For Petaluma pastor Tom Freitas, the 24-hour flight to Kenya, several-hour van ride to the small village near the Tanzania boarder and week-long stay in a small hut was nothing new. He has made this journey almost annually since 1999.

What made this trip different was the nature of the work he did on the ground. Freitas, the assistant pastor at Calvary Chapel in Petaluma, and five other members of the congregation spent part of this summer building a church in the village of Kehancha, Kenya, and building friendships among the villagers.

People there eek out a subsistence living. A lot of people live in one-room huts, Freitas said. The work itself was very labor-intensive. Unlike construction here, it is all manpower.

The crew of six men from Petalumas Calvary Chapel Freitas, Michael Belfor, Ebin Koenig, Tim Tillman, Art Adams and Ryan Lee were invited by a Kenyan pastor who became affiliated with the church through Freitas ministry work in the east African country. He was looking for volunteers to help reconstruct the village house of worship.

In Kenya, sometimes a structure doesnt last very long, Freitas said. His church was a mud and stick building. He decided he wanted to build a more permanent structure that wouldnt get degraded over time. Wed never done anything like a construction project before.

Besides Freitas, the five other men on the trip had never visited Africa before, but they had a life changing experience learning about a new culture, eating different foods and making friends.

Tillman, a tile contractor, said he had never considered a trip this far from home. But, he said, it was a life changing experience.

Once we got there, it was pretty amazing, he said. It was a real eye-opener.

The men spent their days pouring concrete, bending rebar and moving loads of bricks to make the frame for the villages new church. At one point, they ran out of the wood they were using to make frames, and, without any lumber stores, the local men went into the forest to cut down some more wood, Tillman said.

It was quite different from the way we do things, he said. Made you go back 40, 50 years. It was amazing.

Tillman said he plans to go back to help lay tile in the church sometime in the future.

At night, the group hung out with the Kenyan pastor and his family and were hosted at dinner parties.

The trip in late June coincided with the run up to Kenyas presidential election this month, and Freitas said they saw signs of the campaign throughout the country.

There was some tension, he said. People get inflamed easily.

The closely contested poll, won by incumbent president Uhuru Kenyatta, was proceeded by several days of riots, though nothing close to the post-election violence that Kenya experienced after the 2007 presidential election that killed 1,500 people and displaced thousands more.

Despite Kenyas potential for political violence, Freitas said the country on the whole is stable. He said the potential instability has not kept him from traveling to and working there for nearly 20 years, and he plans to return again next year.

On the way back to the capital, Nairobi, the group from Petaluma stopped off at one of Kenyas famed wild game parks, the Maasai Mara. There they spotted most of the countrys characteristic animals, including elephants, lions, leopards, buffaloes and rhinos, and were treated to the spectacle of a million wildebeest migrating across the Serengeti plains.

Read this article:
Petaluma church group visits Kenya on work trip - Petaluma Argus Courier

ONTARIO Further work on the Plaza Inn Restaurant and the Saint Alphonsus Health Plaza in Ontario is at a standstill, awaiting the results of an air quality test which will be an indication on how clean the facility is.

Jason Jungling, assistant manager, said he thought the test would start Monday with the results known at the end of the week. It will take five days to conduct the test with no one going in or out of the building.

At this time, a reopening of the Plaza Inn is not expected until at least Oct. 1. Jungling said, That is tentative.

Those waiting for the Health Plaza to reopen, will need to wait a bit longer as Ken Hart, president of Saint Alphonsus Medical Center-Ontario, expects to reopen sometime mid-October.

The restaurant and health facility, formerly the location of the Park Center, was flooded about a month ago, after an 8-inch underground pipe broke. Water ran for an estimated five to six hours, Jungling said in a phone interview.

After further investigation, Hart said the rupture occurred underground after a 2-inch hole appeared in the water main that supplied water to the fire sprinkler system. The hole in the pipe appeared to have been caused by age it was not from construction or otherwise related, Hart said.

The rupture happened underground which is why we got mud and silt in the building, he added.

National disaster team Belfor Property Restoration, responded to the flooding of the building and has remained on scene as they work to prepare the building for the reopenings.

As of now, the main concern is the air quality.

We have to make sure to terminally clean the building, Hart said.

That includes determining there is no mold from the water that poured into the two facilities.

Inside the restaurant, crews have sectioned off areas so if there is a zone that does not come back clean, the whole restaurant does not have to be re-cleaned, Jungling said.

However, the facility as a whole must be deemed clean for any restoration work to continue, he added.

Up until now, work in the restaurant has included removing all the carpet, tile and sheetrock up to 2-feet up from the floor, Jungling said. There are plans to install the same pattern of carpet that was installed in 2016.

Theyre planning on opening our building first, he said, before the Health Plaza. The main focus is getting our operation up and running.

In the meantime, Plaza Inn employees are being paid, Jungling said, noting the restaurants insurance covers employee wages for 60 days.

Much of the same work performed inside the restaurant is true with the Health Plaza, where carpet, equipment and sheetrock has been removed. All of the equipment is in the process of being analyzed to determine if it will be brought back to the facility, Hart said.

Much like the building itself, Hart said the equipment also has to be determined terminally clean.

As a health-care facility, our standards are really high, he said.

Once the building is determined safe after the mold spore analysis, the Health Plaza will have the green light to begin construction of the building.

Of the cost of damage, Hart said its a lot and wont have final numbers until everything is completed.

Picking up the tab for the damage caused to the building by the flooding is Saint Alphonsus, Hart said.

We are the landlord, so we take care of the building, he said.

However, equipment inside the Plaza Inn restaurant is exempted from their tab.

Most services provided by the health facility have transferred to Saint Alphonsus Health Plaza Fruitland with the exception of cardiac rehabilitation those services were moved to Nampa. All of the staff has also relocated to Fruitland, with some extended hours at the office, Hart said.

See original here:
Update on plazas - Ontario Argus Observer

Tech Review: The Tile line of Bluetooth trackers has evolved to include new form factors and extended range and features.

Im a fan of the Tile line of Bluetooth trackers.

Tiles are small, battery-powered Bluetooth trackers that you can slip into a wallet or computer bag or attach to your keychain to help you find them when they get separated from you.

The original Tile was not as streamlined as todays models, but it worked well. Today, Tile has evolved to include several new form factors, but they all work the same way.

You download the Tile app to your smartphone or tablet and add the individual Tiles to the app. Then you attach the Tile to whatever it is you dont want to lose.

If you do lose track of the item, you can call up the Tile app on your phone get some help finding it. If the Tile is within Bluetooth range, youll be able to make the Tile play a ringtone so you can locate it. This is what usually happens when Ive misplaced my keys inside my house.

But what happens if the keys are lost away from home, or left on the counter at the bank? What happens if you are not conveniently within Bluetooth range?

Your phone cant signal a Tile that it cant connect to via Bluetooth, but it can start a lost Tile search. If you tag your Tile as lost in the app, the Tile servers will add it to a database of lost Tiles that is broadcast to everyone who uses the Tile app.

If anyone with the app on their phone comes within range of your lost Tile, their app will tell the Tile servers where your tile was discovered. The users wont know they are helping locate your lost tile, as the locating of lost Tiles is not transparent to the user community.

You will receive a message from your Tile app telling you where your lost Tile is located. Its up to you to go track it down and retrieve it.

The original Tile didnt have a very wide range for Bluetooth communications, but it would work pretty well.

If you had a big house and needed to locate your keys, you might have to walk around to different parts of the house before the Bluetooth connection was made so you could hear the ringtone.

Newer versions of the Tile, called the Tile Mate ($25) and Tile Slim ($30) added a button that could be used to locate the connected smartphone, so if you had your Tile, but misplaced your phone, the Tile can make a ringtone on the phone, even if the phone is on silent mode.

The Tile Mate has a hole so you can attach it to your key chain or computer bag. The Tile Slim is thin like a credit card, and it can be easily slipped in a wallet or purse.

The latest models called the Tile Pro, have really upped the ante.

The Pro models come in gray (called the Sport) or white and gold (called the Style). The Tile Pro costs $35 or two for $60.

The Pro models have a range of up to 200 feet, which is much better than the previous models. The Pros are also the only Tiles that are waterproof, and their speakers can play a ringtone that is twice as loud as older Tiles.

The Tile Pro Sport is 1.57 inches square and weighs just half an ounce.

Tiles are pretty inexpensive, but I need to explain how their life cycle works.

The Tiles do not have a user-replaceable battery. They are sealed. To make the Tiles the small size they are, the batteries only last for a year before you have to replace the Tile, which is called reTiling.

When your Tile expires, you send it back to the company, and you can replace it with a new Tile at a discount.

For instance, my Tile Slim in my wallet is due to expire in eight days. When I launch the Tile app, Im given a button to press to start the reTile process.

When you reTile, you get a discount of between 28 and 40 percent, so to replace the Tile Slim with a new one would cost $21 (instead of $30).

I realize some people will be turned off by this model of planned expiration, but its really just a subscription model that includes new hardware every year.

There are other brands of Bluetooth locator. Some have replaceable batteries and crowdsourced locating like Tile.

I guess the choice comes down to quality, Bluetooth range, additional features and the tracking of lost devices, which would depend on the number of users walking around with the app.

Ive been happy using Tile for a few years now, and the upgrade to the Tile Pro brings some useful additions. Being able to find it from longer distances and hear it with a louder speaker are just what I wanted.

Original post:
Tend to misplace your keys? Tile Pro can help you track them down - The Seattle Times

By Lisa Zapalac, homes correspondent

Bellaire Showcase-winning home offers entertaining areas

A Bellaire Showcase winner, this custom home is on a huge 20,475-square-foot lot on Braeburn Drive.

Listing agent Sabrina Elias with Martha Turner Sotheby's International Realty describes the home as magnificent, with Mediterranean flair and a blend of inspiration and beautiful architecture.

The two-story home with more than 7,300 square feet of living space and a three-car garage is elevator ready and features Segreto finishes and stone and wood accents throughout.

Columns frame the double-door entry that is accessed by stairs with a limestone balustrade. Inside, the foyer has a sweeping staircase and a ceiling with a capped dome.

Triple arched windows enhance the formal dining room with a groin-vaulted ceiling, Segreto stenciling and a Versailles-pattern floor. Just off the main entry, the formal living room has a limestone fireplace, Versailles pattern flooring, and mahogany multi-piece molding and blocked paneled bookcases on both sides of the arched entry.

Open to the kitchen, the family room has a beamed ceiling, a large fireplace framed by mahogany bookcases, and banks of windows viewing the pool, spa and landscaped backyard. A beautifully designed island, subway tile extending to the ceiling and Segreto finishes on the ceiling and hood over the cooktop are some of the features in the kitchen, which also has custom furniture-quality cabinetry, granite countertops, and Wolf/Sub-Zero appliances.

There is a wet bar with forest granite that adjoins a butler's pantry that has an arched window of leaded glass and tile work. The home also features a temperature controlled wine room with a Segreto mural and stenciling and built-in storage for up 300 bottles of wine.

A study with access to the pool has a built-in desk and cabinetry with Segreto stenciling and an adjoining half bath.

Located on the second floor, the master suite includes custom arched windows framed by a drapery pocket, architectural detailing and views of the pool, spa and backyard.

The huge game room has banks of windows and access to a balcony overlooking the back of the property. Located next to the media room, the game room features a beamed ceiling, hardwood floors, and a fully equipped kitchenette.

The media room has additional space in the front of the home for a play area, and includes custom storage.

An upstairs craft/hobby room offers extensive storage and a large island work area. Adjoining this room is the spacious laundry room that also has custom storage, a sink and a window.

All of the secondary bedrooms are spacious and well-appointed. One bedroom has an en suite bath and an open-air Juliet balcony that overlooks the front lawn, while three others feature built-ins and window seats.

The home also has an exercise room upstairs that includes access to the large climate controlled floored and shelved attic.

The outdoor living/entertaining areas include a resort-style patio with massive columns, a hardwood ceiling, stone work and a summer kitchen. The patio and summer kitchen are climate controlled.

A loggia overlooks the grounds and saltwater pool with a waterfall and colored lights, surrounded by travertine decking. The large landscaped yard also includes towering trees, open seating/entertaining areas and plenty of green space.

With five bedrooms, five full baths and two half-baths, this home at 5201 Braeburn Drive is priced at $3,295,000.

For information, visit http://www.MarthaTurner.com.

Property Profile

Location: Bellaire

Stories: 2

Agent: Sabrina Elias

Listing agency: Martha Turner Sotheby's International Realty

Square feet: 7,333

Lot size: 20,475 square feet

Bedrooms: 5

Baths: 5 full, 2 half

Price: $3,295,000

Originally posted here:
Bellaire Showcase-winning home offers entertaining areas - Chron.com

Shannon Gilchrist The Columbus Dispatch @shangilchrist

As central Ohio children are going school shopping in anticipation of that first day in a couple of weeks, students of one private school in Worthington just learned that their summer will last an extra month.

The 2017-18 school year for St. Michael School will now begin on Sept. 22, the principal informed parents Thursday night, because damage to a tile floor released asbestos dust, a known cancer-causing material.

The late start caused by the clean-up, decontamination and re-testing has led the Catholic school to eliminate all unnecessary school breaks during the 2017-18 school year, and to extend the school year to June 15. All teacher professional development days, the email from Sister John Paul said, have been moved to days before and following the school year.

"I realize this is quite an adjustment for all of us and that it may require a great deal of human and supernatural virtue to adapt to this later date," wrote Sister John Paul. "St. Michael greatly appreciates the sacrifices of our parents to support Catholic education and we realize that this may bring you added inconveniences."

In a message Friday morning, the principal added that the school will work with parents in a financial bind because of this unexpected child-care cost.

Right now, the entire school is being cleaned, and the floor and ceiling tiles and other materials are being removed and replaced. Insurance is covering the project.

The Ohio Department of Health is aware of the situation at St. Michael and has a licensed asbestos contractor at the school to make sure the work is done correctly, said department spokeswoman Melanie Amato. She didn't have an estimated ending date for the project.

Options other than a late start were considered, Sister John Paul told parents, including starting school at a temporary site.

"We have decided against that choice, in order to best focus time and resources on getting the whole school operational faster," she said.

According to several messages the principal sent to parents over the past month, minor damage to the tile happened as workers were doing an annual stripping and waxing of the floors. It happened after 3:30 p.m. on June 28, after office hours were over. Tests done on the floor dust indicated the presence of asbestos. The school building was closed July 1-7.

The principal said the people who accessed the building using their key cards between June 28 and July 7 already have been mailed a letter about the risk.

"I thank God that this did not happen while school was in session and that we are confident that the end result will be a thoroughly safe environment," Sister John Paul wrote to parents.

Asbestos, now closely regulated as a carcinogen, refers to a group of naturally occurring minerals that routinely were used in automotive and ship parts and construction materials up through the first half of the 20th century because of their ability to resist heat and corrosion.

The presence of asbestos in a building is not a problem until it is damaged or begins to deteriorate, according to information provided by the Ohio Department of Health.

According to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, breathing in asbestos fibers can lead to scarring in the lung tissue called asbestosis, which eventually causes disability and death. It also has been tied to lung cancer and a cancer of the membranelining the cavity of the lung or stomach, called mesothelioma.

"There is no 'safe' level of asbestos exposure for any type of asbestos fiber," says the OSHA website. "Asbestos exposures as short in duration as a few days have caused mesothelioma in humans."

sgilchrist@dispatch.com

@shangilchrist

Here is the original post:
St. Michael School delays opening during asbestos clean-up - The Columbus Dispatch

A lawsuit filed two years ago by the Des Moines Water Worksagainst three drainage districts in northwest Iowa drew a lot of attention to agriculture-generated nutrients in Iowa's streams and rivers.

The water works gets its drinking water from the Raccoon River. When nitrate levels reach a certain level, specialized and expensive equipment is required to remove thenitrate and make the water safe for drinking.

The lawsuitclaimed thenutrients were coming from nitrogen fertilizer and, in some cases, animal waste viaunderground drainage tiles used on farms. Although the lawsuit was dismissed in March, the questions it raised remain.

The state of Iowa has adopted avoluntary Nutrient Reduction Strategy, inspiring more strategies for filtering farm water before it reaches streams. One such strategy is the installation of"bioreactors" at the edge of fields.

Here's how it works: A bioreactor is a trench filled with wood chips. When water flows into it, the bacteria in the water "eats" the wood chips, then "breathes" the nitrate, converting it into nitrogen gas. That way, cleaner water is discharged into waterways.

Scott Countyfarmer Robb Ewoldt installed the area's first known bioreactor on land he farms in Muscatine County inApril. He calls it a"denitrification plant."

The process is relatively new and construction is costly, anywhere from$12,000 to $20,000, depending on the size and slope of the land.

Ewoldt's was on the high end, about$20,000. In his case, he was able to obtain "cost-share" payments of about one-third from water-quality initiative funds at theIowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship andabout one-third from theIowa Pork Producers Association. The rest he paid for himself.

Given the cost and the fact there are thousands and thousands of drainage tiles in Iowa, bioreactors are not likely to become widespread any time soon. But they are a start.

There's not much to see

The trench for Ewoldt'sbioreactor is 100 feet long, 25 feet wide, eight feet deep and filled with about 440 cubic yardsof wood chips that were trucked in from Washington, Iowa. The tile that flows into it drains about 50 acres, he said.

Ewoldt applies hog manure to the field in the fall as fertilizer; his manure management plan filed with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources allows him to apply 3,750 gallons of manure per acre per year.

Weekly water samplingby a technician with the Iowa Department of Agriculturewill show what affect the manure and the bioreactor have on nitrate levels. At the time the reactor was installed, levels were at four parts per million, which was well below the 10 parts per million that is acceptable for drinking water, said Jim Gillespie, director of the Agriculture Department's Division of Soil Conservation and Water Quality.

After installation, the percentage has fallen to one part per million.

Because all the action is underground, there's really nothing to seeon the surface, except for two small metal boxes that control the water flow. It is sometimes necessary to slow the water coming into the bioreactor, so the bacteria have time towork and, if the rainfalling on the field is too much for the bioreactor to handle, the water-flow structures allow it to bypass the bioreactor and go directly into the stream.

In Ewoldt's case, water flows into an unnamed tributary of Pine Creek.

Generally speaking, about 45 percent of the total cost of bioreactor installation is for wood chips, 30 percent is for the water-control structures and tile, 23 percent is for the earthwork and 2 percent is for a protective fabric between the wood chips and the soil underneath, according to Sara Klindt, a soil conservation technician withthe Iowa agriculture department office in Muscatine.

Carbon from the wood chips is what the bacteria eat, and it is not yet known exactly how long the wood chips will last before they need to be replaced, Gillespie said. He is hoping for a lifespan of at least 10-15 years.

In Ewoldt's case, the earth work costs went up, because more trenching was required to get the drainage right than originally anticipated.

State, Pork Producers helped

To date, the Soil Conservation and Water Quality Division of the Iowa Department of Agriculture has funded five bioreactors across the state and has 11, including Ewoldt's, in process,Gillespie said.

The state will reimburse up to 50 percent of the cost, but of course, there is only so much money to go around. In fiscal 2016, the division received $9.6 million for all water-quality initiatives statewide and, for 2017, received $10.575 million, Gillespie said.

Ferreting out other avenues of funding, such as Ewoldt did with the Pork Producers, makes bioreactors more affordable, Gillespie said.

The Pork Producers Association has committed to providing up to $25,000 through the year to offset up to half the costs for hog farmers to install bioreactors or another system called saturatedbuffers on their land, said Tyler Bettin, state public policy director for the association.

Farms are selected based on the greatest opportunity for nitrate reduction and will be dispersed throughout the state to aid in education and demonstration opportunities,Bettin said.

"Projects like this offer excellent opportunity to showcase new nutrient-reduction technologies and further advance farmer-led water-quality efforts in Iowa," he wrote in an email.

Iowa'svoluntaryNutrient Reduction Strategywas adopted about 4 years ago. It aims to reduce by 45 percent the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus flowing down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico.

Critics have argued that the strategy doesn't go far enough, because there are no mandatory requirements and there is no deadline for reaching the reduction goal. They also question why, when 90 percent of the nutrients causing the "dead zone," or low-oxygen areas, can be attributed to agriculture (farm fertilizer and animal operations) and 10 percent to industry or city treatment plants, only the 10 percent is regulated.

The agriculture community opposes mandatory requirements.

Gillespie points out that none of the work or expense of bioreactors does anything toimprove yields or a farmer's profits. In fact, it is an expense. They are installed to "build a legacy," he said. "They're built so you can say, 'I'm cleaning the water.'"

Read the rest here:
Farm 'bioreactor' will filter nitrate from water - Quad City Times

Two neighborhood meetings one on Monday, Aug. 7 at 6 p.m. for Stoneridge Estates Park, and one on Wednesday, Aug. 9 at 6 p.m. for Wyndham Hills Park will determine community interest in athletic field planning at both parks.

Each meeting will take place at the respective park: Stoneridge Estates Park, located at 300 Stonehaven Drive; and Wyndham Hills Park, located at 675 N. Heatherstone Drive, near Horizon Elementary School.

Both plans were briefly outlined at the Sun Prairie City Councils Aug. 1 Public Works Committee meeting by Joe DeYoung from MSA Professional Services.

The City of Sun Prairie will hold two park meetings next week to gauge reaction to athletic field plans for Stoneridge Estates (above) and Wyndham Hills parks. The city intends to have the work completed in October (MSA/City of Sun Prairie photo illustration).

We want to get out and talk to the public about this project that we are potentially going to be bidding out, DeYoung said, adding that he hopes to hear from the public at both meetings. He also said the Sun Prairie Soccer Club plans to contact its members.

At Stoneridge Estates Park, the proposed project may include field enlargement, installation of fill, drain tile and re-seeding of the fields.

The plan shown at Tuesday nights Public Works Committee meeting includes the retention of a soccer field already on site, maintaining the existing ball diamond, but relocating the basketball court and installing two U-16 soccer fields.

The City of Sun Prairie will hold two park meetings next week to gauge reaction to athletic field plans for Stoneridge Estates and Wyndham Hills (above) parks. The city intends to have the work completed in October.

At Wyndham Hills, one planned U-16 field and two youth fields are planned, with all existing amenities planned to be retained.

Like Stoneridge, the proposed project at Wyndham Hills may include field enlargement, installation of fill, drain tile and re-seeding of the fields.

If plans are acceptable, DeYoung said, the intent is to go out for bid in August to complete the work in October, but overseed and maintain the fields through the winter, spring and summer growing seasons so the turf takes root before allowing athletic play on them during the fall of 2018.

The Sun Prairie Soccer Club plans to contribute $100,000 to the projects, and participate in maintenance of the fields until they are ready next fall.

Both meetings are intended to address any questions, concerns, or comments residents may have and provide additional information regarding the projects.

Both DeYoung and City Public Works Director Lee Igl clarified that the fields will be referred to as athletic fields, with other uses such as youth lacrosse, ultimate frisbee, and other athletic events that use flat, square fields.

One portion of the plan shown for Stoneridge that is not being pursued is the expansion of the parking lot.

DeYoung explained to District 2 Alder Jon Freund, who lives near the park, that the expansion of the parking lot to the west along with the addition of a second driveway entrance was not part of the plan.

Freund urged DeYoung to consider adding the expansion to the plan, however, because if the fields are going to be used as much as projected, there will be demand for parking.

DeYoung also said the parking could be expanded to the south, towards Stonehaven Drive.

In order to raise the level of the fields in both Wyndham Hills and Stoneridge, the city plans to use 6,000 cubic yards of topsoil currently piled at Stoneridge Park, according to DeYoung. The soil has been piled there by city workers in anticipation of the project.

Microwave traffic signal loops OKd

Accepting the recommendations of City Engineer/Director of Public Services Adam Schleicher, the Public Works Committee approved a change order in the Wilburn Road Project for a microwave loop detector.

A memo from Schleicher to alders stated the current installation has a loop detector installed within the asphalt pavement structure, but that staffs recommendation is to use pole mounted microwave detection instead of the existing loop detectors.

The $12,642 change order to the project is for TAPCO to install microwave detectors at this intersection and allow the removal of the in pavement loop detector.

Schleicher explained microwave detection equipment is installed on the traffic signal poles and nothing is placed in the asphalt, providing a better driving surface and less maintenance concerns on the pavement surface.

Nothing is actually cut into the pavement, Schleicher told alders.

District 1 Alder Steve Stocker asked how the signals work. Schleicher said the microwave detection equipment is already being used in the signals installed at Ironwood Drive and South Grand Avenue and the city is happy with how they work at that intersection.

TAPCO has an annual preventative maintenance contract with the city and the work will be done by TAPCO at the negotiated rates under that contract, according to Schleichers memo.

Northwest Koshkonong Facility design work OKd

Assistant City Engineer Tom Veith requested $10,000 for MSA to complete a preliminary design study for the Northwest Koshkonong Stormwater Facility.

Veith said as part of the Northwest Koshkonong Stormwater facility potentially being located on two different parcels the Schneider and Livesey properties near Thompson Road a professional services contract has been requested from MSA to perform preliminary stormwater design.

The study is being sought to provide the following baseline information:

Maximizing the usage of the entire Livesey parcel for stormwater, determine how much acreage will be required on the Schneider property to achieve our stormwater management goals.

Concept plans developing depths and connectivity needs to maximize efficiencies between both stormwater facilities.

Determine the size and depth of the cross-culvert under Thompson Road.

Its important for the future design of Thompson Road, Veith said.

Begin process of coordinating with the DNR for removal of the small wetland on the Schneider property.

Veith said the information will provide a better understanding of the land area needs for the Schneider property to be dedicated for the stormwater facility.

Alders agreed and approved $10,000 for the study.

See the rest here:
Meetings set next week to discuss Wyndham Hills, Stoneridge park updates - hngnews.com

Patrice and Richard Ellis sleep in their home, but they livein their backyard.

Theirs is anything but a normal backyard with a 16-foot-by-40-foot porch, a patio, a pond with a fountain, an outdoor kitchen, a gazebo and several planted areas, all designed and built by the Ellises.

But it wasn't always like that.

"When we bought the house in Broussard Oaks in 1978, you came out the back door to a little glass porch," Richard Ellis says. "The whole backyard was nothing but St. Augustine grass, three inches thick, up to the house."

While their two children, Emily and Dawson, were young, the Ellises did nothing to the yard except build a tree house in the back corner.

"The yard was all for the kids," Richard Ellis says. "They just lived in that tree house."

When Dawson made the golf team at Catholic High, he converted part of the yard into a putting green.

In 1981, when St. Joseph's Academy was demolishing its old parking lot, the Ellises asked if they could have the concrete slab. They hauled the pieces of concrete to their backyard, dug out an area on the south side, added a layer of sand and set the pieces of concrete in the sand to make a patio. Several years later, they built a trellis for a swing and a small deck from the house. And, when Richard Ellis' brother decided to give away a fireplace, they took that, too.

The backyard was nice but inefficient with two small patio areas at different ends.

"The area was just not big enough for entertaining, which we love to do," Patrice Ellis said. "We had two entertaining areas that did not work."

In 2010, while Patrice was out of town, Richard Ellis took down the trellised area. And, as they often do, one thing lead to another, and so started the process of redesigning the backyard with the large porch attached to the house.

The Ellises hired someone to frame up the big porch and put in the rafters.

"We did the posts and everything else," Patrice Ellis said. "We painted, did the tile work and moved the fireplace."

Can't see the video below? Click here.

With its seating and dining areas, the porch functions like a large den with wooden shades that can be pulled down in cold weather. Dawson Ellis made the Adirondack-style outdoor furniture.

As part of their improvements, the couple added a work area with a kiln for Patrice Ellis to make pottery, a potting area for gardening and a kitchen. One Christmas, Richard Ellis gave Patrice a book on gazebos and told her to pick one out. They built it together.

Years before, the Ellises had built a pond and landscaped the area around it in a formal English style.

"We got tired of it," Patrice Ellis said, "so one Mother's Day, I got 2,000 pounds of river rock, and Dawson and his wife, Madeline, came and pulled out the old pond. The original liner was there, so they opened it out to make the pond a little bigger and a little less formal."

At the center of the backyard is a water oak planted from a seedling by the Ellises' daughter, Emily Ellis Welch, when she was about 6. She lives in Shreveport with her husband, Johnny, and their two children.

The water oak, along with four live oaks, completely shades the yard, which is lined with masses of aspidistra interspersed with ligularia, nandina, crepe myrtles, caladiums and coleus. There are two main planted areas and a small serenity area around a statue of St. Francis. Connecting the areas are gravel paths laid out and maintained by Richard Ellis.

The last addition is a cottage garden on the street side of the house by the entrance to the backyard. It's the one sunny spot in the yard. They also added an attractive garden shed copied from one they saw in Southern Living magazine. "We built that, too," Richard Ellis said.

Both Richard and Patrice Ellis are from large families, and they are always getting together with family members and friends. They continue the tradition of a Christmas Eve party started by Richard Ellis' mother many years ago. They have New Year's Eve, St. Patrick's Day and often Mardi Gras parties.

"All of our friends know we are going to be in the backyard," Patrice Ellis said.

"We don't use our front door," Richard Ellis added. "You have to come to the side."

Read more here:
How a Broussard Oaks couple slowly, but surely, created the backyard of their dreams - The Advocate

In her kitchen, Jenifer Strachan never breaks a dish. Every day, meals are eaten on antique china free from cracks or chips. But down in her studio there are piles of cracked and chipped plates, cups, saucers and bowls, dating from 1790 to the 1940s. They live in stacks and get crunched into pieces to begin a new life as mosaics.

Ms. Strachan works in the pique assiette tradition, translating loosely to stolen from dishes.

An ornate curlicue floating on the edge of a plate is a cats whisker or a butterflys antenna. An inscription on an old plate becomes a cats name, Marmalade or Jewel. A blue and white illustration of a ship is placed in the tumultuous swell of a wave.

The shards may be found half buried in the sand on the beach, in tubs of donated dishes on the shelves of Chicken Alley, or stacked at yard sales held on the weekends.Almost every day of my life, someone will give me a dish they loved, said Ms. Strachan. But she doesnt work with just any dish. Ms. Strachan prefers to work with English china.

Tile nippers help her to be precise when breaking dishes. Jeanna Shepard

Ive worked with them for so long, I know exactly how theyll break, she said. These are paintings with plates, so the plates are my palette.

And she never uses a hammer. Its too noisy and wasteful, she said, preferring instead the specific control of tile nippers. In fact, everything about her mosaics comes down to control. The spaces between the shards is as important to the integrity of the piece as the shard itself.

It creates a labyrinth between them, a passageway, even there I use a lot of control, she said. Around the picture I leave a bigger space, but the background is just as important to me.

Words on the dishes, the cartouches on the backs, the texture of a feather edged plate and the pattern all decide the fate of a piece of china.

As Im working, Im constantly inspired by the dishes that I find, Ms. Strachan said.

Blue and white English china makes for frothy reaching waves, a consistent theme in her work inspired by Hokusai. Ms. Strachans work often features animals, be they on land or sea, and water themes. A current commission is a mermaid swirling in the waves, destined to join a narwhal in Aquinnah.

A photograph of one of her mosaics of a North Atlantic right whale recently

made the cover of The National Academies of Science Ocean Studies Report.

Looking at the mosaic still hanging in her home, Ms. Strachan said, I dream a lot about whales.

Breaking it down to build it back up again. Jeanna Shepard

She is drawn to cool colors, blues and greens, finding bright oranges and fiery reds difficult to look at for long periods of time. Born on the Vineyard, its no surprise Ms. Strachan feels a deep connection to the beach. She grew up on the South Shore, looking for arrowheads, picking blueberries and crabbing. Occasionally, shells make their way into her mosaics.

She comes from a long line of artists and people who worked with their hands. Her great-great-great-great grandfather was the renowned Connecticut clock maker Seth Thomas. Her mother made all her clothes, her father did stained glasswork. One grandfather carved wooden birds and did glass art.

She remembers casting concrete mushrooms when she was a child. Her father thought it would be an excellent trick to plant the mushrooms in her grandparents garden.

We liked fun and a little bit of mischief . . . we would never go to stores and buy things, she said. We made everything.

One of those early mushrooms now sits near the dirt path specked with chips of china that leads to her tree-house-like studio, which she built herself. Nearby, sits an eight-foot rabbit chair she hand-sculpted.

Along with a childhood marked by nature, Ms. Strachan also remembers being a careful child. She was a classically trained ballet dancer and played classical flute. She was drawn to arts that favored a light touch and grace to hide the amount strength required. Though she does not dance or play the flute as much as she did in her youth, the discipline to focus on a single task stayed with her.

My work takes a lot of concentration, I have to be able to sit here for hours and hours and hours gluing little pieces together.

Her childhood ingrained within her a sense of wonder and a respect of nature. It also instilled an independence by necessity.

See Jenifer's work at mvmosaics.com Jeanna Shepard

I did run away when I was 16, she said. Ive had to change my life over a couple times. Ive lost everything in my life a couple times.

The losses have helped Ms. Strachan understand she can restart anywhere. Wherever I am I can go to the thrift shop, find some broken dishes and find a piece of wood, she said.

Ms. Strachan is self-taught. Her lessons began in a restaurant called Spoleto in Northampton. She was in grad school and her friend was opening a restaurant. Shed been inspired by a trip to Barcelona where she saw Antonio Gaudis work and suggested covering the 50-foot bar in a mosaic.

From the very beginning, she gravitated toward fine china and slow, careful work.

Everyone was trying to work as fast as they could . . . and I just sat down and made a face of a moon out of these dishes. I sat there for days and days and days making this moon with exact eyes and exact lips.

Though she went to school for science, Ms. Strachan has never been anything but an artist. In graduate school, while studying bio-chemistry, her professors began buying her jewelry and mosaics. All the time Im selling my art, selling my art, selling my art, and I thought, well I like the lifestyle of an artist and I dont really want to work inside in a

laboratory all day long, so I think Ill be an artist, she said.

She was offered a show at the Field Gallery, where she showed for many years through the 1990s. Now she mainly works through commission, often incorporating the clients own dishes into the piece.

Ms. Strachan has innate dish sense; she can walk into a shop and immediately find the exact dish she wants. She also always knows who is calling when the phone rings and can always find peoples lost items.

For a mosaic, she begins with a complete vision in her head and then draws it in detail on a board. I stick right to the drawing thats underneath, I really do, she said. If I do a tongue of a snake or an eyelash on a bird I will find a plate that has that eyelash.

She uses tile nippers to nibble out pieces of plates and cups and turns them into the flowing hair of a mermaid, the regal curve of a right whale, the twinkling eyes of a randy cat. She usually starts with the eyes.

Matching the plate to the piece is mostly about color, she said, with texture added in. Some pieces, like a small mosaic of a coffee cup, utilize the Favrile technique, placing shards at angles to increase the texture of the piece.

In each case, a delicate piece of china is given strength in a mosaic.

Mosaics survive everything, theyve been around for centuries and centuries, Ms. Strachan said.

See Jenifer Strachans work at mvmosaics.com.

Read more from the original source:
Breaking Into Art, a Shard at a Time - The Vineyard Gazette - Martha's Vineyard News

With the new school year comes new updates, renovations and projects for school districts in and around Howard County. The following is a look at what has changed at area schools.

KOKOMO

The Kokomo School Corporation has been working to renovate several buildings in the district, including Pettit Park and Wallace elementary schools and Maple Crest and Central middle schools.

At Pettit Park Elementary, the district is working to move the administration office and add a cafeteria.

Until now, the administration office has been in the middle of the building, meaning parents and visitors have to walk through the halls to sign in. The change is part of a district-wide initiative to add more security.

The school also has not had a kitchen that allows for food to be prepared on-site, so it has had meals prepared off-site and delivered to Pettit Park. The renovation will allow it to prepare food on-site and will provide a dedicated cafeteria, along with a stage for school performances.

The work at Wallace Elementary is now complete. The school now has a new drop-off area for lower grades, allowing for faster drop-off and pick up before and after school. The renovation included five new classrooms, a new cafeteria and a new kitchen.

At Maple Crest Middle School, the renovations are underway to add a new media center and a new art room. Other work has included a new culinary arts space and renovations to the restrooms. With the culinary arts space, students will be able to prepare food, which they can then sell in the cafeteria.

Work is being done at Central Middle School to expand the media center and renovate other parts of the building.

The district also is renovating its football field and practice field, as well as the track at the high school. The project will transform the fields from grass to synthetic turf, a move that many schools in the state have been making over the last few years.

The projects for the Kokomo School Corporation are expected to be completed from the end of the year into 2018.

TAYLOR

The Taylor Community School Corporation announced earlier this year its plan to add solar panels on land it owns near the middle and high school. The panels will allow the district to generate most to all of its energy needs.

Chris Smith, superintendent of the district, said the project hopefully will allow Taylor to save money in its general fund that is usually spent on power. The money could potentially go toward salaries and classroom supplies.

We run a pretty tight budget so that could really help us out, Smith said.

The work was initially planned for completion by the end of the summer, but a change to specifications for the transformers in the project set it back. Smith said the project should be completed in the next few weeks.

Taylor will be the first district in Howard County to have solar panels, and the project will take advantage of current net metering rules, which will allow the district to sell back energy to Duke at a retail rate, making it cost-effective for the district.

NORTHWESTERN

The Northwestern School Corporation is completing work on its first project for its athletic fields. The current project will ultimately include three renovated fields, changing the fields from grass to synthetic turf. The tennis fields are also included in the projects, and the school is also renovating its pool.

Its going to be a beautiful, beautiful place for the athletic facilities, said Blake Betzner, director of facilities at Northwestern.

Betzner said the rain has slowed the project a little over the summer, but the work is currently wrapping up.

See more here:
New year, new look: Schools work to update facilities - Kokomo Tribune