The Streator YMCA is challenging community members to reach new heights with a new multipurpose room featuring a climbing wall.

The area formerly designed for racquetball boasts two new basketball hoops and an 8-foot-tall, 40-foot-wide climbing wall.

Executive Director Josh Biros said the project came together about a month ago at a committee meeting, where the idea came up to tear down the wall in the racquetball court to create a new space for youth.

In the wintertime especially we are just busy, Biros said. We have so many programs going on right now that we dont have anywhere to put them, or if people want to come in and shoot baskets, they cant right now because there is no space. And unfortunately, the racquetball courts sit empty. We are paying yearlong to heat and cool the area, and it is just not cost effective for us.

Racquetball has seen a decline in the last 20 years, Biros said. After conducting a study, the YMCA determined about seven members out of 2,300 were using the racquetball courts for racquetball or squash exclusively.

Unfortunately those few racquetball players had to lose the sport they enjoy the most and I apologize for that, Biros said. As a whole, we try to make everybody happy, but unfortunately, I have to try to make almost everybody happy here.

The project took less than two weeks to complete. One court was turned into a circuit training room, which is geared toward seniors and has easy accessibility for individuals with disabilities. Within the first week, the wall was eliminated and the gym floor was patched, sanded and has new polyurethane. The two basketball hoops and the wall were added next.

We were very fortunate that (Streator Onized Credit Union) and their employees donated $1,000 toward a portion of the basketball hoops, Biros said. We were also lucky that (Vactor Manufacturing) donated the entire climbing wall at a cost of $5,700. We were very lucky to create those relationships with those organizations in town and kind of help us with the burden of the cost of doing this.

The climbing wall is for elementary-aged children and older. Biros said the wall is kid-friendly and safe. There is a mat that locks up with a key, so no one can use the wall while it is locked. About 3 feet up is a red safety line, which the kids are not allowed to go above.

Remodeling is ongoing to turn the upstairs mezzanine that was previously used for viewing the racquetball courts into a birthday party area. The YMCA has revamped its birthday party packages with this new space in mind. Before the new space was added, just the pool or the gym could be rented out.

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Take a climb at the Streator Y

Room remodeling update
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Room remodeling update - Video

A 1926 Fornfelt High School letterman's jacket is displayed at the Scott City Historical Museum. (photo by Savanna Maue)

Members of the Scott City Historical Commission remember it well and the impact it left on the community.

"Nothing's been done for a really long time, and I think the heart of the community just had a big punch to it when the museum burned down," commission chairman Susan Laughlin Perez said. "It was a tragic thing. ... I lived in Illmo, and I've been coming back my whole life ... [Since I've moved back,] what we have tried to do is rebuild the trust from the community because people gave them things and then they were lost."

For the past nine months the commission began remodeling a building owned by The Bank of Missouri since 2013 and transforming it into the Scott City Historical Museum.

The resurrected historical commission consists of 12 members appointed by the city council. Those still interested in the history of Scott City are welcome to be a part of the Scott City Historical Society, which offers free membership to the museum and its resources but without the power to vote the commission has during official meetings. The commission holds its meetings at 3 p.m. the first Wednesday of the month at the new site, at 1514 Main St. in Scott City.

Last month, it scheduled a session for people to donate items of historic value to the museum to be used in its display cases. It collected about 300 items, secretary Gail Cummins Crader said.

Members labeled the historic items with identification numbers and photographed everything donated or loaned to the museum.

The next donation sessions are from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 28 and from 1 to 4 p.m. March 1. Some items can be copied and returned to the owner, or they can donated or loaned to the museum for a limited period of time.

The museum space comprises of smaller rooms, each with a theme. The lobby is filled with a variety of artifacts, from an old high-school letterman's jacket to a collection of oddly shaped glass bottles.

Through the hallway, there's a military room, a room filled with items that would have been found in a woman's changing room during a different era, an office, research room, a larger meeting room, a railroad room and a fireside chat room.

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Scott City works to establish a history museum

By Jennifer Mason The Virginian-Pilot February 16, 2015

VIRGINIA BEACH

It's been a little more than a year since a fire at Jungle Golf, a family-owned fixture at the city's resort area for more than 40 years.

The accidental electrical blaze damaged the snack bar, game room and office on Jan. 2, 2014, The Virginian-Pilot reported. But the fire spared the miniature golf course known for its tropical landscaping and large faux animals on Pacific Avenue.

Owner Preston Midgett said he and his family were touched by the response from the community and the many offers to help. Locals make up about 40 percent of their customers, Midgett said. The snack bar and game room have been popular places for birthday parties.

The fire came on top of another family crisis.

Midgett's mother's heart stopped 20 minutes before midnight New Year's Eve, just days before the fire. She died Jan. 5, 2014. Six months later, in July, lightning struck her Great Neck Point home, causing extensive damage.

It's been quite a journey for the family - wading through paperwork, making decisions and dealing with construction and insurance companies, Midgett said.

The 18-hole course has remained open, but progress has been slow in rebuilding the rest of the business. A generator kept the lights on and computers running until June.

One positive emerged from the fire: a remodel of a dated space.

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Whatever happened to...Jungle Golf in Va. Beach?

Living room remodeling part 1
This is after I have taken out all the carpet and I #39;ll be laying down the wooden planks soon. Stay tuned to my channel for more clips being uploaded as I wor...

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Living room remodeling part 1 - Video

Greg Camps hobby of making beer at home has transformed into a weekend business thats been gaining attention around the area since he and a friend opened a tasting room at a local winery almost a month ago.

Deslogetown Brewerys Ale House makes its home at St. Francois Winery, off Highway 32, a couple of miles outside Bismarck. Camp, whose main job is Desloge city administrator, said his new venture was all made possible by winery owner Ed Daugherty.

Hes been in business there since 2005, Camp said. Ed has a full-blown nursery and the vineyard producing several different varieties of wine. Its all locally grown, produced and sold there at St. Francois Winery. When it comes to fermenting things, Eds the man.

Camp said his interest in brewing beer came from an unexpected source.

This is all my wife Kristies fault, he said with a laugh. We have an affection for all different types of beer and its been one of those things that weve been able to explore together by trying the 100 different styles and different flavor profiles that are available out there.

Back in Christmas 2008, she bought me a homebrew kit. We just started messing around with it. You get into it and your first recipe, the first batch that you make is something that is bought and pre-packaged. Its an awful lot of fun. You get into the science of brewing. You get into the different ways that you can make beer.

Thats when Camp said Daugherty entered the picture.

We got to talking to Ed about it and he had been dabbling in homebrewing, too, he said. So, a few years ago we just started making beer together. We would get together on a Saturday or Sunday and decided a week or so in advance we were going to make this style or that style of beer. A lot of those would be recipes that I had started working on when I first started brewing in early, early January of 2009."

Camp said that in the natural process of having fun brewing together and sharing their beers with friends, things began to get a little more serious.

Back last spring, Kristie and I were starting to say, Lets do this for real. Lets find a place. Lets get our licensing and our permits squared away. Its just going to be a hobby on the weekend.

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Brewery brings craft beer to area

Joint Safety Services Building By KEVIN CORVO Wednesday February 11, 2015 9:43 AM View Larger

Hilliard City Council members are expected to authorize the city's share of a $350,000 remodeling project at the Joint Safety Services Building on Northwest Parkway, a facility shared by the Hilliard Division of Police and Norwich Township Fire Department.

Legislation was introduced at the Feb. 9 meeting of the public safety and legal affairs committee to authorize the expenditure of $250,000 for the city's share of the project.

Norwich Township would contribute about $100,000 toward the total cost and would oversee the project, police Chief Doug Francis said.

The agreement is expected to be approved at City Council's next regularly scheduled meeting at 7 p.m. Feb. 23 at the Hilliard Municipal Building, 3800 Municipal Way.

Francis said the project should be done by the end of September.

Francis said "a few things have changed" since the facility opened in 2009, but most of the changes center on the police side. Not the least of which was the relocation of police, fire and EMS dispatching in 2013 to the Northwest Regional Emergency Communications Center in Dublin.

The former dispatching area will be used for additional office space for support services, Francis said.

The building's interior also will be reconfigured.

Renovations include moving wall partitions to nearly double the size of the mayor's court, Francis said, as well as expand meeting rooms the township utilizes.

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Remodeling would cost city $250K

A trip to the emergency room in the middle of the night can be one of the most frightening experiences in a persons life. Lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to machines, uncertain what the diagnosis will be; it can be a nightmare for patients and their families.

Officials at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Terra Linda hope to improve critical care and reduce waiting time with the hospitals new emergency room.

When completed, the new emergency department will have 18 treatment bays in 17,500 square feet nearly triple the size of the current facility.

The new ER is part of a remodeling project that includes a new parking structure. Hospital officials declined to discuss the cost of the project.

We are very pleased that one of the main improvements is space to allow us to take care of our patients even better, said Joe Fragola, Kaiser Permanente Regional Media Relations Specialist.

Fragola said the new emergency department, scheduled to open in the Spring, will feature two large trauma bays, a dedicated receiving area and entrance for patients with possible infectious disease or exposure to hazardous materials, including a decontamination area and isolation areas.

The new facilities also include specially designed rooms close to the waiting area, where less sick or injured patients can be seen quickly, cared for expertly and discharged much sooner without going into the more urgent treatment bays, Fragola said.

The new rooms will allow medical personnel to keep patient flow moving and focus on patients in greater need of urgent treatment.

The treatment rooms will be private and spacious to accommodate patients, families, physician, staff and important equipment. There will also be increased space in the ER for paramedics to do perform work when they deliver patients.

The entire design is patient/family centered and focused, Fragola said. The plan is for little to no waiting room time, patients will be roomed immediately. The care for those will less minor illness and injury will focus on seeing those patients right away, caring for them and discharging them efficiently.

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Terra Linda hospital wraps up ER revamp

Feb. 11, 2015 5:25 p.m.

Our bathroom remodel is underway!

http://www.splashingingrace.com

Remodelingthe sounds of hammering, sawing, and the sight of torn out drywall, a discolored sub-floor, exposed pipes, and a spaghetti of wiringthrill my heart. Do you doubt it? Its true. My husband and I have remodeled homes for over eighteen years and shivers of excitement fill my heart every time. I find it so satisfying to envision, design, and witness the entwining of ideas into a useful reality.

This week, we are leaping into a new task. Our main floor bathroom is getting a forty-year much overdue overhaul. Its pretty exciting to watch the process unfold. An even greater joy, however, comes from watching my husband and son work to tackle the project together. My husband instructs and our son follows. He rips out and our son discards the old. My husband corrects issues and our son adds to his learning.

Lovely isnt it?

As I look into that torn up room, I wonder how thrilling it is for God to transform us and make us new. We may feel alarmed by the gutting and the shredding but He sees the pruning away of all that is rotting and useless. We may feel the shards that drive in and pierce our hearts, but Hes nurturing us in compassion, empathy, and love for others. We may feel the crushing weight of His hands, pushing and pulling, all while God shapes us into a more useful dwelling place for His glory. Im very glad that were loved that much, and that God isnt content to stand by and allow us to stay the same. I too often get comfortable rolling around in my ugly sin and content with my limited usefulness.

I suppose, just like any overhaul in life, messiness is a precursor to any beautification process. Im not sure how long our project will take this time, but if history acts as a good gauge, it may last one month or three. I am dancing with gratefulness that its started. Very soon, this whole demolition will fade to a mere memory, it will be behind us, and then well all be enjoying it. We will be left with something beautified and much more useful. The next bathroom project is waiting in line though. Its waiting around the corner, up a flight of stairs, and down our hall.

In a similar pattern of a previous line-up of undertakingsI cant help but realize that Im getting a sneak peek into something divine. God is at constant work in our lives too. Over the last few years, Ive felt the prying away of sin. Ive felt the cutting away of unfruitful habits and the gritty sanding away of the rough splintery places. I was content but God wasnt. I once thought that what I was living with was just fineeven tolerable. God, however, saw what was lurking below the surface in my marriage and in me. In all honesty, He exposed more than I wanted to see. I didnt want to view the dark ugliness. Id been living in a hidden mess for well over two years and instead of keeping His distanceGod has placed His loving hands all over my heart, mind, and spirit. Hes chiseled at our marital foundation, filled in the cracks, and continues to make the necessary repairs. God also reminds me, yet again, that hoping in the Lord and His workdoes renew our strength. We are now entering the rebuilding phase on a stronger foundation, and wowit feels so good.

I believe beauty and renewal are not far off for any of us. A masterpiece can arrive in Gods perfect timeif we give Him welcome access to our lives and hearts. His faithful attention, diligence, and creativity will re-create us like weve never dreamed possible. Sometimes, its difficult to think about such things when we are on the brink of marital or personal destruction though. As a neighboring demolition site, I want to remind you that God wont quite working before His mission is completeHe loves you too much. Its about time to let Him have at itdont ya think?

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A Remodeling Project With Heart

Sierra Medical Center is closing its front entrance and front parking lot for about seven months as part of a construction project at the West Central El Paso hospital, 1700 Murchison.

The construction is part of a $120 million remodeling and expansion project, which began last year, for Sierra, Providence Memorial Hospital, and Providence Children's Hospital, Sierra officials reported. The hospitals are owned and operated by Tenet Healthcare Corp., of Dallas.

Sierra's exterior will be revamped, the emergency room redesigned, and improvements made to waiting areas. All rooms will be made private, and a new neuro intensive care unit and new cardiac intensive care unit will be added. Operating rooms have already been revamped.

The front parking lot will close Friday, and the front entrance will close Monday, and reopen in September. People can enter the hospital through the emergency room and admitting department entrances.

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Sierra Medical Center closing front entrance for remodeling project