Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

HOLCOMBE Al Dixon has wanted something done with the Lake Holcombe High School science room for a long time.

Now, he has personally helped the remodeling plans along with a $30,000 donation.

"I wanted to do something, and I couldn't think of anything better than giving them money," he said with a smile.

The generous donation was given on behalf of the Dixon Family to the Lake Holcombe PRIDE committee, a citizen group which has been steadily raising money for the past few months to help pay for upgrades to the Lake Holcombe School gymnasium as well as the science room.

Dixon has long been involved in the Lake Holcombe School District and the community. A lifelong resident of Holcombe, he and his six siblings graduated from the school, as did all three of his own children. Now, most of his grandchildren are current students at Lake Holcombe.

Dixon has also been a long-time school board member for the district, and is on PRIDE's steering committee.

He said the science room project has needed improvements for a long time.

"It's been a long time coming," Dixon said. "It's been on referendums and board discussions but it kept being put off."

PRIDE spokesman J.D. Kirkman said the science room project involves improvements to the plumbing system and the addition of a neutralizer, which catches chemicals in the drainage to safeguard the municipal water system. Improvements to the countertops and floor are also being considered.

Dixon said he made the donation to benefit his family, as his grandchildren move through school, as well as other students in the community.

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Dixon family tabs large donation for school

GIFFORD Country Health Nursing Home officials have unveiled the results of a multimillion-dollar renovation.

The $8.9 million project was started in 2008 and involved remodeling and expansion.

Administrator Chris Kasper said Gifford area residents have been enthusiastic in their backing of the project and have contributed a great deal.

"Everybody just thinks it's amazing. They can't believe it's a nursing home," Kasper said of the facility's interior.

"For what our rates are, they're very pleased with the price because we're very competitive with the area. We've had a lot of excellent comments on the care because we're a five-star facility with CMS Nursing Home Compare."

Kasper said Country Health was recently listed one of the top 50 nursing homes in Illinois by U.S. News and World Report. It received five out of five stars based on health inspections, nurse staffing and quality measures.

The nursing home's expansion, designed by Worn Jerabek Architects of Chicago, included gutting and renovating the building's original 37 rooms and adding 27 more rooms in extensions that branch off from the south and north wings.

Whereas before some rooms housed as many as four residents, now there are private rooms and rooms with two residents.

The rooms also include more amenities than before, with an oval sitting area and walk-in shower. Each room also has its own closet.

The most recent phase of the project has included renovating the core of the building, which encompasses a new chapel, new activity room, beauty shop, physicians office and renovation of the old dining room. The front entryway was also completed.

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Country Health finishes remodeling

NEW ALBANY A retroactive request to allow vinyl siding to be used to replace the original wood material of the house that quarters Bradford Realty was denied by the New Albany Historic Preservation Commission this week.

It was the second time the commission rejected Bradford Realty owner Ron Craigs petition for a Certificate of Appropriateness or COA for the installation of vinyl siding, and the previous decision was upheld by the Indiana Court of Appeals in March.

The issue is vinyl has already been applied to the 419 E. Market St. building, and there isnt much of a track record for the city to call upon in terms of how to go about removing the siding.

Bradford Realty is located within the Downtown Historic District, and the commission oversees certain building repairs for structures inside historically designated zones. One of the citys guidelines for such building repairs states that if wooden features are missing or damaged beyond repair that they be replaced in kind.

In 2008, Craig sought to replace the original wood siding on the house, as he said the panels were blemished and in need of being upgraded. But Craig didnt seek approval from the commission before ordering the repairs, and the citys guidelines forbid original wood from being replaced with an artificial material.

Officials notified Craig after work had commenced that he had to request a COA before replacing the siding. He appeared before the commission, and his was request was denied.

Craig took the matter to court and claimed he had no knowledge the building was in the Downtown Historic District, which was established in 2002. He made the same assertion to the commission Wednesday, as he stated he discussed the matter with the building commissioner at the time.

There was never any mention of the historic preservation zone, Craig said.

In 2011, Special Judge Daniel Moore decided in favor of Craig, as he ruled the commission failed to properly notify land owners of historic district restrictions. But that ruling was overturned by the Indiana Court of Appeals in March, and the commission stuck to its original decision by again denying Craigs COA request.

No revisions have been made to the design guidelines since the initial denial, and the application itself is essentially unchanged, requesting after-the-fact approval for vinyl installation, said commission member Christina Pfau, who read the staff comments portion of the reply to Craigs application.

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Craig application over siding again denied in New Albany

MISSOULA - A roofing contractor who defrauded victims in the Flathead Valley, Hot Springs and Great Falls will spend less than 5 years in a federal prison.

Prosecutors told a Missoula federal judge it was exhausting trying keep up with John Robert Mulinski and his schemes.

A Great Falls man, the only victim to testify at the sentencing, called Mulinski a smooth talker and a master of deceit.

"The way he can spin things and come off with a quick explanation, but it's all fabricated," said Max Jackson, Mulinski's roofing fraud victim.

Jackson hired Mulinski to replace his leaky roof, but he never finished the job and left the Jackson family freezing all winter.

"The heater was running full. We still didn't have enough heat really to stay warm. So we had blankets around children trying to keep them warm. We tried to take winter vacations just trying to get them out of there, staying with friends if we could," said Jackson.

Mulinski's victims included the Hot Springs School District and many others who hired him to work on their family homes.

During the December trial, victims testified Mulinski lied about his real name, took their money and either never started or never finished the job. The advertisers and employees said Mulinski never paid them.

Prosecutor Tim Roscoe told the judge its been exhausting keeping track of Mulinski, who took his scheme to Montana after it started to unravel in Washington. Roscoe said Mulinski started a roofing company in the Flathead, but when victims caught on, he changed his business name and moved to Great Falls.

During sentencing, Mulinski said he always held trust as a high standard and now he sees he's failed at it. He apologized to the victims and said he hopes he can regain people's trust in the future.

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Roofing contractor sent to federal prison for MT fraud scheme

Roofing contractors operating in Tennessee will have to provide residents whose homes are damaged due to tornadoes and other storms with more information about their company and about their rights to cancel contracts under a new law.

Gov. Bill Haslam recently signed a law that comes into response to widespread complaints from homeowners following a number of severe storms that caused widespread damage in the state during the last couple of years.

In 2011, a number of tornadoes swept through the Midwest and South causing billions of damage. A hail storm that passed through in the Knoxville and Nashville later that year also damaged many homes and businesses.

As a result, the state was flooded with out-of-state roofing contractors who along with some in-state roofers or individuals posing as roofers reportedly took advantage of homeowners.

Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance spokesperson Christopher Garrett said that the department doesnt specifically track roofing complaints. However, he said, the department did hear from more homeowners concerning repairs.

As far as statistics go, the Contractors Board received an increase in home improvement complaints from victims of the 2011 storms, said Garrett.

Sponsored by Sen. Bill Ketron (R-Murfreesboro), SB2714/HB 2915 requires that roofing contractors whose work is covered by an insurer must provide a homeowner with their address, telephone number, license registration, email address, and a detailed description of all damage and repairs.

The contract must also contain a form notifying homeowners of their right to cancel a contract within three days after signing and/or receiving a written statement from their insurer that the contract is not a covered claim. Once a contract is cancelled, roofing contractors have 10 business days to return any payments to the homeowner, except for emergency repairs.

Roofing contractors or their agents are also prohibited from telling homeowners they can negotiate a claim with an insurer unless they are also a licensed public adjuster.

Any violations of these laws would be covered under Tennessees Consumer Protection Act of 1977.

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Tennessee Cracks Down on Roofing Contractor Fraud

20-05-2012 03:03 This is a test of our system GWEG using 50 gallons of water tested from the first story of our prototype constructed at the Sidwell Friends Middle School. The test proved successful in generating electricity. On average around 9 Volts and 3.5 Amps and around a 30 Watt power generation. In the video, our system meter (Watt's Up) turns off a couple times due to it not being fed with enough electricity. On Monday (5/21), we plan to install a second floor and hopefully the power issue of the Watt's Up meter will be addressed. In addition, our team plans to play around with different nozzle types to get the longest, highest wattage output we can.

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50 Gallon 1st Floor GWEG Test - Video

20-05-2012 18:38 Robin Gibb RIP 🙁 Part of story: full story here: Bee Gees had the key hits on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, which topped The Billboard 200 album chart for 24 weeks in 1978. It's one of only seven albums since 1955 to log 24 or more weeks at #1. It's the longest-running #1 album by artists who were born in England. (Adele's 21, which has been #1 for 23 weeks, is second in that regard.) In an eerie coincidence, last week's episode of Glee was a tribute to the album. It was the series' second episode-length tribute to a classic album, following its salute to Fleetwood Mac's Rumours which aired in May 2011. At their peak in 1978, Bee Gees were virtually as hot and inescapable as any act of the rock era. That includes Elvis Presley in 1956, the Beatles in 1964 and Michael Jackson in 1983-1984. For two weeks in February and March 1978, the trio had three hits in the top 10 simultaneously: "How Deep Is Your Love," "Stayin' Alive" and "Night Fever." In addition to those monster hits, Barry and Robin had a co-writing credit on a fourth song in the top 10 (Samantha Sang's creampuff ballad "Emotion") and Barry had co-writing credit on a fifth (Andy Gibb's "(Love Is) Thicker Than Water.") Bee Gees (there's no "the" in their name, just as there's no "the" in Eagles or Carpenters) had 15 top 10 hits, which puts them in a three-way tie for the most top 10 hits by a family group since 1955. They're tied with the Everly Brothers and the Beach Boys, which, in its ...

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Robin Gibb Dead (Bee Gees Member) RIP - Video

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The field is set for the Indianapolis 500. And, more importantly, its full.

On an otherwise ho-hum day of qualifying, nine cars made the field on their first attempts, ending any potential last-minute drama and assuring the May 27 race would start with a full field of 33 cars for 64th consecutive year. Things went almost as smoothly Sunday as race organizers could have expected.

Were happy to see it, Indianapolis Motor Speedway CEO Jeff Belskus said. There was very little doubt in my mind that we wouldnt. To put it another way, I was confident we would end up with 33 cars.

The script could have been better.

For the first time since 2004, there were no bump attempts _ taking away the intrigue of last years enthralling finish when Marco Andretti bumped his way into the race by knocking out teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay on the final four-lap qualifying attempt of the month. Heck, there werent even any rumors floating around Gasoline Alley about late additions to Indys entry list.

The three slowest qualifiers, all of whom qualified at less than 215 mph, didnt have to sweat out anything. It will be the first time the 11th row is filled with cars under 215 since 204, too.

Despite getting a rude welcome to the Brickyards 2.5-mile oval, former Formula One driver Jean Alesi still made the race. The Frenchman will start 33rd after finishing with a four-lap qualifying average of 210.094 _ the slowest speed of any Indy starter since the late Fermin Velez went 206.512 in 1997.

Its a big relief for me to finally get into this race, said Alesi, one of seven rookies in the Indy field. This is an amazing experience for me. Im 47 years old, and I have learned more in one week than I did in my entire Formula One career.

Now the bigger questions.

Simona de Silvestro and Alesi will be the only drivers using the lumbering Lotus engines in next Sundays race. Theyll start 32nd and 33rd. De Silvestro had the second-slowest qualification speed at 214.393.

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Full field set for Indianapolis 500

Cam Newton took the league by storm in his rookie season in 2011 and established himself as an electrifying playmaker who could make plays with his big arm or with his athleticism.

Newton appears to have a bright future in the league, and his play answered questions that anyone may have had about his validity as a No. 1 overall selection in the draft. That doesn't preclude him from struggling in his second NFL season.

While many expect Newton to continue to evolve and get better as a quarterback, the case of Sam Bradford is important to keep in mind.

Bradford, much like Newton, was the No. 1 pick in his draft class and took over the starting job at quarterback from day one. Both quarterbacks lived up to the hype and put up good numbers on their way to claiming the award for top rookie.

Here's how their passing stats from their rookie seasons compare:

Bradford: 354-of-590, 60 percent, 3,512 yards, 18 TD, 15 INT

Newton: 310-of-517, 60 percent, 4,051 yards, 21 TD, 17 INT

Newton's numbers are slightly better but still comparable. Bradford struggled to match those numbers and couldn't stay healthy in his second year as a starter. His completion percentage dropped to 53.5 percent, and he only threw six touchdowns in 10 starts while throwing just as many interceptions.

With Bradford's contemporary case of a sophomore slump, Newton could follow suit.

The counterpoint to the Newton-Bradford comparison is that Newton was also a threat on the ground and rushed for a record 14 touchdowns in addition to his solid passing numbers. While that's a valid point, it doesn't guarantee that he'll avoid the sophomore slump.

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Cam Newton and 5 NFL Sophomores Who Will Struggle in 2013

DALLAS, May 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. Home Systems, Inc. (USHS) today announced that it has entered the Canadian market, contracting with an established retailer to deliver kitchen and bath refacing products to Canadian Tire customers in Canada under the business name Canadian Tire Home Services.

To facilitate the expansion, U.S. Home Systems formed a new Canadian subsidiary, Canadian Home Systems, Ltd. (CHS), which has entered into a three year Services Agreement with Canadian Tire Financial Services Limited (CTFS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited (TSX-CTC.a) (CTC.TO).

Murray Gross, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented "This expansion represents another major step in the execution of our growth strategy. The strength of the Canadian Tire brand in Canada is truly unique with instant recognition by Canadian shoppers. Canadian Tire has product offerings in automotive, living, fixing, playing, apparel and financial services. We believe that more than 90% of Canadians live within 15 minutes of one of Canadian Tire's 488 stores. We have strong expectations that the introduction of our kitchen and bath products and services will be well received by customers in Canada and we look forward to a long and mutually rewarding relationship with CTFS."

The rollout of the program to Canadian Tire customers will commence in early July 2012 with the initial phase in the Greater Toronto Area. To facilitate the expansion of U.S. Home Systems into the Greater Toronto Area market, CHS will initially open two sales and installation centers, one of which will also serve as its Canadian corporate administrative office. CHS and CTFS will expand the program throughout the Province of Ontario by December 31, 2012. If both CHS and CTFS agree that the initial phase is successful, the program will be fully implemented in the provinces of Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec. Management anticipates the roll out will be completed by December 2014.

USHS announced that the major terms of the agreement between CHS and CTFS included an exclusive arrangement between the parties in Canada under the business name Canadian Tire Home Services. Subject to certain conditions, the agreement can automatically be extended for successive two year terms.

Mr. Gross continued "Our Canadian operations will be similar to our current U.S. business activities in that our personnel will follow up leads generated by Canadian Tire Home Services or us with in-house visits with prospective Canadian Tire customers for our products. We will provide the products, labor and installation services necessary to complete customer orders and we will be required to make necessary repairs to address customer complaints or warranty claims."

About Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited

Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited (TSX-CTC.a) (CTC.TO) is one of Canada's most-shopped general retailers and the country's largest sporting goods retailer, with more than 1700 retail and gasoline outlets from coast-to-coast. Its primary retail business categories Automotive, Living, Fixing, Sports, Playing and Apparel are supported and strengthened by its Financial Services division, which offers such products and services as Canadian Tire Home Services, credit cards, retail deposits, in-store financing, product warranties, and insurance. Nearly 68,000 people are employees across the Canadian Tire enterprise, which was founded in 1922 and remains one of Canada's most recognized and trusted brands.

About U.S. Home Systems, Inc.

U.S. Home Systems, Inc. (www.ushomesystems.com) manufactures or procures, designs, sells and installs custom quality specialty home improvement products. The Company's product lines include kitchen cabinet refacing products utilized in kitchen remodeling, bathroom tub liners and wall surround products utilized in bathroom remodeling, and storage organization systems for closets and garages. The Company manufactures its own cabinet refacing products and bathroom cabinetry.

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U.S. Home Systems Enters Canadian Market