Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Despite the rain and poor weather, Oak Grove Racing, Gaming and Hotel are still on schedule and making good progress, according to a press release.

Oak Grove Racing and Gaming recently announced that they are expected to finish construction by the end of the summer, predicting to be done by July.

According to the press release, the fifth floor of the hotel is estimated to be finished by the end of February and to have all of the Historic Racing Machines installed by mid-March.

Officials added that by that time, the pace of change will likely increase as the weather is expected to dry out.

In early February, Churchill Downs Incorporated announced the hiring of Oak Grove Racing, Gaming & Hotels new president and general manager, Darold Londo. Shortly after, Oak Grove Racing and Gaming signed John Derby as the new chief financial officer.

Oak Grove Gaming, Racing and Hotel is set to open this summer and will host 128 luxury rooms and suites, a Historic Racing Machines venue with over 1,300 games, racing and equine facilities, multiple bars and restaurants and more.

In Februarys press release, officials announced the facility will also host a 30-space RV park and an amphitheater featuring fixed seating as well as room for lawn chairs, blankets, etc.

Oak Grove Tourism Commission also recently announced that Tourism would be partnering with Racing and Gaming to host events at its new amphitheater should Tourisms Valor Hall not be able to meet needs of certain events.

Racing and Gaming also released its restaurant and bar lineup. The hotel will feature Garrison Oak Steakhouse, Peek-A-Boo Bar and VIP Lounge, Sgt. Peppers Burgers and PoBoys, Lucky Lime Tex-Me and ODark Thirty Coffee Shop.

While Oak Grove Racing and Gaming continues planning for the official opening of the hotel and begins its second season of racing, the business plans to participate in more community events.

It will be taking part in the Compass Awards event on Mar. 5, Fort Campbell Soldier for Life Transition Assistance Program 2020 Spring Job Fair Mar. 17-18 and Spring into Summer Salutes Fort Campbell Festival on May 23-24.

Racing, Gaming and Hotel is also looking to fill these job opportunities: director of facilities, food and beverage positions, human resources positions, hotel positions, security, accounting managers, internal audit positions, marketing and purchasing, guest services, executive chef, executive housekeeper and executive assistant.

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Oak Grove Racing, Gaming and Hotel gives update on construction, plans - Hopkinsville Kentucky New Era

Look at the two-dozen empty storefronts in the seat of Sullivan County, Monticello. No way would you think that the long-dreamed casino neighboring this village has done what it, and many of its supporters, promised:

To reinvent, revitalize and reimagine the region, said the CEO of Empire Resorts, the company that, until several months ago, ran the struggling $1 billion casino, Resorts World Catskills, which on Feb. 8 celebrated its two-year anniversary and is now owned and run by Genting.

But look just beyond those storefronts to some of the established businesses of Monticello and to the town that hosts the casino, Thompson. You'll find benefits few could have imagined on that cold December day in 2014 when the state chose the Sullivan County resort casino then called Montreign over eight other regional contenders and made decades of casino dreams and schemes come true.

Just about every week for the past two years, Monticello Greenhouses florist which is actually in the Town of Thompson has been delivering at least 25 arrangements of flowers like gladiolas, birds of paradise and carnations for the lobby, spa, rooms and high-rolling areas of the casino at the site of the old Concord resort. When the casino hosts special events like weddings or holiday celebrations, the nearly century-old family business increases its delivery to the tune of 1,500 poinsettias at Christmas. All of which has meant about 5-7 percent of its business, says Greenhouses' owner, David Heins.

A nice shot in the arm you can count on every week, he says.

Talk to a long-time business owner in Monticello, which, during the heyday of the resort-filled Catskills, was bustling with strollers on a Broadway lined with businesses like the Rialto movie theater, Kaplan's Deli and the Elegante gift shop.

Les Kristt's Kristt Kelly Office Systems supplies the copy/printing machines for all of the offices in the casino some 30 in all along with office supplies like envelopes and paper.

And they all have service contracts, says Kristt.

Another venerable Monticello business that's profiting from the casino and its eating/drinking spots is the 52-year-old family-run Monticello Bagel Bakery, which bakes some 40-50 dozen bagels a week for the casino along with another often larger order for the Kartrite Resort and Indoor Water Park next to the casino.

It's great they're using local products, says co-owner Craig Fleischman.

Then there's the approximately $7.4 million Sullivan County and the Town of Thompson has each received from the casino's one-time licensing fee ($2.5 million each), and quarterly slot machine revenue ($4.9 million each) payments. Plus, the town, county and Monticello school district have received a total of about $5 million in payments in lieu of taxes from the casino during construction and operation.

All of which has contributed to a 20 percent decrease in taxes in the Town of Thompson over the last four years, along with the replacement of some 60 percent of its fleet of snow plows and new commercial and retail activity, according to Thompson Supervisor Bill Rieber. Most of the county's casino revenue has gone to its general fund, with about $704,000 earmarked for road machinery equipment in 2020.

We've had growth where we've never had growth, says Rieber, who also owns Rieber Realty in Monticello and cites such new casino-inspired businesses that have opened or are set to open like Marshall's, Taco Bell and the new Urgent Care Center of Catskill Regional Medical Center.

Plus, Resorts World has about 1,400 employees down from nearly 1,700 when it opened who receive salaries and benefits packages more generous than the average Sullivan compensation. Resorts World dealers can initially earn between $50,000-$55,000 depending on tips, with access to benefits like health insurance and a 401K plan in this county where the average per capita annual income is about $29,000. The casino's heftier salaries and benefits have also meant that several local businesses have lost workers to Resorts World or had to up their own compensation.

Businesses have lost employees (to the casino), but that's created openings for new employees; that's what economic development is all about, says Sullivan County Center for Workplace Development Director Laura Quigley.

Two years after it opened, Resorts World Catskills may not be the savior fulfilling the potential to revive a once thriving resort destination area that has experienced a significant downturn , as the state said when it chose the casino - as evidenced by those empty shops in Monticello, and the region's highest poverty rate of 16%. But even after losing more than $200 million, slashing its workforce and downsizing its gaming operation, the casino has provided a shot in the economic arm in this county where, about 21 years ago, 1,000 job seekers lined up for $6.50 an hour jobs at the new Monticello Wal-Mart.

Is it the be-all and end-all? No, says Sullivan County legislator Ira Steingart, a longtime casino supporter and chairman of the Sullivan County Industrial Development Agency whose printing business, Steingart Associates, prints gift certificates, menus and table cards for the casino. But in the last few years, the county has had a turnaround and the casino has gotten us in the right direction for developers to be attracted to the area.

We had zero before, so any impact has been positive, says Monticello Mayor Gary Sommers, whose village sits in the Town of Thompson but was not included in any of the state's casino revenue sharing from slot machines and the licensing fee that was earmarked for host towns and counties and even nearby counties like Orange (about $5.4 million) and Ulster (about $2.6 million). Sommers says Monticello does receive about $35,000 to $40,000 per year for providing water to the casino.

Much of that impact has been those spinoff businesses the casino and its 1,400 employees and three million visitors have generated at places like Monticello Greenhouses, Kristt Company, Steingart Printing, Thompson Sanitation, which hauls the casino's trash, Albella Italian restaurant and gas stations and convenience stores like Tommy's Mobil, where folks who stay at the casino's hotel have often stopped for packaged beer and gas. Even Monticello's Ethelbert B. Crawford Library has seen increased activity in the form of employees who've just moved to the county and get new library cards and use its notary public and computers.

The indirect spending to serve the casino can be bigger than the direct spending; says Steve Rittvo, former chair of the Innovation Group casino consultants who now heads the casino development company, Innovation Project Development.

He's not surprised that many shops remain empty in Monticello because the patrons don't shop in the community. The big money comes from supplying the casino, and, he adds, from new employees using services in the community, such as gas stations, medical offices and restaurants.

Some of that indirect spending includes buying pastries from DeFillipi's Bakery in Monticello, which was a go-to breakfast and lunch spot for casino employees during construction, as well as providing pastries and sandwiches for meetings in on-site trailers. While the bakery no longer provides baked goods on a regular basis for Resorts World, it does supply pastries for special events like weddings and anniversaries as well as creating high-end gift boxes of pastries for the rooms of high rollers.

Then there's another homegrown business that's profiting in a somewhat surprising way from the casino and its nine restaurants and eating/drinking spots.

CES (Combined Energy Services) of Monticello may be best known for supplying oil and propane to scores of local customers throughout the region. But for Resorts World, it provides gallons and gallons of the CO2 needed for its carbonated beverages and to adjust the pH levels in its several pools, both in its spa and in its private suites. Plus, Resorts World's vehicles often fill up on gas and diesel fuel at CES' Monticello gas station.

They're a good customer, says CES owner Michael Taylor. It all adds up.

Indeed it does, says another long-time casino supporter and owner of several businesses, Randy Resnick, whose Rez-Bear Energy supplies propane gas for the smaller hotel at Resorts World, the Alder. Plus, his upscale Rock Hill restaurant, BHR, and his Ramada Rock Hill at Sullivan Center hotel attract casino guests seeking dining and lodging alternatives particularly on the weekends, or when Resorts World's two hotels are packed and charge much more than their $79 and $59 (at the Alder) per night mid-week rate that can undercut nearby hotels, like his, which has also lost employees to the casino.

And when the casino wanted to attract Player's Club gamblers to a recent Valentine's Day weekend, it showcased Ani and Alex and Pandora jewelry from Gallery of the Lakes in Rock Hill.

Plus, having such a huge business that needs everything from plumbing supplies to pastries has created an unforeseen benefit. The casino has helped area businesses make connections with one another and find new outlets for business.

A. Alport and Son plumbing and heating supplies of South Fallsburg, which supplied everything from toilets and sinks to pipe fittings during construction, is still reaping benefits from its work on the casino the largest project it ever completed. Because it worked with Thomas J. Kempton mechanical contractor of Middletown, it's now working with the company on the Legoland theme park in Orange County.

The biggest impact has been the relationship we formed with other vendors during construction, says Alport president Dory Alport. Working on the casino gave us exposure to other projects we wouldn't otherwise have been exposed to.

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Resorts World Catskills has delivered economic boost to Sullivan - Times Herald-Record

Complete Heating and Cooling, a Largo, FL air conditioning repair company has launched air conditioner installation services in Pinellas County.

(Newswire.net -- February 27, 2020) -- Largo, FL -- Complete Heating and Cooling, a Largo, FL air conditioning repair company has launched air conditioner installation services in Pinellas County. The company installs, repairs, and maintains American and international brands of HVAC systems.

Largo, FL air conditioning repair company Complete Heating and Cooling announced the launch of HVAC and air conditioner installation services in the city. The heating and cooling specialists in Pinellas County installs all makes and models of air conditioners.

More information about Complete Heating and Cooling is available at https://www.completeairinc.com

The licensed HVAC contractor in Tampa Bay specializes in the installation and replacement of full air conditioning systems, ducting, and standalone AC units. Experienced heating and cooling system technicians at Complete Heating and Cooling are qualified and equipped to install all brands of air conditioning systems.

Complete Heating and Cooling is a preferred air conditioner installation company in Largo with expertise in AC retrofit jobs. The company is a dealership and installer for American and international brands including Bryant, Carrier, Goodman, Mitsubishi, LG Rheem, American Standard, and Amana.

The Largo home cooling and ventilation contractor also installs heat pumps, thermostats, and other climate control equipment for residential and commercial projects. Complete Heating and Cooling has its liveried vehicles equipped to handle small or large-scale installations, repairs, and maintenance.

Complete Heating and Cooling is a one-stop contractor for air conditioning inspections, scheduled maintenance, duct, and furnace repair. The company offers 24-hour emergency repairs across its service area.

According to a spokesperson for the Largo, FL HVAC installers, "Our reputation at Complete Heating & Cooling is built on accurate diagnosis, quality repairs, and expert installation. We serve our customers for the long run. We want to be the go-to guys for all your climate service needs in Pinellas County, and we are honoured to have an opportunity to prove ourselves to you."

Complete Heating and Cooling was founded in 2003 by Chris Christiansen and is a Class "A" Florida State contractor with more than 20 years of experience in Pinellas County. The company serves homes and businesses in the FL cities of Clearwater, Palm Harbor, St. Petersburg, Dunedin, Madeira Beach, and 34 other locations across the county.

For more information about reliable air conditioner installation in Largo, FL, call 727-545-3604 or visit the URL above.

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Largo FL Air Conditioning Repair HVAC And Air Conditioner Installation Launched - Newswire

By the Experts at Pillar To Post Home Inspectors

During the process of buying or selling a home, your clients often learn about recommended or required repairs and upgrades. This can happen as a result of the home inspection, or you may make suggestions based on your knowledge of the local market and comparable homes.

Of course, the first thing your clients want to know is, How much will that cost?

The Pillar To Post Construction and Remodeling Estimates Cost Guide puts this information at your fingertips. It provides estimated cost ranges for the repair and/or replacement of major systems and components in a home, including heating and cooling, roofing, plumbing, electrical, and much more. It also includes general guidelines for the life expectancies of those systems.

This information can help your clients make informed decisions when theyre considering home repairs or improvements, and is valued by buyers and sellers alike.

Forcomplimentary copies of the newly updated Cost Guide, please contact your local Pillar To Post Home Inspector or download it.

Book your home inspection today.

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How Much Will Repairs and Upgrades Cost? Get the Answers - RisMedia.com

The Army wants major renovations at the homes of top military brass in the Washington area, where scores of multimillion-dollar projects are planned to restore aging historic properties, the service said.

The military is obligated to notify Congress when maintenance and repair costs for the homes of generals and flag officers exceeds $35,000. There are 33 properties in the capital area that exceed the threshold at a total cost of $37.7 million, the Armys 2021 budget request shows.

Most of them are connected to Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, which includes sites in Washington and Arlington, Va., according to budget documents.

These houses are in a failed and failing state requiring major building components to be replaced to include electrical, plumbing, structural, fire and force protection requirements for historical homes that are between 90 to 130 years old, said Michael L. Howard, a Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall spokesman.

Worldwide, the Armys 2021 request for general and flag officer housing is $47 million for costs connected to operations, maintenance and leases. The inventory includes 151 Army-owned and leased units and 191 private units, Army documents state.

Most of the money is focused on repairs at Washingtons Fort McNair, a part of Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall situated along the Potomac and Anacostia rivers.

The Armys vice chief and other top leaders reside at the post, which has been in use since 1791. There are seven homes along the bases 2nd Avenue that have been tapped to receive $3.6 million each in renovations, the Army said.

Work is slated to begin in the 2020-2021 time frame and would take six years to finish, Howard said.

The upgrades are expected to provide savings over the long-term operation costs of the historic homes, which the Army says have inefficient heating and cooling systems.

They also need landscaping and drainage work after two years of record rainfalls that raised concerns about moisture damaging the older homes, Howard said.

At Fort Myer in Arlington, many homes were built between 1892 and 1935. Ten homes are slated for improvements, including small projects for the homes reserved for the Army and Air Force chiefs of staff.

A $1.4 million project at Fort Myer is slated for quarters that Colin Powell called home during the early 1980s while working for then-Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger. Its unclear who the home is meant for now.

However, not all of the big spending elsewhere is meant for historic homes.

At U.S. European Command in Stuttgart, the Army will spend $1.2 million to fix two homes along Patch Barracks Florida Strasse, where generals reside. Both homes are vacant due to structural and foundation issues that make them uninhabitable, said Ray Johnson, spokesman for Installation Management Command-Europe.

Neither of the 63-year-old houses has had significant upgrades over the last 25 years, except for piecemeal repairs, Johnson said.

About seven years ago, the Army spent millions fixing up other homes along Florida Strasse, but the newly budgeted projects werent part of that effort, Johnson said.

vandiver.john@stripes.comTwitter: @john_vandiver

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Army requests millions to fix homes for high-ranking officers in the Washington area - Stars and Stripes

The Square shopping center in Tallaght, Dublin required a car park refurbishment after it's existing 4,200m coating system had begun delaminating from the substrate.

Following a Triflex Intelligent Roof Protection and Living Life Outside CPD which was delivered by Business Development Manager, Andrew Stewart at McGovern Surveyors in Dublin, the attendees queried the use of Triflex surfacing and protection systems on car parks.

A surveyor within the McGovern team had recently acquired a car park refurbishment project at The Square Shopping Centre in Tallaght, near to Dublin. Initially, the plan for the project was to replace the failed 4,200m system with a 30mm thick asphalt system.

The existing liquid system had caused problems for many years, it was delaminating, cracked and badly worn. Leaving the client looking for an alternative solution to liquid waterproofing.

After discussing the project at length, it was clear there were a lot of obstacles that couldnt be overcome by using an asphalt system:

The surveyor believed that Triflex PMMA solutions may be the answer to the car parks issues, and found that our experience and extensive knowledge of waterproofing, surfacing and protecting car parks was invaluable. McGovern Surveyors decided to delay the tender package by a week and allowed Triflex to put forward a proposal.

With the tight timescale, the Triflex field technicians were quick to respond and carried out a thorough on-site investigation, including core and peel adhesion tests. Following the results of the on-site survey, a full bespoke specification was provided in time for the tender.

Following the tender process, the feedback from the surveyor was that the Triflex price was significantly cheaper than any of the asphalt proposals, but more importantly, surpassed the areas of concern where asphalt faltered. And so, the client and surveyors specified Triflex and appointed Triflex Authorised Contracting partners, Advanced Flooring Systems to provide the solution at The Square Shopping Centre car park.

Prior to any system being installed, Advanced Flooring Systems carried out all prework and preparations to the decks to ensure the best possible bond would be achieved between the substrate and the Triflex system. Often, Triflex is the ideal solution to overlay existing failed liquid systems as it has the highest levels of compatibility. However, in this case, the existing coating was in such poor condition that adhering to it would be pointless, and therefore, it would require removal of the existing liquid system before installation.

Once the failed system had been planed off and the substrate treated, installation works could begin. Cracks along the back of the beams were identified and, because cracking in the screed between the planks was so regular our partially reinforced system, Triflex DeckFloor was specified to provide a reliable solution.

Triflex DeckFloor is a heavy-duty, flexible system. Utilizing PMMA waterproofing technology and high tensile strength reinforcement in high-risk areas. The system has been used for more than 20 years and has been proved to extend building life, exceed health and safety requirements and enhance aesthetics for maximum visual impact.

It was requested that the finished decks matched the original colors of the previous system, but the newly installed system has provided a new spring of life. Triflex Preco Line 300 and Triflex Cold Plastic were installed to provide robust and lasting demarcation for the bay lines and arrows.

I would like to thank Triflex and their Field Technician Team for their continuous assistance during the installation. Their attention to detail and constant monitoring of the ongoing works proved in-valuable during the project and has helped to achieve a quality end result and a happy client, said Michael Nolan, Breffni Building & Civil Eng. Ltd. T/A Breffni Group

Triflexis the leading European specialist in liquid waterproofing products and cold plastics. Ourhigh-quality systems provide reliable and lasting solutions for waterproofing roofs, balconies, and parking decks. In addition, we prove our technology leadership time and again with a whole range of special solutions. Triflex markings set the standard on roads and cycle paths, in factories and multi-story car parks.We deliver individual solutions worldwide from our production facilities in Minden, Germany. We can boast more than 40 years of experience in the market. Reliability, focus on service and innovation are the values we work by every day in our customers interest.

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Triflex Offers The Square Shopping Centre an Excellent Alternative to Asphalt - Parking Network

The floor of the Abyssinian Meeting House has been battered and bruised since the timber-frame building was raised in Portlands historic East End neighborhood nearly 200 years ago.

Members of the citys first African-American congregation stepped to their pews and fidgeted through fiery sermons. Crowds gathered to hear moving speeches by well-known abolitionists such as William Lloyd Garrison. And black children studied reading, writing and arithmetic before Portlands schools were integrated.

After the church closed in 1917 a tragic result of the worst maritime disaster in New England history it was converted into several low-budget apartments. Pews were ripped out, two additional floors and many walls were added, plumbing and heating ducts were installed, and decades of tenants continued the wear and tear on the wide pine planks.

Two house fires did more damage, leaving charred and weakened timbers behind.

Now, the original floor of the historic meetinghouse is being restored. Its the latest effort by the Abyssinian Restoration Project to save and call attention to a critical and long-neglected aspect of state, local and national history.

The history that the floor reveals is amazing, said Leonard Cummings Sr., a leader of the group thats restoring the Abyssinian. Its a part of black history in Maine that has been omitted for a long time and its finally being told.

With surgical precision, skilled carpenters are removing damaged sections of the 36-by-50-foot floor and replacing them with new pine boards. Smaller holes and gaps are also being filled with carefully fitted plugs or patches known as dutchmen. All of it is being done according to strict federal standards for historic preservation and restoration.

The resulting patchwork of light- and dark-colored wood has a random beauty that perhaps only preservation advocates or a restoration contractor could love.

If you look closely at a building, youll know exactly what the builders were thinking, said Les Fossel, owner of Restoration Resources, the Alna-based company thats restoring the floor.

The project is an important step toward making the Abyssinian a community center once again.

This isnt (meant to be) a museum, Fossel said. Its a living part of the community. The idea is to create a floor that people can walk on safely. So were fixing everything someone might trip over.

In past years, floors and walls added during the 20th century have been removed. The buildings remarkable timber-frame structure was repaired and restored, along with its stone foundation. The once-sacred space now soars two stories above the original floor, making it easier to imagine the people who built and used the meetinghouse.

Built in 1828, the Abyssinian is the nations third-oldest meetinghouse built by a black congregation, after churches in Boston and Nantucket. Its listed on the National Register of Historic Places and recognized as a northern hub of the Underground Railroad and the anti-slavery movement.

In 1826, six free black men Reuben Ruby, Caleb Jonson, Clemant Tomson, Job Wentworth, Christopher Manuel and John Sigs published a letter in a local newspaper, announcing their plan to build a church for Portlands black community. They no longer wanted to be relegated to the back pews of Portlands white congregations.

Pardon our misapprehensions, if they be such, the men wrote, (but) we have sometimes thought our attendance was not desired.

The Abyssinian thrived through the 1800s as the religious and cultural heart of Portlands black community. Church membership took a serious blow in 1898, when the SS Portland was caught in a terrible storm and sank during a return trip from Boston.

At least 194 people died when the steamship went down, including 19 crew members who attended the Abyssinian. Two of them were church trustees. The congregation never recovered and eventually closed.

City officials sold the boarded-up, tax-delinquent property to the Committee to Restore the Abyssinian in 1998 for $250. Since then, the nonprofit group has worked to stabilize, study and restore the building through grants and donations.

Cummings said the floor restoration is part of a $75,000 project that includes two circular stairways that are being built in the entryway of the church by Thomas Thomsen, a local restoration contractor. Like the original stairways, they will serve two doorways that eventually will be restored in the buildings facade.

The next major project will be the installation of eight new, 28-paned windows like the originals that stretched over two stories. Theyll cost about $125,000 and will be installed as funding is available, Cummings said.

With each improvement, the Abyssinian moves closer to becoming the community hub that it once was.

When the floor restoration project wraps up in a week or so, the boards will be washed and treated with a forgiving oil finish. Eventually, Fossel said, the pale new wood will turn honey-colored and blend with the original boards. Visitors to the meetinghouse wont even notice the restoration work unless they look for it.

Michael Drage, one of Fossels employees, doesnt mind that his careful work will someday be ignored. On his hands and knees, the carpenter from Dresden is cutting out damaged wood and carefully patching the gaps. As he mends the warped, cracked and dinged boards, his mind wanders back through the centuries.

I think about the people who made these marks, Drage said, pointing out deep grooves in an old plank. Im just putting in a floor, but this is an important place for a lot of people.

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Where the past walked, a step forward at Abyssinian - Press Herald

TERRE HAUTE A $50,000 NBA All-Star Legacy Grant to Chances and Services for Youth has jump-started a major renovation project for the gym at the Booker T. Washington Community Center in Terre Haute, where CASY makes its home.

Renovations will include refurbishing the centers gym floor, installing foam wall pads used for basketball and installing a roll up curtain that will divide the court.

Tribune-Star/Howard GreningerBrandon Halleck, chief operating officer for Chances and Services for Youth, plans to undertake $155,000 in improvements to the Booker T. Washington Community Center, spearheaded with a $50,000 NBA All-Star Legacy Grant. Halleck said CASY also has received an additional $50,000 anonymous grant. CASY hopes to raise the remainder of funds by the start of the work in August.

In addition to the NBA grant, Brandon Halleck, CASYs chief operating officer, said the organization has received an additional $50,000 from an anonymous donor. That is leading to additional improvements including new bleachers, new roof and painting, among other items.

In all, slated improvements will cost $155,000.

Halleck said he is confident he can raise the remaining $55,000 for the project prior to an anticipated August start. CASY has until February 2021, prior to the tip of the NBA All-Star 2021 game in Indianapolis, to complete the project under the grant terms.

The NBA All-Star 2021 Host Committee on Thursday awarded 21 organizations with a grant, distributing $1 million in grants up to $50,000 to 21 brick-and-mortar projects focused on health and wellness or education. The grants were distributed among 18 Indiana counties, chosen from 182 applicants statewide.

We had an overwhelmingly positive response statewide to the grant applications, Rick Fuson, founding chairman, All-Star Board of Directors and president and chief operating officer of Pacers Sports & Entertainment, said in a news release.

Narrowing the list to 21 grant recipients involved considerable review and discussion by our Legacy Committee. They had to make tough choices amongst a pool of incredibly strong and impactful grant requests, Fuson said.

Grant factors included clear project objectives, funding and budget information, identified partners, number of people served and a demonstrated need.

This grant will further expand our services in youth sports and development and help us reach our vision that every child, every age, every chance has the opportunity to grow up safe, healthy and drug-free, Halleck said.

Part of the renovation will remove five sections of wooden pull-out bleachers, replacing them with three sections of modern bleachers with a center walkway space, which makes the bleachers more accessible and safe, Halleck said. The bleachers, which will be electronically opened and closed, will have 250 to 260 seats.

It will cost $85,000 for the three sets of bleachers, Halleck said. If we need to put more bleachers in, we can address that later on.

The gyms scoreboard will be replaced and a scorers table will be added. The gym floor will be completely stripped and refurbished with new lines for basketball and pickleball, possibly with some floor mounts for volleyball nets, Halleck said.

Additionally, the gyms interior will be painted, which will cost about $7,000, Halleck said.

A center divider now at the gym is an old panel divider system, which does not remain in place, has scratched part of the gym floor and is difficult to extend with its track not fully intact. The panels were always teetering and I could envision a panel that could fall, so we stopped using it, Halleck said.

A new divider will be vinyl with a mess top and will also be electronically operated, Halleck said.

Also, Halleck said he plans to replace lights in the gym, saying the lighting system was replaced more than eight years ago with a more efficient LED system.

We are also putting a new roof on as the gym leaks, Halleck said. The roof has been leaking and will be the first thing to be done as I dont have to shut anything down for that work to start.

The plan is to begin the interior gym project in August, after the community center ends a 10-week summer camp program. Halleck said the project must be completed within one to two months due to the centers scheduling commitments.

The center, at 13th Street and College Avenue, was constructed in 1970.

The center has not really been updated since we have been here, and we came in 2008, so it is time for a renovation, Halleck said.

Reporter Howard Greninger can be reached 812-231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com. Follow on Twitter@TribStarHoward.

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Terre Haute program gets $50000 from NBA for gym renovation - The Herald Bulletin

HAMILTON

Work recently wrapped on the Butler County Fairgrounds Event Center, a nearly 8-year-old facility that until now had remained an unfinished, all-season building.

The facility in Hamilton was constructed in 2012, but there wasnt enough money at the time to complete the project, according to Doug Turner, president of the Butler County Fair Board. It sat for years as just a shell of a building, walls lined with plastic and concrete floors making up most of the interior, Turner said.

Now, after months of renovation, all the concrete at the event center is covered with drywall and barn metal. Added to the center was a dressing room for brides and a storage room for table and chairs. The sparse kitchen was completed and painted, and an overhead door replaced plywood that had to be uninstalled and reinstalled from windows every time there was an event.

MORE: Hamiltons 80 Acres Farms to grow tons of tomatoes on New York Citys Fifth Avenue

We had a structure, but not a finished product, and now we have a finished product, he said.

Added to the fairs office was drywall in the foyer, painted walls and newly installed lighting. Floors have been polished and bathrooms repainted.

Community involvement played a part.

Its been pretty awesome as to how many organizations and people have stepped up to either donate their time, services or money and help get this project completed, Turner said. All were missing now is a parking lot.

Prior to the improvements, the Butler County Commissioners in 2018 had asked Butler County Fair board members what was on their wishlist to get done. The event center, with its exposed insulation and concrete and no drywall, was an obvious choice.

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Commissioners made a committment to help fund the project with the Fair board, saying if the board could come up with anything up until $50,000, the county would match that amount. The fair board raised that amount, commissioners matched it and a matching grant from the Ohio Department of Agriculture brough the total raised to $150,000.

The biggest thing is, when we were showing the building to brides it just wasnt an attractive facility, Turner said. To make it look like what they wanted it to do, there just had to be an awful lot of decorating to be done.

Ray Rigby, of Brailey Promotions Inc., helped organize last months Tri-State Outdoor Show. He said the group was so pleased with the facility and its hospitality that the show officially moved it there from another location.

It is a perfect size for an event such as ours and the improvements made since our first meeting has made it a crowning jewel of your community, Rigby wrote in a letter to fairgrounds officals.

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All were missing now is a parking lot: Butler County Fairgrounds event center completed a - Hamilton Journal News

Machine vision is a mature technology with established incumbents. However, significant advancements in chipsets, software, and standards are bringing deep learning innovation into the machine vision sector.

According to a recent analysis by global tech market advisory firm ABI Research, total shipments for machine vision sensors and cameras will reach 16.9 million by 2025, creating an installed base of 94 million machine vision systems in industrial manufacturing. Of that installed base, 11% will be deep learning-based.

Machine vision systems are a staple in production lines for barcode reading, quality control, and inventory management. These solutions often have long replacement cycles and are less prone to disruption. Due to the increasing demands for automation, machine vision is finding its way into new applications, said Lian Jye Su, Principal Analyst at ABI Research. Robotics, for example, is a new growth area for machine vision: Collaborative robots rely on machine vision for guidance and object classification, while mobile robots rely on machine vision for SLAM and safety.

A different breed from conventional machine vision technology, deep learning-based machine vision is data-driven and utilizes a statistical approach, which allows the machine vision model to improve as more data is gathered for training and testing. Major machine vision vendors have realized the potential of deep learning-based machine learning. Cognex, for example, acquired SUALAB, a leading Korean-based developer of vision software using deep learning for industrial applications, and Zebra Technologies acquired Cortexica Vision Systems Ltd., a London-headquartered leader in business-to-business (B2B) AI-based computer vision solutions developer.

At the same time, chipset vendors are launching new chipsets and software stacks to facilitate the implementation of deep learning-based machine vision. Xilinx, a Field Programmable Gated Array (FPGA) vendor, partnered closely with camera sensor manufacturer Sony and camera vendors such as Framos and IDS Imaging to incorporate its Versal ACAP System on Chip (SoC). Intel, on the other hand, offers OpenVINO for developers to deploy pre-trained deep learning-based machine vision models through a common API to deliver inference solutions on various computing architectures. Another FPGA vendor, Lattice Semiconductor, focuses on low-powered Artificial Intelligence (AI) for embedded vision through its senseAI stack, which offers hardware accelerators, software tools, and reference designs. These technology stacks aim to ease development and deployment challenges and create platform stickiness.

On the standards front, vendors are bringing 10GigE (Gigabit Ethernet) and 25GigE cameras into industrial applications. Continual upgrades on video capturing and compression technologies also generate a better image and video quality for deep learning-based machine vision models. This ensures the futureproofing of machine vision systems. Therefore, when choosing machine vision systems, end implementers need to understand their machine vision requirements, consider integration with their backend system, and identify the right ecosystem partners. Deployment flexibility and future upgradability and scalability will be crucial as machine vision technology continues to evolve and improve, concludes Su.

These findings are from ABI Researchs Machine Vision in Industrial Applications application analysis report. This report is part of the companys Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning research service, which includes research, data, and analyst insights. Based on extensive primary interviews, Application Analysis reports present in-depth analysis on key market trends and factors for a specific technology.

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ABI Research: Installed base of machine vision systems in manufacturing to reach 100 million by 2025 - Modern Materials Handling