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Photo by: Rantoul Fire Department

The scene of a fire on Sunday, Jan. 14, 2014, in Rantoul.

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RANTOUL - A couple who lost their home to the tornado that struck Gifford Nov. 17 lost a second home in Rantoul Sunday morning.

This time fire was the cause of the blaze at the home of Harley and Shirley LaBounty. Also living there was her mother, Emma Carpenter, at 1700 Eater Drive.

Harley LaBounty and Carpenter were at home at the time of the fire. They were not injured. Shirley LaBounty was at the home of her daughter recuperating at the home of her daughter following surgery.

The LaBountys had moved to the Eater Drive address after the devastating tornado that destroyed much of Gifford.

Rantoul Fire Chief Ken Waters said Harley LaBounty was trying to start his car in the garage. LaBountys son, Mike, said a wiring problem in the car is believed to be the cause of the fire.

He went back in the house ... and the fire ignited under the hood, destroying the garage, the car and causing smoke and heat damaging throughout the house, Waters said.

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After losing home to tornado, second home lost to fire

More than 4 million Americans buy a home each year, but theres no telling how many offers are discarded along the way. And no one wants to get edged out in the bid for a dream home.

Real estate is rebounding in many regions of the country, and buyers can face formidable competition. Of course, the best way to snag the home you want is to promise the most money. But theres more to making an offer than simply setting and stating your price.

Here, two top real estate agents in a perpetually competitive market Washington, D.C. share pointers on crafting an offer that will outshine the rest:

Show them the money

The key, both said, is assuaging the sellers fears. They worry mainly that the deal will fall through, so have your financing in order before you submit an offer. Make sure the lender checks your credit, assets and employment status before pre-approving your loan, and get a detailed letter with the amount you are authorized to borrow, recommends Elizabeth Blakeslee, a Coldwell Banker broker in the capital region.

Another way to signal you are a serious buyer is by putting down a large, good-faith deposit. A 2 percent to 4 percent escrow deposit is common. However, Nancy Itteilag of Long and Foster real estate, who has been listed among the top 10 agents in the country for sales volume by the Wall Street Journal/REAL Trends, tells her clients to write a check for at least 10 percent. Within 30 days, the buyer will need to hand over this money as part of the down-payment anyway.

If the seller has a nice deposit in escrow, they know the buyer is not going to wake up and change their mind, she says.

Eliminate surprises

The other unknown that keeps sellers up at night is dread of repairs, Blakeslee says. Most offers are contingent on a home inspection. To eliminate that variable, have the inspection done before putting in an offer, and specify any repairs you expect the seller to make. That way there wont be surprises later.

Alternatively, buy a home warranty or even request that your real estate agent throw one in as a closing gift. That way the seller knows that if the heating system gives out, it will be covered.

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Money just one way to make bid stand out

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Posted: Sunday, January 12, 2014 5:06 am

Companies

SOUTH BEND - Monroe Restoration is celebrating its 10-year anniversary in business. The mitigation, restoration and cleaning company works with home and business owners with property damage.

From its beginning as a three-person company, Monroe has grown to nearly 50 professionals with offices in South Bend and Fort Wayne.

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Companies

TERRE HAUTE The snow may be slowly melting away, but the bills from last weeks mega winter storm continue to pile higher.

Local governments were forced to spend big sums in employee overtime and fuel expenses to attempt to keep roads clear while Wabash Valley residents paid in dozens of other ways, including furnace repairs, unplanned stays in motels and towing fees.

Itll be tens of thousands of dollars for this one, said Terre Haute Mayor Duke Bennett, reflecting on the cost to the City. It was a pretty big storm.

Vigo County also faced big expenses from the storm, said Dan Bennett, superintendent of the county highway department. In addition to fuel and staffing costs, the county is also looking at five or six towing bills after a handful of plows became stuck during the storm, he said.

The overtime for this thing is going to be considerable, Dan Bennett said.

City and county snowplows were running 24 hours a day starting Sunday afternoon through Thursday, meaning lots of overtime pay and fuel expense. Final cost figures were not yet available, the mayor and the highway superintendent said.

Terre Haute sets aside enough money to pay for six big snow events each year, the mayor said. The storm that started a week ago counted for at least two storms, he added.

This is a big one, Mayor Bennett said. I dont think weve had one of these kinds of storms in 20 or 25 years.

Despite the high cost of the storm, Bennett did not believe it would necessarily push the City over its budgeted snow and ice removal budget for 2014. Of course, that will depend on the weather. Weve got plenty of money in [the budget] right now to deal with this, Bennett said. But what else will happen the rest of this winter or next December?

Dan Bennett, highway superintendent, said he plans to meet this week with the County Commissioners to discuss the costs of the storm. Hell look at specific budget numbers after we get out of the woods, he said.

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ARCTIC BLAST 2014: Monetary impact from last weekend’s storm good for some, bad for others

Water pipe reconnected but needs to be stabilised.

A huge effort by Gisborne District Council staff and contractors Fulton Hogan has seen Gisbornes main water pipe reconnected four days after it first broke. The pipeline bringing high quality water down from Mangopoike Dams to the Waingake Treatment Plant broke early on Tuesday morning. Since then a major repair job has been underway. The broken pipe was buried by six metres of material and had to be dug out. Large quantities of dirt and vegetation have been removed to unearth the pipe, extensive work completed to stabilise the site and gazebos have even been erected so that pipe welding could continue in the rain.

The broken pipe has now been joined but we are not out of the woods yet, says deputy chief executive Peter Higgs. The pipe is not ready for water at the moment. The area where the pipe broke is steep and has never been particularly stable due to extensive bush felling prior to 1940. The area is regenerating. Trees were planted to increase stability but the risk of slips will always be an issue. Piles are now being entrenched into the steep slope. They will be used to support the pipe where the break occurred.

Only then will we start testing the repairs by allowing a small amount of water to be gravity fed down through the pipe. This is likely to happen early next week. We will continue testing the repaired pipe for the next ten days starting with a flow of 200m3 per hour and building to full capacity (1000m3 per hour).`

Considering the scale of the repair and the dedication of staff and contractors working 24/7 we are happy with the speed with which this crisis is being resolved. It is just in time; with food processing starting full production next week, we will need all the water we can get.

Gisborne people again made a huge effort saving water. Daily consumption to 8am today (Saturday 11 January) was 12,302m3; well under the saving target despite no rain yesterday.

We are very grateful for the magnificent water saving efforts of the Gisborne public, added Mr Higgs. With water consumption down by a third again yesterday, storage in the city reservoirs has increased. This means that water rationing is looking less likely and that there will be no disruption to the districts major food processors.

Peoples water saving efforts have been inspirational. We have had examples of businesses volunteering to stop services that use a lot of water, many people contacting us with water saving tips, neighbours working together to ensure all in their area know about the water situation and dont use their hose. We will be meeting with the major industrial water users next week to thank them for their efforts and discuss how we can work together to meet our water usage targets.

Water usage figures are likely to jump next week as food processors increase production.

Gisborne people and businesses need to be careful with water for the next 10 days and the hose ban will continue until the end of summer.

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Water pipe reconnected but needs to be stabilised

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Verdict

MAD BRIAN looks set to gain his second success over fences despite having to concede weight all round due to his novice success at Killarney in May. His subsequent runs have been in much better class than this including in the Grade 1 Topaz Novice Chase at Leopardstown where he was by no means disgraced. Irish Thistle, a winning bumper and hurdler, made a very promising start over fences behind Ned Buntline here last month and will have come on enough to pose a threat. Seskinane is a smart performer on his day who hasn't had much luck but neither Our Ollie nor Finisterre look to have the form for this.

Irish Thistle (IRE) 14-1 (11-12) Tracked leaders, 6th 4 out, mistake next, ridden and headway from 2 out, went 2nd at last, kept on same pace run-in, 2nd of 11, 2l behind Ned Buntline (11-12) at Navan 2m 1f beg chs sft in Dec.

Seskinane (IRE) 6-1 (11-7) Chased leaders early, mid-division in 6th halfway, ridden and no impression entering straight, held in 6th when badly hampered and unseated rider 2 out, in a race won by Leish Oscar (11-2) at Down Royal 2m 4f beg chs sft in Dec, 10 ran.

Our Ollie (IRE) 50-1 (11-2) Held up in rear, no impression from 4 out, soon trailing, last of 6, 46l behind Mallowney (11-2) at Naas 2m nov chs sft.

Finisterre 100-1 (11-12) Always towards rear, never a factor, detached 4 out, completely tailed off, 6th of 8, well behind Djakadam (11-1) at Leopardstown 2m 3f beg chs in Dec.

Mad Brian (IRE) 9-1 (11-10) Held up, 4th halfway, progress into 3rd 3 out, ridden in 4th 2 out, no extra in 5th entering straight, kept on one pace, 6th of 7, 19l behind Carlingford Lough (11-10) at Leopardstown 3m nov chs Grade 1 (4yo+) (1) in Dec.

Link:
Irish Stallion Farms E.B.F. Novice Chase 2m 4f

They are 230,000 strong, yet often seem invisible.

They back the military with critical skills, yet they are frequently forgotten.

Joe Davidson

Joe Davidson writes the Federal Diary, a column about the federal workplace that celebrated its 80th birthday in November 2012. Davidson previously was an assistant city editor at The Washington Post and a Washington and foreign correspondent with The Wall Street Journal, where he covered federal agencies and political campaigns.

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Their collars are blue, which increasingly matches their mood.

The wage-grade employees in the federal government dont get much notice, but this generally quiet group now is making noise.

Employees covered by the Federal Wage System continue to labor in the cold of the three-year freeze on basic pay rates that ended with the calendar year for most workers. The 1percent pay raise provided to their colleagues did not include wage-grade staffers.

These are the governments blue-collar workers.

Wage-grade workers are not covered by the law that allows the president to set a pay raise amount for the much larger General Schedule employees. Generally, Wage System pay increases have been included in appropriations legislation, and that might happen this year, too.

Original post:
Federal Diary: Federal Diary: Blue-collar workers still seeking pay raise

A view of the stack core demolition site, as the demolition phase of the project winds down. Follow @dukelibraries on Instagram or check out our Flickr site for more renovation photos and images from across the Libraries.

As the new year gets under way, were happy to report that the Rubenstein Library renovation is also entering a new and exciting phase. The excavation of rock under the stack core area is almost complete, and concrete for the new foundation is about to be poured. Meanwhile, drywall framing has begun on floors 1 and 2 of the building. That means that the demolition phase is almost over, and the site is now transitioning from a destruction to a constructionsite!

More photos:More images of the Rubenstein Library renovation areavailable on our Flickr site, where we will be documenting our progress in pictures over the next few years.

Free earplugs are availableat the Perkins Library Service Desk on the first floor for library users who are bothered by the renovation noise. We thank you for supporting our progress and apologize for any inconvenience.

Workers chip away at a wall of Duke stone, exposing some of the structures original steel beams.

Heres a summary of the major work that will be done over the next two weeks.

Rubenstein Library Renovation Work (January 10-24)

1.) The material hoist and tower crane will continue to remove demolition debris. 2.) Underpinning and rock anchor installation work will continue. 3.) Rebar footing and columns will be placed. 4.) Interior walls will be layed out on the 1st and 2nd floor of the building.

In order to make all members of the Duke community aware of the major activities and potential noise issues associated with the Rubenstein Library renovation, we will be posting regular announcements of upcoming renovation work on this blog. If you have questions, please contact Aaron Welborn, Director of Communications, at 919-660-5816, oraaron.welborn@duke.edu.

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Check Out the Photos of the Latest Rubenstein Library Renovation Update