ROCKPORT These meetings, open to the public, are scheduled this week in Rockport:

Today

Town Hall closed in recognition of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Tuesday

Council on Aging, 6 p.m., Rockport Community House.

Board of Health, 6:30 p.m., Town Hall Annex. Officials will discuss the Sandy Bay Tenant Association, septic system question, changes to Title V, Health Department efficiency.

Board of Selectmen, 7 p.m., Town Hall Conference Room A. Agenda includes discussion of National Grid hearings, selectmen updates and liaison reports, finance plan and budget message, approval of merit bonus, CPA sponsorship, Long Beach remodeling, discussion about firefighters 65 years of age and older, drainage easements, budget presentation at town meeting, Harbor Advisory Committee Granite Pier project, operating budget cuts.

Wednesday

Board of Firefighter Engineers, 6:30 p.m., Central Fire Station.

Millbrook Meadow Committee, 7 p.m., Rockport Public Library. Officials will discuss project update, communication tools, grant application status, plans for fund-raising.

Read this article:
Rockport on the agenda

Originally published January 17, 2014 at 8:02 PM | Page modified January 18, 2014 at 9:33 AM

The home office, it seems, is going the way of the fax machine.

Interior designers say families are finding more inventive uses for their homes extra little rooms optimistically called bonus rooms by real estate agents.

With the spread of wireless Internet and portables devices such as tablets, its common now to send spreadsheets and emails from any room in the house, not to mention the nearest coffee shop.

In fact, among major home-renovation projects, home-office improvements provide the puniest return on the investment when a home is resold, according to Remodeling magazines 2013 cost vs. value report.

So instead of that dust-collecting desk, many families are seeking creative ways to customize these alcoves as game rooms, dressing rooms, small theaters and more.

I get this question a lot, says Elizabeth Cb Marsh, an associate interior designer at Jenkins Baer Associates in Baltimore. Especially in large, new-construction homes, there are these bonus rooms that are just there.

When her clients make over a pre-existing office, she usually recommends trying to preserve any built-in features, such as shelving or cabinetry. If the space is large enough, she says, one option is to create a billiards room. Find a small (7-foot) pool table to place in the center of the room.

If theres a wood counter, retrofit the top with a waterproof material such as stone for an elegant wet bar, and if you have the budget, install plumbing for a small sink. Add bar stools, a high-top cocktail table and a pendant lamp over the pool table.

A smaller office can have a second life as a luxe dressing room, according to Marsh. Whether you draw inspiration from Downton Abbey or certain Beverly Hills housewives, the first step is to install a wall of shelving for shoes and clothes.

The rest is here:
Home office gathering dust? Consider other options

Murphy Gershman posted up his defender, who was 4 inches taller.

He called for the ball, waited for the pass, but it never came.

Instead, a teammate turned the ball over.

Pima College was trailing Glendale Community College late and had no room for error.

A timeout was called, and Gershman walked to the bench.

He sat down next to four of his teammates, all to his left. Then, he turned to his right, lifted his right arm and smacked the seat of the empty chair next to him. Then again.

He had already scored 32 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, but Pima was about to lose its third straight game.

Thats not quite an anomaly, considering Pima basketballs not-so-illustrious history. But coach Brian Peabody is trying to change that.

So is Gershman, the most unlikely success story on a surprisingly good team. The Aztecs were 9-10 before Saturday nights game at Eastern Arizona.

Hes what Pima basketball is all about, Peabody said. Hes just a blue-collar, no-nonsense type of guy. He just brings his lunch pail to work every day.

More:
Mr. Fix It: Former handyman Gershman sparking Pima's resurgent basketball team

Southland Park Racing and Gaming, the West Memphis greyhound race track that now makes its big money from casino gambling,has announced a $37 million expansion and remodeling.

The work includes a new exterior, entrance and parking. Also planned is a 41,000-square-foot building with room for 500 slot machines, which will bring the total capacity of gambling machines to 1,950, plus a new restaurant and sports bar. It's the second expansion since 2012.

The track's release follows:

WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. (January 16, 2014) Southland Park Gaming & Racing today announced a $37.4 million project planned for 2014 to once again expand its gaming and hospitality amenities, plus redesign and enhance the venues exterior, main drive and south entrance.

The key component is the construction of a 41,000-square-foot building addition to house up to 500 new gaming machines which will bring Southland Parks total capacity to more than 1,950 games and a 150-seat themed restaurant and sports bar. Upon completion of the expansion, Southland plans to have more than 1,700 games featured on the gaming floor.

The current buildings exterior will be reskinned so that both it and the addition appear as one seamless complex. The exterior will feature new walls with improved signage and LED lighting, as well as improved disability access and parking. The southeast entrance from North Ingram Boulevard will be redesigned, and a new main drive created to a new porte-cochere and entrance of the venue. This will also create space for an expanded valet parking program. A new loading dock on the east side of the complex will also be constructed.

Southland Park is planning a ground breaking ceremony on January 27, 2014 and anticipates completing the expansion by the end of 2014.

Our business keeps growing, so we want to continue the expansion and transformation of Southland Park into the unquestioned premiere gaming destination in the Mid-South, said Troy Keeping, Southland Parks president and general manager. This project will provide our guests with more space and allow us to add more of the best gaming machines on the market and another popular restaurant and entertainment spot within our complex.

The project will mark the second major expansion and renovation project since 2012 for the increasingly popular regional entertainment destination in West Memphis, Ark., about 10 miles from Memphis, Tenn. Southland Park completed a $11 million renovation and expansion project in 2012 that added 200 gaming machines, a larger event center, kitchen and serving space for the World Market Buffet, and the new Shine Blounge.

In addition, Southland Park this summer relocated some of its office space in the complex to accommodate an addition of 50 gaming machines on the gaming floor; that gaming expansion will be complete in mid-December of this year. It also recently completed renovations to the popular Juke Joint entertainment venue by adding a new bar and well featuring a walk-up service window that allows guests to order drinks directly from the gaming floor, new carpeting throughout the room, a new elevated seating area, a new dance floor, larger performance stage and a public-accessible restroom.

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Southland Park announces $37 million casino expansion

At 97, Peg Rogers moved into a semi-private room at the Amie Holt Care Center. She said she was lucky; she likes her roommate. Rogers said that she couldnt ask for a better living situation but that if she had to gripe about something, it would be sharing a bathroom.

Carolyn McGill, 75, moved into the nursing home in November. She said she loves living at the Amie Holt Care Center and would recommend it to anyone, but she also has to share a bathroom.

The nursing home has 23 semi-private rooms and four private rooms. It was built in 1965, with subsequent additions in 1973, 1987 and 2006. Having a private bedroom and bathroom is an anomaly at the facility, but that may soon change.

At its Jan. 8 meeting, the Johnson County Hospital District Board gave the final nod to send a new nursing home project to bid and start construction.

The only thing that might stop the project now would be bids coming in substantially more than the estimated $12.8 million cost, said Sandy Ward, administrator of the Johnson County Healthcare Center.

I dont anticipate that happening, Ward said. Both (Fletcher Construction and CTA Architects and Engineers) have done detailed cost estimates for the project. We are pretty comfortable that we are pretty close.

Come March, health care center officials, CTA Architects and Fletcher Construction will request bids for the 39,307-square-foot facility. The new nursing home, which will be constructed just west of the current health care center, will include 44 private bedrooms and baths, two levels, a large dining room over looking the golf course, administrative offices and sitting areas.

A semi-private room in the existing facility is 200 square feet and is attached is a 20-square-foot bathroom. Rooms in the new facility will be 330 square feet and will be attached to a 49-square-foot bathroom.

The new rooms will all be private, so its a pretty dramatic increase, Ward said. Its going to be a substantial increase for these folks.

If the board approves the bids, construction would start in late April or early May.

Original post:
Amie Holt Care Center gets thumbs up for new digs

Hypatia Station Recording Logs : 10/01/2565
A.K.A : Rise of cyber michael bay Sorry for no sound.... Camrecorder messed it up For those who #39;s too lazy to watch the whole shift 2:03 Shift Begin 8:20 Set...

By: bloodyspare

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Hypatia Station Recording Logs : 10/01/2565 - Video

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GLASGOW If one were to think of a game of musical chairs, but then apply it to offices, that might provide a glimpse into whats been going on lately in the building that has housed Glasgows fire department and the local emergency dispatch center for the past several months.

Within two or three months after Glasgow Police Department moved out of the building at East Washington and South Broadway streets and into another building, the remaining two departments that shared what some had called the public safety building began spreading their wings a bit.

On Monday evening, they hosted an open house to display the transformation that had occurred.

What had been the police chiefs office is now the office of Beverly Harbison, director of the Barren-Metcalfe County Emergency Communications Center, but now it has an additional door that is accessed directly from the East Washington Street entrance of the building. Before, it could only be accessed through an adjoining conference room. The conference room is still there, though, and the fire department and dispatch center will share it.

The room that had been occupied by a police lieutenant colonel is now the office of Joann Eaton, assistant director of the dispatch center. Two other smaller rooms that had been police offices are being used for storage and an extra temporary office.

Harbison and Eaton used to share an office just off the dispatch room that has now been opened up for use as an extra work area.

What had most recently been the reception area for the police department the room behind the glass window where a resident would go to pick up a copy of an accident report, for example is now the fire chiefs office. And an entire wall was removed and an existing doorway revealed to connect the fire department offices to the Broadway main entrance. The fire department secretary moved there, the assistant chief moved to the chiefs former office and the battalion chief moved to what had been the secretarys office. The room that used to be shared by the assistant and battalion chiefs is now used for filing storage.

All of the interior labor, except for the installation of new windows, was done by fire department and communications personnel; jail inmates did painting and other work on the front exterior.

GFD Chief Tony Atwood said he spent $8,376.34, of which $4,153.36 was for the windows. Barring anything catastrophic, he said, his maintenance budget for this fiscal year should be able to absorb it.

It was a huge undertaking that the guys basically volunteered to do, he said.

The rest is here:
Glasgow Fire Department opens new home

PORTLAND, OR (KPTV) -

One of Portland's Powell's bookstores will get a makeover starting today.

Powell's City of Books located on 1005 West Burnside St. in downtown Portland announced the six-month-long remodeling project in May of last year.

While the flagship store said necessary improvements needed to be made, additional changes will be introduced to its store's Green and Blue rooms. A brand-new layout will update the store's look and feel while still maintaining Powell's historic spirit.

A new entrance and roof with energy-efficient windows will be enhanced by additional skylights and new lighting. The outside of the store will also get a fresh coat of paint.

The store said it will remain open during normal business hours. However, both the Green and Blue rooms will be closed. Books currently housed in those rooms will be temporarily moved to other parts of the building.

The Green Room entrance will also be closed. Customers can enter through the Orange Room at 11th Avenue and Couch Street.

Architects Ernest Munch and Corey Omey of Ernest R. Munch Architecture & Urban Planning, Walsh Construction Company, and the city of Portland will head the remodeling project.

Powell's City of Books is the independent bookseller's flagship location, offering 68,000 square feet of used, new, rare, and out-of-print books.

For the latest project updates and developments, you can visit Powell's remodeling website here.

Originally posted here:
Powell’s West Burnside store remodel starts today

By EVE NEWMAN / even@laramieboomerang.com Sunday, January 12, 2014

Its called the trophy room, and it sits on the west side of the longtime West Laramie business, The Boardwalk.

Inside, more than 50 trophies of all shapes and sizes are mounted on the wall and displayed in cases, along with saddles, antique guns, Native American artifacts and family heirlooms. The room is open to visitors who pass through the store.

Owner William Rob Vogel, an Albany County native, has run the family business for more than 45 years. The trophy room is his museum of memories, and it shows off his passions for hunting and history.

Some of my most fond memories of my younger life were getting out. No telephone, no cars, no nothing, he said. I have a lot of good memories.

Vogel, 63, was born in Rock River, where his father, Bud, served as mayor and ran a lumberyard and motel. His grandfather homesteaded near Arlington, where his grandmother was the postmistress.

The Vogels moved to Laramie in the 1960s and opened The Boardwalk in 1967, remodeling the original building and constructing additions as they expanded. Inside, custom woodwork adorns the rafters and doors. A back room with one wall made of logs reflects the teenage Vogels desire to live in a log cabin, his wife, Crystal, said.

Today, the Vogels sell and repair saddles and tack, repair shoes and boots and run a Western-themed gift shop.

In the trophy room, a collection of rifles dating back to the 1800s hangs on one wall. One belonged to Vogel as a child living on a Rock River ranch. His mother gave him five bullets at a time, and he had to make them count.

I couldnt just shoot them all up. There were a lot of jackrabbits around the ranch, and theyd just eat you out of house and home. I had to shoot a couple of jackrabbits, he said.

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Laramie resident's trophy display showcases passion for huntin