

"I've worked in a restoration industry, restoring homes from fire and water damages, for the last 14 years," Keesling said.

He helps restore everything, from the home itself, to what makes it a home inside.

"It's the stuff inside that's so important, that's what makes a house a home." he said. "It's unbelievable to watch someone's face, the only thing they have left from a loved one is a photograph and 50 percent of it was burned in a fire and you were able to restore that and wrap it up like a gift and give it to them and watch the look on their face, it's awesome."

That's why it's his passion to make whatever disaster happened in your life, whether it be sewer backup, fire, water or wind damage, almost as if it never happened.

From rebuilding and restoring, to negotiating with insurance companies and everything in between, it's a challenge but he says it's so rewarding.

"Finding sources, people, working with adjusters to give you a little extra money it took to restore that table, that's the part of the job that's rewarding, challenging and fun," Keesling said.

Keesling has always had a drive to help and give hope to others. He's even volunteered for search and rescue.

"My wife says I'll be a Walmart greeter one day when I retire, I just like people," he said. "I want to be proud of who I'm representing and I want a company that does make a difference."

If you're hiring at your company and would like to find out more about Rick Keesling, check out his resume. You can also call our special KTVL Resumes phone number at (541) 245-5777 for

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Restoration is his specialty

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Martin Scorsese, speaking Wednesday night at the International 3D Society’s 3D Creative Arts Awards, requested that the industry restore classic 3D movies for Blu-ray. The suggestion was met with thunderous applause.

PHOTOS: Martin Scorsese On Set

Scorsese said he and his team screened many 3D movies as inspiration while working on Hugo. “My favorites are the old ones,” he said, citing as examples Warner Bros.' House of Wax and Dial M for Murder and MGM's Kiss Me Kate.

“There are so many. To see the films at home (on 3D Blu-ray) is going to be really remarkable. And to see them in their original form … seeing Dial M for Murder in 3D, in particular, is an entirely different experience.”

Scorsese noted that 3D films are spread around several studios. For example, Universal has It Came From Outer Space, Sony/Columbia has Man in the Dark, and Fox has Inferno.

STORY: Oscars 2012 Nominations Contenders' Reactions

During Wednesday's awards ceremony, a black tie affair held at the Beverly Hills Hotel, Scrosese received the Harold Lloyd Award for filmmaking — a fitting tribute as a scene in Hugo echoes Lloyd’s iconic performance in Safety Last. Hugo won awards for best live action 3D feature, best stereography (live action), and best 3D moment of the year.

"Art Form" was the theme of the 3D Society's awards, with numerous presenters and honorees discussing that topic onstage and off.

STORY: 'Hugo' Tops International 3D Society Awards With Three Trophies

“(3D) is on the verge of being recognized as a great contributor to cinematic storytelling — and that is what it is,” said Academy Award nominee Chris Miller, director of DreamWorks Animation’s Puss in Boots, which won the trophy for best stereography in an animated film. “When we added it into any sequence in the film, it was about ‘how can we best (use 3D) to tell the story.' ”

Rob Legato -- the Oscar-nominated VFX supervisor on Hugo — accepted an award for the film, saying that Scorsese's direction of the 3D was to create “art as opposed a gimmick. … that turned into drama, and that drama turned into an art form that uses depth to tell stories in such a unique way.”

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Martin Scorsese Encourages Restoration of 3D Films for Blu-ray

One of Trolley Square mall’s main tenants, Restoration Hardware, is headed to City Creek Center, the new downtown Salt Lake City shopping center opening next month less than two miles away.

Restoration Hardware officials didn’t immediately respond to inquiries about the new store or its existing one at Trolley. But operating two Restoration Hardware locations — which sell pricey furniture, linens and accessories for the home — within such close proximity would be highly unlikely.

“We do know they are opening at City Creek, but we don’t have any confirmation on the timing or closing of the location at Trolley,” said Dawn Katter, Trolley general manager.

So far, the effects on Trolley of City Creek Center’s aggressive leasing efforts to fill 800,000 square feet of space may be limited to the loss of Restoration Hardware. Trolley’s other main tenants, including natural-foods grocer Whole Foods, which opened early last year, are locked into long-term leases.

Trolley also is anchored by Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids and Williams-Sonoma. Pottery Barn doubled in size at Trolley in 2009, and Williams-Sonoma expanded in the mall in 2008.

By comparison, The Gateway shopping center in downtown Salt Lake City has lost several tenants in recent weeks, including children’s clothier Gymboree and apparel retailers Lane Bryant, American Eagle and Express, some of which appear headed to City Creek Center.

City Creek Center, between Salt Lake’s State Street and West Temple and 100 South and South Temple, will be an upscale shopping center owned and operated by Taubman Centers Inc. It’s nestled amid the larger City Creek project owned and managed by the development arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that includes offices, condominiums and apartments.

In September, Taubman released a list of more than two dozen tenants, including Tiffany & Co., planning to open in the mall, which will have about 80 stores and restaurants, led by retailers Macy’s and Nordstrom.

Taubman officials have said they won’t be releasing the full lineup of tenants until closer to opening day, March 22.

Many retailers and restaurants could justify locations in both City Creek Center and other malls such as Fashion Place in Murray because they are miles apart. Trolley Square and The Gateway would appear to be too close to City Creek for the same to be true.

Although no mall wants to see tenants leave, Eric Moldenhauer, general manager of Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, said he doesn’t believe losing Restoration Hardware, which is in its own building outside the main Trolley mall, would have a huge effect on other merchants. Whole Foods creates a lot of cross-shopping opportunities, but the same can’t be said for Restoration, he added.

“To me, it wouldn’t be as big of an effect as you might think.”

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Restoration Hardware to open in City Creek Center

ASPEN — A dilapidated house off Owl Creek Road that dates back to Aspen's early ranching days would be the focus of an extensive restoration effort as part of a development plan submitted to Pitkin County on Thursday.

Owl Creek Ranch homeowner James Gordon has proposed seeking the county's historic designation for the old house, built by William E. Stapleton in 1913, and its restoration. The application also proposes construction of a new, 5,750-square-foot single-family home on the 5-acre lot and the demolition of a vacant cabin that was to serve as worker housing but is no longer habitable.

Gordon is seeking the removal of a deed restriction on the lot that limits its use to worker housing. In exchange, he would either pay $489,525 into the local worker housing program or acquire a condo in the Aspen area that could serve as replacement housing for a local worker.

The Stapleton home, an improbable throwback to another era in a valley dotted with mansions, is just off Owl Creek Road and the Owl Creek bike trail, between Aspen and Snowmass Village, in plain view of passersby. Restoring the house to livable condition, for use as a caretaker unit, likely will cost more than $1.5 million, according to the development application. Also proposed is a plaque along the trail explaining the historical significance of the home.

The land it's built on was originally homesteaded by Marron Hugh in 1885, according to research by Denver-based consultant Lisa Purdy. No structures there date back to Hugh's ownership. Rather, the house was built by William Stapleton, son of Timothy Stapleton, who, in 1881, homesteaded in the area now occupied by the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport.

The lot is currently owned by the estate of Shannon Stapleton, from which Gordon would buy the property if the county approves the development plan.

Despite the home's serious state of disrepair, it is of historical significance, according to Purdy.

“I think it's terrific,” she said. “The fact that it goes back so many generations on that land and that we have family members still in existence today who can give me photos from an album is just amazing.”

The development application includes a photograph of Stapleton family members standing on the porch of the home shortly after it was built.

“It's amazingly intact inside,” Purdy said. “It was never updated, which is the kiss of death on these things.”

The first order of business if the development plan proceeds is shoring up the house, said Glenn Horn, the planning consultant working on Gordon's behalf.

“It is about 3 feet of snow away from being demolished,” Pitkin County Commissioner Rob Ittner said in October, when the contemplated historic site application came to commissioners for an informal review.

“That home has always held my imagination,” Commissioner Michael Owsley said during the October discussion. “To see it deteriorate to the state it's in now is sad. For me, the primary purpose is the restoration of a historic resource. I want that to occur.”

The cabin on the property, however, is in poor condition and not worth saving, according to consultants. Extensive alterations have undone whatever historical significance it had, according to Purdy, and it would be torn down under the proposal.

Commissioner Rachel Richards, however, voiced concern in October that a home that was supposed to house a worker as part of the approvals for the Owl Creek Ranch subdivision had fallen into disrepair and was uninhabited. Replacing the worker residence with a new one on the lot is an option, she noted.

The development application, after it is deemed complete by the county's Community Development staff, will be scheduled for first review by the Planning and Zoning Commission.

janet@aspentimes.com

Excerpt from:
Restoration proposed for historic Owl Creek home

by Christine McCarthy and Brandon Hartman

GATESVILLE - A local pastor is now in the Coryell County Jail for allegedly setting his mobile home on fire and killing his wife last March.

Coryell County Sheriff's deputies arrested 49-year-old David Keith Allen at 6:45 on Tuesday night for Capital Murder of his 54-year-old wife, Paula Diann Allen.

An indictment obtained by News Channel 25 states that David Allen used a flammable accelerant on an open flame to burn down the mobile home located behind his New Life Church of Restoration.

On March 22, 2011, David Allen called the fire department and said his wife was trapped inside their burning mobile home. He told investigators he had been sleeping in the living room and hopped out a window around 1:00 a.m. when he realized the fire had started.

Fire crews found the mobile home in the 4000 block of East Highway 84 completely engulfed and eventually found Paula Allen dead inside.

Paula Allen's best friend, Robin Tippit doesn't consider David Allen's arrest closure, but another part to a long road of healing.

"I loved David just as much as I loved Paula..." Tippit says. "I looked to him as my pastor and it's just hard for me to grasp and to comprehend."

Tippit recalls the tragic March day and says her wounds have never healed.

"We all gathered at the church, and, you know, it was true.  She was gone and it's been tough. It's been a hard - hardest year of my life, ever," Tippit says, in tears. "Hardest thing I've ever gone through.

Michael Stidham, former Associate Pastor at the New Life Church, says he and others from the church have been expecting Allen's arrest.  Stidham became suspicious of Allen's involvement in the fire that very night.

"He had his truck keys on him and his wallet on him. Yet, he was asleep on the recliner when the fire took place and he jumped out the window.  But he had all his stuff on him," Stidham says, adding that Allen's behavior in the following days made him ask more questions.

"If I lost my wife like that, I can't see how I could breathe, you know, live," Stidham says.  "Just the thought tears me up. And he handled it quite well. And I think that's why a lot of people at the funeral were like, 'This is very weird.'"

Stidham says Allen didn't grieve because he was supposedly celebrating his wife's life, but Stidham and much of the community thought his reaction wasn't that of a truly mourning husband.

After being asked to step down as pastor, Allen left the New Life Church and created Final Victories Ministries. A small handful of people from the ministry gather with him. One member says he and Allen's friends continue to support him and think Allen is innocent.

Stidham and other church members have drifted away from David Allen.  Many neighbors near Allen's new home say Allen was the talk of the neighborhood.

On January 21, 2012, Allen remarried a Gatesville woman, according to court records.

Paige Rowland, now pastor of the old New Life Church, which has since changed its name to Crossroads, says the fatal fire tore the church apart.

Of the arrest, Rowland says, "I think a lot of people are a little bit relieved. I think a little bit shocked.  I feel I can say that we've all cried out for justice."

In the meantime, the community remembers Paula Allen, "the backbone of the church," according to Stidham.  Tippit also calls her a "generous, loving friend and mother."

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Pastor arrested for killing wife in 2011 fire

01-02-2012 12:41 Cob blasting and restoration of a log home in Pennsylvania.

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Cob blasting to restore log homes by Blastmaster - Video