Ilminster man gives up booze for cancer charity

8:00am Monday 13th January 2014 in News

A RETIRED plumber is going teetotal to inject much-needed cash into cancer research.

Michael Drayton, 64, said he decided to take on the month-long Dryathlon challenge, both to fund the charitys lifesaving work and in memory of his brother-in-law, who lost his battle with cancer in March last year.

Michael, of Listers Hill, Ilminster, said the hardest part is going to be cutting out the temptation to pick up a glass of his favourite red wine.

He told the News: I just thought I would give it a go because all the money goes towards research and my daughter, who works for the charity, said there are lots of promising things coming through.

My friends would tell you that I am partial to a drop of red wine so giving that up will be a bit of a wrench for me.

Every hour, more than three people are diagnosed with cancer in the South-West, according to Cancer Research UK.

Last year, across our region, 2,000 people signed up to the challenge, helping too raise 155,561.

Dryathlon challenges those with enough willpower to drop the drink and people can get sponsored by family, friends and work colleagues or simply donate the money they save by going dry during January.

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Ilminster man gives up booze for cancer charity

Jan. 13 (UPI) -- When Oprah Winfrey isn't interviewing celebrities or receiving the Medal of Freedom from the President of the United States, she can be found at her other job, being a plumber.

Winfrey's good friend and CBS anchor Gayle King shared a hilarious picture of the talk show host "at her other job" on Sunday.

The Instagram shot shows the 59-year-old star casually fixing a toilet in her Maui home.

"Stars they are just like us," King captioned the pic. "@Oprah at her other job plumber ....who knows how to fix the toilet .."

In addition to being a a co-anchor of CBS's This Morning, King is the editor-at-large for O, The Oprah Magazine, and is a close friend and business associate of the acclaimed actress, producer, and philanthropist.

[Instagram]

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Gayle King shares picture of Oprah Winfrey fixing her toilet

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Man dies in Birmingham house fire Friday morning Man dies in Birmingham house fire Friday morning

Updated: Friday, January 10 2014 11:36 PM EST2014-01-11 04:36:50 GMT

A man died in a Friday morning house fire in Birmingham. The Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service and the Jefferson County Coroners Office report the fire happened at 624 Fulton Avenue SW about 2:40am CT. The victim died on the scene. Another man was severely burned and transported to a hospital in critical condition. A female was also in the house, but was not hurt. The BFRS says the cause is accidental, and is under...

A man died in a Friday morning house fire in Birmingham. The Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service and the Jefferson County Coroners Office report the fire happened at 624 Fulton Avenue SW about 2:40am CT. The victim died on the scene. Another man was severely burned and transported to a hospital in critical condition. A female was also in the house, but was not hurt. The BFRS says the cause is accidental, and is under...

Updated: Friday, January 10 2014 12:08 PM EST2014-01-10 17:08:07 GMT

What's left of it may make you wonder how they got out of it. Tim Flowers said, The whole back of the house was filled up with smoke. He woke up, before sunrise Wednesday, and his house was on fire. I started waking everybody up, and I was in panic mode, Flowers said. I told them to get up and get out because I thought the house was on fire. He said he didn't want to make it out alive unless his family survived. When he realized they were not outside, by his side, Flowers went bac...

What's left of it may make you wonder how they got out of it. Tim Flowers said, The whole back of the house was filled up with smoke. He woke up, before sunrise Wednesday, and his house was on fire. I started waking everybody up, and I was in panic mode, Flowers said. I told them to get up and get out because I thought the house was on fire. He said he didn't want to make it out alive unless his family survived. When he realized they were not outside, by his side, Flowers went bac...

The Pennsylvania Health Care Association today commended the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for unanimous passage of SB 379, which is legislation that strengthens communications between health care providers and...

The Pennsylvania Health Care Association today commended the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for unanimous passage of SB 379, which is legislation that strengthens communications between health care providers and...

Updated: Friday, January 10 2014 12:50 PM EST2014-01-10 17:50:50 GMT

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Plumber finds dead body under client's house while repairing pipes

Enterprise agency helps new businesses set up in Bishop Auckland and Newton Aycliffe

1:34pm Friday 10th January 2014 in News By Lizzie Anderson

A DOG groomer, a war games specialist and a plumber are the latest to benefit from the support of an agency on a mission to create new businesses.

Former infantry soldier Steve Jones opened The Salon, a dog grooming parlour on Newgate Street in Bishop Auckland, after receiving business advice from South Durham Enterprise Agency (SDEA).

The agency has received funding from the Bishop Auckland and Shildon Area Action Partnership to help create jobs and new businesses in both towns.

Mr Jones, 31, said. SDEA has been there to support me to develop my business plan and provide with me with guidance. I know I can count on them to be there in the future should I need their support.

SDEA also came to the assistance of war games fan Andy Robson, 32, who is now the proud proprietor of Brigade Headquarters on Railway Street, Bishop Auckland.

As well as being a place to buy war games, customers can play together, pick up tips and learn how to build the models.

Over in Newton Aycliffe, meanwhile, electrical engineer turned plumber Mark Edney, 41, set up GasMark Plumbing and Heating after enrolling on the agencys Step into Business scheme.

The initiative, which is funded by Great Aycliffe and Middridge Area Action Partnership, offers grants of up to 850 to allow start-up businesses in the Newton Aycliffe area to pay for equipment, clothing, professional memberships, marketing and website design and development.

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Enterprise agency helps new businesses set up in Bishop Auckland and Newton Aycliffe

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Plumbing problems are common in subzero weather, but master plumber Sam Stukel of Plymouths Horton Plumbing and Remodeling has some tips for homeowners.

A little trickle of water through faucets helps, said Stukel, who manages commercial plumbing at Horton and adds I do just about everything. Water coming through doesnt freeze.

In manufactured homes, heat tape is used on plumbing. When Horton crews visit manufactured homes with plumbing problems, often they find skirting pieces missing.

Siding can blow off the home, he said. That little bit of airhole can freeze pipes. It doesnt take a lot to freeze them up.

He was in a Plymouth Township Lake Pointe home Tuesday where the main bathroom was 25-30 degrees cooler than the hallway. Stukel recommends not dialing your themostat down too much in this weather.

The heats got to crank up to combat it, he said.

He had 35-40 more calls to get to late Tuesday afternoon.

We are just cranked up, Stukel said.

Horton Plumbing, in business since 1988, doesnt usually see that volume. Every five years or so you get a bad one, Stukel said.

Horton crews have visited mainly homes in this cold snap, along with a couple of dental practices. It is good for the plumbing business.

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Plumber: Heed tips to avoid frozen pipes

Courtesy Madison Water Utility

Plumbers say now is the time to be on the lookout for frozen pipes that will start to thaw and might cause problems.

Korey Ace has been working in plumbing for about 17 years. He and other plumbing repair technicians with Sheldon Plumbing, in Verona, had a busy Wednesday.

News 3 followed along as Ace tackled a job at a condo on Madison's west side.

He said the job started off as a complaint of no hot water. The pipes in the home's utility room were cold to the touch -- something he said is a bad sign.

"This type of weather is not only hard on the plumbers but the plumbing," Ace said.

Ace said now is the time for homeowners to be on the lookout for frozen pipes.

"When things thaw out, then sooner or later that chunk of ice is going to come flying out and water is going to follow it, and that's when the flood damage occurs -- when things warm back up," Ace said.

If you have pipes on an outside wall, try to push some warm air on them, Ace said. If they are frozen, the heat could help residents avoid a break.

"If you have an opportunity to open up the service door to the area and let some heat out in there, it doesn't take very long to thaw things back out if they haven't gone to the extent of freezing so hard the pipes burst," Ace said.

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Plumber: Warm-up is time to watch for frozen pipe issues

EAST GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - The deep freeze had plumbers all over West Michigan busy with calls of burst pipes and frozen water lines -- but the coming rising temperatures could mean the calls will continue to rise. Before Saturday, it had been years since Sommerdyke Plumbing's Darrin Ackerman fixed a pipe that had burst due to the cold. Starting this past weekend, he said he has fixed about a dozen. "This is just, what is it, a thousand year freeze or something," said Ackerman."I haven't had any in a couple years now -- two or three years -- so this is actually pretty nice 'cause we're busy.But it's kind of nice to be home, [too]." At one East Grand Rapids home Tuesday, there was no water coming to the bathroom faucets. The problem was a burst pipe in the bathroom.

Though it had never burst in the 27 years the homeowner lived there, the water had leaked through the floor and frozen down the outside of the house.The large amount of water created a small ice rink on the porch under the bathroom. When the thaw comes, the plumber told 24 Hour News 8, he may get even busier. Frozen pipes will then thaw, and previously undetected breaks will become clear. When and if that happens to you, Ackerman said it's important to make sure you call a reputable plumber -- not just an unknown person off Craigslist who claims to have plumbing expertise.

The plumber should be licensed with the state, have a history in the area, experience and insurance for the worst-case scenarios. "If we did something wrong, we're insured," he said. "But hopefully that wouldn't happen."

You can check to see if your plumber is licensed here on the State of Michigan website.

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Tips to keep your pipes from freezing

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Make sure your plumber is licensed

If your pipes should freeze, would you know how to defrost them the safe way?

One Northampton County couple said their home caught fire when a plumber went about it the wrong way, using a torch and a heater, but the couple wouldn't go into more detail because of possible litigation.

Firefighters responded to the home on Ahern Drive in Upper Mount Bethel Township on Tuesday.

For the last week, R.J. Walker Plumbing Supply has been selling a lot of material to plumbers fixing frozen pipes, said Luis Acevado, the branch manager.

Weve been getting plumbers throughout the day, especially in the morning," said Acevado. "Many of them coming in looking for fittings and pipe. A lot of frozen pipe out there.

There are preventative measures homeowners can take, like wrapping pipes, but if the pipe does freeze, the American Red Cross has a few tips.

Apply heat to the frozen pipe using an electric heating pad, a hair dryer, a portable space heater, or towels soaked in hot water.

Do not try to correct the problem with a blowtorch, kerosene or propane heater. Also don't use a charcoal stove or any other open-flame device.

Another item flying off the shelves is a pipe warming system.

You want this before it freezes, added Acevado.

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Red Cross urges people to thaw frozen water pipes the right way