Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Royal Road descends with a whoosh to the lip of Biscayne Bay. There youll find an oasis with a lovely ocean vista, a cooling breeze on your skin and the soothing sound of waves lapping against the seawall.

Youll also find discarded beer cans and condoms, pizza boxes, cigarette butts and an occasional pair of underwear.

You might run into someone fishing or smoking a joint or sipping whiskey or reminiscing about old Coconut Grove.

We used to call this Big Hill Road because wed ride our bikes down to the bottom at high speed, said Will Gaines, a former Grove resident, describing one of the steepest hills in pancake-flat Miami.

Its a shabbily charming spot, but it could be so much nicer.

View of Royal Road, a publicly accessible strip of Coconut Grove that has become a magnet for trash and graffiti at its end near the bay.

Roberto Koltun rkoltun@miamiherald.com

Its always been a dump at the end of the road, a trash pile with a view, said Glenn Terry, a Grove activist and resident for 42 years. Its an interesting patch of earth that is gnarly and unloved.

It is also one of the very few waterfront places accessible to people who dont own multimillion dollar homes. The dead end off Main Highway that abuts Ransom-Everglades School on one side and the Australian pines of the vast yard of a large residential property on the other is the closest access point for West Grove residents.

Public space is a human right, yet we have so many waterfront spaces in our waterfront city closed off by gates and walls and guard houses, said Brian Carson, a Grove resident and landscape architect who sees enormous potential at the end of Royal Road.

Its a jewel, he said. Ive had lots of conversations with the regulars. No matter what they may look like they are passionate about preserving that space.

Trashbags left on the side of the road on Royal Road in Coconut Grove.

Courtesy of Glenn Terry

Carson wants to beautify and strengthen the 30-by-60-foot plot so it can adapt to the sea-level rise changes of the future. He has developed a plan to convert the neglected, graffiti-accented hangout into a mini park with a bench, picnic table, bike rack, kayak launch, dock and garbage cans. His landscape design would include rain gardens to filter the stormwater that runs down the sloping road into the bay and salt-tolerant plants and trees that could survive flooding.

Right now its difficult for things to grow there, he said. We want to make it a pilot project for resilient parks and shorelines.

Robert Lloyd collaborated on the proposal from the Grove 2030 group that has been selected as a finalist in the Miami Foundations Public Space Challenge. Winners of grants ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 will be announced Aug. 29.

These are public rights of way and it is super important to keep them public, said Lloyd, who used to live on bayfront Matheson Avenue, where people once went fishing but that has since been turned into a gated entry street. Royal Road has a lot of history.

Carson, Lloyd and Terry have discussed the concept with Miami Commissioner Ken Russell and the parks department and found support for maintenance of the mini park.

Its a place that can speak the language of sea level rise and educate the public about whats happening, said Daniela Romero, a landscape architect who helped Carson and Lloyd with the proposal. Its a gateway that belongs to the people, and we want to bring the ocean to the community.

Read more from the original source:
Dead end in Coconut Grove could be a park rather than a magnet for cans and condoms - Miami Herald

George Barnes Telegram & Gazette Staff @georgebarnestg

Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither was Worcester. The two cities also have in common the idea that they are defined by their seven hills. Worcester is one of many cities around the world that claim to have been built on seven hills. This includes Somerville; Seven Hills, Ohio; Providence; Seattle; Turku, Finland; Thiruvanananthapuram, India, and many more. In Worcester's case, there are at least 15 hills, and possibly more, depending how a hill is defined. The Worcester Historical Museum and the city's website agree on seven interesting, historical and beautiful hills. All the Worcester hills were once wilderness, but beginning in the 1700s a city was carved out of the virgin forests. Today, many of the hills are covered with homes and businesses, but some have been set aside as parks for the public to enjoy.

Seabury Heights Apartments seen across Bell Pond on Chandler Hill [T&G Staff/George Barnes]

To the north, Chandler Hill is difficult to distinguish as a hill. It seems more like a plateau and a jumping-off point for Green Hill and other hills that rise to the north of Belmont Street. Looking at the hill from the south and east, there is no question. It rises 741 feet almost straight up from behind Cristoforo Columbo Park and would afford a pretty good view of Shrewsbury Street, if there were fewer trees. At the top of the tree-covered hill are Bell Pond, Bell Hill Park and Seabury Heights apartments. There is also a former road along the top of the ridge. Chandler Hill is bordered by Belmont Street to the north, Shrewsbury Street to south and east and a densely packed neighborhood of mostly apartment buildings to the west. A hiking trail runs from Cristoforo Colombo Park to the top of the hill. That trail also links to Green Hill Park.

Chandler Hill can be seen in the background through Cristoforo Colombo Park. [T&G Staff/George Barnes]

A runner races up a steep slope in Green Hill Park as a couple descends. [T&G Staff/George Barnes]

It is not a surprise that Green Hill Park is one of the gems of the city's park system. The prominent family for whom the 780-foot hill and park are named valued beautiful landscapes. Andrew Green, who once owned the property and donated it to the city in 1905, was associated with famed landscape designer Frederick Law Olmsted and is known as the father of Central Park in New York City. As a planner he also played a key role in developing other New York institutions, including the Bronx Zoo, the New York Public Library and the American Museum of Natural History. The 780-foot Green Hill is not far from Chandler Hill. It is at the northern end of Green Hill Park near the golf course. Visitors will see Green Hill Pond, where people fish, occasionally boat and picnic on its shores, a Little League field, the Massachusetts Vietnam Veterans Memorial and many trails to hike and run. The park encompasses three hills, Green, Crown and Millstone. Green and Millstone are the same height, and Crown a little shorter.

A Green Hill Park sign. [T&G Staff/George Barnes]

Bancroft Tower. [T&G Staff/George Barnes]

Bancroft Hill rises 720 feet and overlooks Park Avenue, across the street from the WPI athletic complex. Its most prominent feature is 52-foot tall Bancroft Tower, which is at present closed to the public. The hill is part of Salisbury Park, and the tower and hill are named for noted Worcester resident, historian and statesman George Bancroft, who grew up at the base of the hill. Bancroft Tower was built in his honor by his friend Stephen Salisbury III. Mr. Bancroft served as secretary of the navy and later as U.S. minister to Great Britain. He also founded the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. Among his historical works is the History of the United States from the Founding of America.

Directional marker at the base of Bancroft Tower indicates points south. [T&G Staff/George Barnes]

Directional marker shows way to points of interest to the north. [T&G Staff/George Barnes]

An apple tree and flagpole at the summit of Newton Hill [T&G Staff/George Barnes]

Newton Hill, at 672 feet, is down Park Avenue from Bancroft Hill - across Park Avenue from Elm Park. It is part of the park, formerly the Newton farmstead. There is still a field at the top of the hill where the city erected a flag pole. The hill offers hiking trails, exercise stations and a disc golf course. At the foot of the hill is the Rogers-Kennedy Memorial donated to the city to illustrate the history of Massachusetts as a colony. The park is maintained by volunteers, including a group of teen-age park rangers who were out in force last week, picking up trash and making minor repairs.

Sign for Newton Hill [T&G Staff/George Barnes]

A home near the top of Hancock Hill [T&G Staff/George Barnes]

John Hancock not only had a large signature he affixed to the Declaration of Independence, he also owned a pretty big hill. Hancock Hill rises 780 feet between Salisbury and Forest streets. At one time it was owned by Hancock, but it is now one of the citys nicer neighborhoods, dotted with good-size single family homes. To get there, you take Hancock Hill Drive off Forest Street, up to Montclair Drive. This photo was taken near the top.

A sign for Hancock Hill Drive. [T&G Staff/George Barnes]

Looking down Dorchester Street from Union Hill. [T&G Staff/George Barnes]

Union Hill is one of the citys most historic locations. It is also a hill of many names. At times, the 625-footer has been known as Sagatabscot, Dungarvan, French, Crow and Oak hills and generally as the Grafton Hills. There are a series of hills each side of Grafton Street, but at top of the hill best defined as Union Hill are Union Hill Elementary School and Worcester Academy, a private boarding and day school. The traditional neighborhood consists of apartment buildings and small markets. The hill was home to the citys first permanent settler and one of its more unfortunate. Jonas Rice settled on the hill in 1713. He served as a Worcester selectman, first schoolmaster and a justice in the court of common pleas. Mr. Rice settled in the area even though just 12 years before, Digory Sargent, who also lived on the hill, was killed in his home by Indians. The hill was named Union Hill because inexpensive land was made available in the area after the Civil War. The land also took names relating to French and Irish families who settled there.

Jonas Rice historical marker. [T&G Staff/George Barnes]

View from atop College Hill [T&G Staff/George Barnes]

College Hill, also called Mount St. James and Pakachoag Hill is aptly named for its modern use. An increasing amount of the hillside is covered by College of the Holy Cross. Near its top and along its north, south and east slopes the College Hill neighborhood includes a mix of single-family homes. The college originated in the 1800s. The name Mount St. James comes from the Mount St. James Seminary founded by Rev. James Fitton, who bought a farm and set up a Roman Catholic school there. The property was sold in 1843 to the Diocese of Boston to develop a college. Before the seminary, the land was farmed. The Native American name Pakachoag Hill is said to mean Hill of Many Springs. From the college, the hill offers a nice view of southwest Worcester.

Sign for the College of the Holy Cross. [T&G Staff/George Barnes]

Read more from the original source:
Like Rome, Worcester has its 7 hills - Worcester Telegram

DUII driver crashes car through McMinnville home, destroying entire kitchen (Photo from McMinnville Police)

Police say a man driving under the influence crashed completely through a McMinnville home, destroying several walls and the kitchen.

Several 911 calls just before midnight Friday reported a car into a house in the 1200 block of Southwest Darci Drive.

Officers and medics arrived on scene and rendered aid to the sole occupant of the car, later identified as 28-year-old Mario Gomez-Martinez of McMinnville.

Gomez-Martinez was taken to the Willamette valley Medical Center by ambulance and later transferred to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center.

Police say Gomez-Martinez was driving a 1998 Buick Century south on Southwest Hill Road and an "extreme" rate of speed. Gomez-Martinez failed to make the first 90-degree curve to the right and left the road with no indication of braking, police say.

The car crashed through brush and small trees on the south shoulder of the road and continued through a 6-foot wood fence that borders the property. The car continued across the back yard, crashing through the home.

Not slowing at all, police say the car continued through the interior of the home, destroying another wall and the entire kitchen, including cabinets, a refrigerator, and more.

Police say the car then continued through the home, crashing through the southern exterior wall and exiting the structure.

Police say the car still had enough momentum to travel across the front yard, moving large rock and landscape stones.

It finally came to rest in the middle of Southwest Darci Drive.

The total distance traveled by the vehicle from the point that it left Southwest Hill Road, until coming to a stop on Southwest Darci Drive was about 205 feet.

Fortunately, the residents were not home at the time of the crash.

The American Red Cross was notified and is offering the residents housing assistance.

Police say the investigation further revealed that Gomez-Martinez had consumed alcohol and smoked marijuana just before the crash.

Charges of DUII and reckless driving are pending his release from the hospital.

Link:
Police: DUII driver crashes car through McMinnville home, destroying entire kitchen - KATU

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Plank flooring has come a long way from the frontier days when rough-hewn boards were nailed to floor joists, resulting in rugged, and somewhat uneven, walking surfaces. Todays hard-surface flooring is smooth and level, due in large part to the way its installed. Tongue and groove, a method of connecting board planks, creates a uniform floor surface thats durableand attractive. Whetheryoure considering a new floor or youre just curious about tongue and groove construction, read on for the 411 including tried-and-true installation tips if youre planning on laying your new floor yourself.

Developed in the late 1800s, tongue and groove flooring took off as manufacturers began mass-producing interlocking hardwood planks that eliminated the need for exposed nail heads had been a mainstay in wood flooring. Tongue and groove technology has expanded to include different types of flooring, yet it remains the best way to get a great hardwood floor.

Heres how it works: One side of a tongue and groove board has a protruding ridge (the tongue) that runs the entire length of the board, while the other side of the board has a groove from end to end. During installation, the ridge side of one board is fitted into the groove side of an adjacent board, creating a snug seam. The short width sides of tongue and groove flooring planks also feature either a ridge or a groove, which creates a fully interconnecting floor when installed.

Nearly all hardwood flooring today is tongue and groove because it solves the pesky problemssuch as shrinking, warping, and working loosecommonly experienced by face-nailing planks to floor joists. Because the boards interlock, theyre less likely to heave or show gaps between the planks if the flooring swells or shrinks, which wood has a tendency to do over time and as humidity levels change.

While smooth, level tongue and groove flooring is widespread, you still find plain board planks to recreate the look and feel of an old-time, rustic floor. Non-groove planks are rarely seen in interior residential flooring today (unless its part of a historical restoration project). They are better suited to exterior decking applications where a space between the planks is desirable for drainage.

In the past few decades, tongue and groove flooring assembly expanded from hardwood to engineered flooring, which opened up a world of new choices for consumers. Engineered flooring features planks made from layers of compressed wood fibers, resins, and polymers, which is then topped with a thin layer of surface veneer. Consumers can choose from dozens of textures, patterns, and colors, including veneers made from real hardwood and bamboo, in addition to styles made from other laminate products designed to mimic the look of wood, cobblestone, or tile. Unlike hardwood flooring, engineered flooring can be installed over concrete or existing flooring, such as tile or linoleum.

Photo: istockphoto.com

Although tongue and groove solid hardwood flooring does fit together, it must still be nailed to a subfloor. Engineered tongue and groove planks, however, snap together to create a floating floor that is not physically attached to the floor below. This results in engineered flooring being more DIY-friendly than hardwood flooring.

Engineered flooring comes with installation instructions in every box of planks, but solid hardwood flooring, often installed by flooring professionals, does not. If you plan to install your own solid hardwood, its a good idea to observe the installation process in person before attempting to lay your own floor.

Hardwood Flooring Pro Tips

Prevent wood squeaks by using a sound-absorbing underlayment between the subfloor and the hardwood flooring. The most common underlayment is 15-lb. felt paper, which effectively muffles sounds that occur when wood rubs against wood. Skip theunderlayment and youre bound to hear loud squeaks and creaks loudly when someone crosses the room!

Rent a hardwood flooring nailer from a construction rental store to make installation easier. The traditional method of nailing hardwood tongue and groove flooring is to drive nails at an angle through the tongue of a plank and into the subfloor below, but this is time-consuming and can result in poorly inserted nails. A hardwood flooring nailer is a power tool that shoots nails through the tongue at the correct angle while driving the hardwood plank snugly against the previous plank. Hardwood flooring nailers rent for around $40 to $60 per day and are well worth the cost.

Engineered Flooring Pro Tips

Photo: istockphoto.com

Use the underlayment specified by the flooring manufacturer. Like solid hardwood, engineered flooring requires sound-absorbing underlayment, but because engineered flooring can be installed over concrete or existing flooring, the manufacturer may recommend a cushioned polyethylene-type barrier that also resists moisture.

Snap, dont force the planks together. The tongue ridges and groove channels are narrower and deeper in engineered flooring than they are in solid hardwood flooring. The sides of the planks fit together by positioning the tongue of one plank against the groove of the previously installed plank at an angle and then pushing downward and inward at the same time, which causes the planks to snap together.

Tap the ends of the planks together using only an installation block approved by the manufacturer. Installation blocks sell separately, and theyre designed to protect the ends of engineered planks. Attempting to tap the planks with a mallet (which is done when installing hardwood) is likely to result in damaging the end of an engineered plank.

Keep in mind that installing engineered flooring over existing flooring will raise the level of the floor between 3/8 and 5/8. This may result in the need to cut off the bottom of a door if the floor is too high for the door to open and close easily. If the floor in an adjoining room is lower, install a transition floor threshold between the rooms. A transition threshold acts as a gentle ramp down to the lower floor to eliminate a lip that can cause tripping.

See the original post:
Tongue and Groove Flooring 101 - BobVila.com

Abbi Matheson

The original completion date for the critical Thompson school addition is Friday, Aug. 18 and the general contractor, GTC Construction, now says only the existing classrooms will be finished by then.

"I don't know if I have a lot of faith," Brian DeFilipis of PMA Consultants, the Owners Project Manager for the Thompson School project, told Permanent Town Building Committee (PTBC) members on Aug. 15.

The six-classroom addition is meant to alleviate overcrowding at the school.

Final push on existing classrooms

The only construction work remaining on the existing classrooms are installation of dry-erase boards and doors and flooring at the connectors to the new addition. The existing classrooms also need to be cleaned before they move furniture in and teachers move their supplies in.

On Aug. 15, there were only six men working on the site, all cleaners.

"[It] doesn't feel like the end of a job," DeFilipis said.

Burt Barachowitz, also of PMA Consultants, told the committee the existing classrooms had to be finished by Aug. 25 so teachers could move in and set up their classrooms. Teachers who were supposed to be in the new classrooms would remain in the modular units.

Facilities Director Ruthy Bennett told the committee town janitors can finish the cleaning and, if need be, the town can use their own facilities workers to finish the remaining work in the existing classrooms, freeing up contractors to work on the additional classrooms. Since town workers are not specialized contractors, Bennett expected it would take them about four days for her crew of five to finish the work.

"It's not a lot of work," she told the committee. "You just have to do it."

Flooring and furniture timing

According to DeFilipis, flooring in the addition is scheduled to begin Aug. 21, the same day furniture is scheduled to be delivered. He told the committee the classrooms in the addition would be floored first so furniture could be moved out of the gym, where it is being constructed.

The schedule GTC Construction provided to PMA at the beginning of the month was supposed to look ahead three weeks. It stopped at Aug. 18, DeFilipis told the committee, only looking ahead two weeks.

"It has to be a perfectly oiled machine," said DeFilipis.

DeFilipis told the PTBC that he had requested two teams from GTC Construction to install flooring in the addition. Barachowitz said he hoped the flooring contractor will come to the site this week to assess the workload.

Discussing damages and moving forward

On Aug. 18, Defilipis told the committee PMA would make a list of everything at the site that is not completed. Town Manager Adam Chapdelaine and Bennett will also be at the site on Aug. 18 to asses the progress. If they are not comfortable with it, they will discuss how town facilities workers can be used to finish the existing classrooms in time for the start of school.

PTBC member John Maher noted that at some point the town will have to consider damages resulting from the delay in construction. These damages come in the form of monetary compensation and are based off of financial setbacks that may occur if the contractor is late finishing the project. One such damage, Bennett noted, could be the cost of having to move furniture multiple times because of delays in flooring installation.

Maher added that damages are tricky because the town don't want to send the wrong message to other contractors, like ones coming in for the Arlington High School project, that they will be charged for being a few days late. The dilemma, he said, is where town officials should draw the line.

Continue reading here:
Thompson addition will not be done by start of school - Wicked Local Arlington

Posted: Aug. 18, 2017 12:01 am Updated: Aug. 18, 2017 11:20 pm

Just because school is out during the summer doesn't mean work on campus shuts down, too.

Both Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Mo., and Hannibal-LaGrange University in Hannibal, Mo., have spent the summer making renovations to their campuses. New and returning students and their families will notice an updated feeling on both campuses when the fall semester starts next week.

Culver-Stockton College

Updating residence halls was a goal for the college this summer.

C-SC's largest construction project has been the new $3 million suite-style Carolyn L. and Robert W. Brown Residence Hall. Each suite includes four beds, a kitchenette, private bathrooms and built-in closets. It also will have four classrooms in one wing.

Shannon Hall underwent nearly $500,000 facility upgrades, including new windows, bathrooms, drywall, paint and LED lighting.

"Due to increased enrollment, the new residence hall and Shannon Hall renovations were a high priority," said Mike Bringer, C-SC director of campus security and facilities. Updates to Weldon, Gerlach, Clough and Stone halls were made, as well.

As for academic buildings, the Carl Johann Memorial Library was outfitted with new windows, and the Herrick Center has new flooring, lighting and paint.

"The replacement of over 120 windows in this building has improved its look from an interior and exterior perspective, not to mention it creates a more energy-efficient climate," Bringer said of the library.

The recreation and wellness center has new paint, bathroom vanities and resinous flooring, and the Joe Charles Field House was converted to a football locker room. Outdoors, an archway featuring bronze lettering and the college seal at the main entrance of campus has been added.

The college also is installing new aluminum footboards, walking surfaces and seating with backs at Ellison Poulton Stadium. Capacity will be expanded to 1,006, which includes eight wheelchair spaces with companion seats. Installation is expected to be done by the Wildcats' first home football game Sept. 9.

"These renovations and improvements have a direct effect on everyone's experience at college," Bringer said. "With that being said, the Hill is home away from home for students and their families. The projects completed this summer will enhance the overall student experience, and current feedback includes very positive comments."

New students checked in to campus Friday, and classes start Monday.

Hannibal-LaGrange University

Multiple changes were made to the HLGU campus over the summer. Most noticeable were renovations to Kleckner Hall and the L.A. Foster Student Center.

Kleckner, a community-style women's dormitory, had minor repairs made to it in the past, but this year it was time to do more than that to better serve students, university officials decided.

Kleckner had significant updates to its lighting, flooring, lobbies and restrooms. The building's heating and air-conditioning system also was replaced.

"In an ongoing effort to provide quality housing for our students, we created a master plan to remodel and upgrade where needed," HLGU President Anthony Allen said in a statement. "After performing some scheduled maintenance, it became clear that more work is needed."

The amount of work the dormitory required placed it at the top of the renovation list, he noted.

New in the student center is the snack shop the HLGU Loft, which will serve personal pizzas, smoothies, coffee and more. The center also had new lighting, flooring and furniture installed.

In addition, the University Bookstore and student life offices moved into the student center. The public safety office, which used to be in the student center, has moved to the Burt Administration Building.

Move-in day for new-students at Hannibal-LaGrange was Thursday. Classes begin Tuesday.

Original post:
As students return to college in Canton, Hannibal, they'll see several renovations to campuses - Herald-Whig

Wood wins the prize as Americas favorite hard-surface flooring type, outselling vinyl, porcelain tile and every other option, according to market-research firm Mintels 2016 report on residential flooring. But wood can be a loser in the kitchen, where a dropped can of peas can literally leave a lasting impression. Or in the laundry room, where a splash of bleach can blemish its finish.

Consumer Reports analyzed key areas in a typical home and chose the top flooring materials to meet the challenges in each.

Though wood remains a widely used aesthetic choice, it wont stand up well to that assault: Consumer Reports tests show that, in general, wood floors are far more prone to denting than other materials, and, with very few exceptions, foot traffic is tough on the finish.

Top choice: porcelain tile. A natural fit for high-traffic areas of the home, porcelain tile outperformed every other flooring material we tested for resistance to scratching and denting, says Joan Muratore, Consumer Reports lead test engineer for flooring. Plus, porcelain tile comes in a range of styles to fit any decor. Tile is also low-maintenance, never requiring more than a vacuuming and mopping, and itll last a lifetime, says design-and-build contractor Rob Wennersten of Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

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These floors dont face the stress of foot traffic or the constant sunlight that can fade solid and engineered wood. Rather, the flooring threats in these rooms come in liquid form. Bathers splash, showerers drip and toilets overflow.

Top choice: porcelain tile. Even purists who refuse anything but real wood should seriously consider porcelain tile for their bathrooms and laundry room. After all, tile is a traditional choice in these rooms because it holds up well in wet places, says architect John Cole of Fryeburg, Maine. Porcelain also allows for design-forward, barrier-free showers, where the bathroom floor extends straight into the shower without any lip. To avoid slippery-when-wet floors, choose a more textured product rather than one with a highly polished surface.

Though its true that furniture feet, pet claws, stiletto heels and kids toys with wheels can damage a wood floor, any other material can feel substandard in these cozy common areas.

Top choice: solid wood. By this, Consumer Reports means prefinished wood flooring, as well as unfinished wood flooring, which gets sanded and finished on site.

There are plenty of reasons to opt for prefinished planks: You wont have dust from sanding or fumes from finishing to contend with during installation; depending on how its installed, you might be able to walk on the floors right away; and prefinished flooring also tends to be less expensive. Perhaps most important, the factory-applied finishes are significantly tougher-wearing than what your contractor would be likely to apply once the floor is installed.

To learn more, visit ConsumerReports.org.

Continue reading here:
Consumer Reports: Choose the right flooring for every room - Daily Local News

Robert Dennis has mined coal in West Virginia for 10 years but a recent evening found him in a classroom at his local community college. He came to learn about opportunities in fracking, a drilling technique used to produce natural gas the very fuel that is threatening coals future.

I know mining inside and out, said Dennis, a 41-year-old shift foreman from Wetzel County, adjusting the black Adidas cap on his head. But now, I just want more doors to be open.

He has earned a certificate in chemical and industrial operations, diligently searched job boards and filled out applications. So far, no luck.

Dennis is learning a hard lesson of fracking: While it has created a bonanza of jobs, displaced coal miners and their communities are sometimes left out of the boom. Thats because many of the jobs require highly technical skills and are often going to experienced workers brought in from out of state who then move on to the next job without sinking roots.

There are positive employment and wage effects,said Timothy M. Komarek, a professor of economics at Old Dominion University in Virginia. But, he said, they are not as big as first thought when the boom first started.

Komarek concluded in a 2016 study that total employment in a county rises by 7 percent and wages by 11 percent in the three years after fracking comes but the gains then taper off.

When the shale galehits, hotels, trailer parks and restaurants get a boost. And some landowners make money for letting drillers extract oil and gas from their property.

In that way, fracking has created a lot of millionaires in West Virginia,said Jeff Kessler, a former state senator from the states northern area that has both coal and natural gas. But it has not created the employment opportunitiesarea residents had hoped for, he said. The ongoing benefits are relatively minute compared to the amount of land under lease.

Thats bad news for towns like Wetzel Countys New Martinsville where Dennis attended the community college session. While coal mines provide decades of steady work and sustain communities, a crew can frack a well in a month and leave behind automated machinery to recover the oil and gas.

The process, also known as hydraulic fracturing, involves injecting water and chemicals deep underground to break up rock and free trapped oil and gas.

Its unlocked vast stores of previously unobtainable fossil fuel and spurred a renaissance in energy production in states that had once been coal bastions. Coal, oil and natural gas are formed from the same plant matter and other forms of prehistoric life and can be found in the same places.

But fracking has eroded the status of coal, which used to generate more than half the electricity in the U.S. but had slipped to just 30 percent last year. If there was a War on Coal, it was really declared by natural gas,said Robert Godby, an economist at the University of Wyoming.

While some miners are hoping President Donald Trump will rescue their industry West Virginia gave Trump 69 percent of the vote in 2016, the greatest share of the total in at least a century and a half others are eyeing gas as an alternative employment opportunity.

Jobs associated with oil and gas extraction have grown in recent years while coal mining positions have declined.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics doesnt specifically count fracking jobs, but says there were more than 422,000 jobs directly associated with oil and gas extraction in the U.S. at the end of 2016. That has far eclipsed the number of jobs in underground coal mining: about 50,000 nationwide, down from 200,000 in the 1970s.

In West Virginia, there were 11,404 coal miners last year, about half the 23,000 who were working in 2011. There are about 6,000 working in oil and gas extraction.

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To be sure, the fracking boom provided a much-needed economic boost in the years following the Great Recession. Fracking supported more than half a million jobs across the Marcellus Shale, an energy-rich geological formation that stretches from New York state to Virginia, according to a report commissioned by the American Petroleum Institute, a trade association. The groups numbers exceed the Labor Department estimates because they include workers at natural gas distribution facilities, petroleum refineries, petroleum product wholesalers and gas stations.

And much as coal and the Ohio River once lured steel plants and manufacturers to the area, cheap natural gas may bring chemical and other manufacturers to areas near shale drilling. Residents of New Martinsville, for example, are rooting for an ethane processing facility that may be built on the site of an old coal plant nearby.

In North Dakota, for example, the fracking boom allowed it become the fastest-growing economy in the nation by 2014. Even now, it has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation at 2.3 percent. But a downturn in the oil market brought drilling to a crawl and slowed investment in training and education programs.

The boom was so quick and dropped off so quickly afterwards and the bust came so quickly that they really didnt get it done,said William Caraher, an associate professor of history at the University of North Dakota, of the states education push.

Don Riggenbach is the president of the Chamber of Commerce in Wetzel County, where New Martinsville is located, and the owner of a tile and carpet installation company. He measures the economic effect of fracking in square feet of new flooring installed. So far, he says, something has been missing.

In my business I need houses being built,he said. Youd think that because of the gas and oil business theyd be hiring people. They do, but theyre out-of-state workers ... Theyre not putting down roots.

Still, former miners who have made the transition to fracking, often with the assistance of government or industry-funded programs, say they are happy.

Robert Walker says he was shocked when he was laid off from his job at a Murray Energy Corp. coal mine in Marshall County in April 2015.

Flash forward a couple of years and Walker is working for The Williams Companies Inc., a company with extensive operations in the oil and gas field. He is making less money, down to $24 an hour from $30 when he was working in the mines. But he likes the work, and prefers his new coworkers. He says he is a lot happier now.

Gene Everly, right, of Greensboro, Pa., in a training classroom at the Penn Commercial Business/Technical School. Everly built long wall mining equipment at Caterpillar Global Mining for 20 years before industry declines led to massive layoffs.

Photographer: Stephanie Strasburg/Bloomberg

Curt Hippensteel, the director of the West Virginia Community College petroleum technology program, said miners have skills that transfer well to other trades, including safety training, welding and electrical work. Plus, miners are used to working long hours in austere conditions, which fits the profile of roustabout work quite nicely, he said.

But fracking, which requires the application of precise measurements of chemicals, sand and water applied under extreme pressure at specific times, requires its own set of unique skills.

And its job outlook is far from certain.

Technological improvements to fracking processes and practices have made the industry more efficient. In late 2016 and early 2017, more gas was produced using fewer workers in West Virginia than ever before.

Since 2014, gas production in the state has grown 50 percent while oil and gas employment has fallen from 9,000 to less than 6,000, according to West Virginia University Bureau of Business and Economic Forecasting.

Small gains in oil and gas jobs havent matched the loss in coal mining jobs in West Virginia.

The recent recovery in prices has spurred companies to begin exploring for gas again, which may mean more hiring soon, according to Brian Lego, a West Virginia University assistant professor of economic forecasting. But the overall level wont be a substantial amount,he said.

Dennis, the coal miner looking for fracking work, hopes to gain a few years experience in the oil and gas fields near New Martinsville until his children finish school.

After that, hes ready to give up on energy altogether and seek employment in North Carolina, where he feels there is more opportunity.

What I want is a chance to move out of the area,he said. Theres more industry down there.

With assistance by Jim Polson, Tim Loh, Daniel Levitt, and Catarina Saraiva

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Fracking Jobs Prove Elusive for Coal Miners Looking to Switch ... - Bloomberg

Since opening on Feb. 14 of this year, the Encircle LGBTQ Family and Youth Resource Center has received a lot of attention.

Some of that recognition was by two historical organizations for the masterful way the group has restored the William D. Alexander House at 91 W. 200 South in Provo.

Josh Yost, preservation planner in the Provo Community Development office, nominated the Encircle home to receive the Provo Landmarks Commissions Provo Preservation Award, and the Heritage Award for Adaptive Use, given by Preservation Utah.

The Alexander house has been one of the standout historic homes in downtown Provo for many years. The house was built in 1891 and has had various owners over the years, as well as gaps of vacancy.

It is a rare Utah example of the decorative Stick Style, and also combines Eastlake porches, and Queen Anne shingling, wrote Yost in his description of the home in the nomination application.

The house is distinguished by this eclectic style, its unusual wall dormers with rounded bottoms, and its unusual orientation with three corner porches.

The Eastlake styling is the same architectural design used in the Provo Tabernacle and, most recently, the restoration of the Tabernacle into the Provo City Center Temple.

Yost added the building was in good original condition, the house is basically unaltered.

The Stick Style was one of the two most purely American styles of the nineteenth century, Yost stated. The geometric pattern of crossing horizontal and vertical sticks on this house is reminiscent of Japanese framing as seen in the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia which influenced the Stick and later Prairie styles, and may have been an influence in this house.

Architectural designer Jared Connors said this was the most restoration he has ever done on a project.

It was beat up, Connors said. Obviously we wanted to keep it the way it was, just clean it. We celebrate its history.

Connors said the same ideas were a metaphor that applied to those who would find peace in this house. It would be a place to discover who you are under all the waxed and worn surfaces.

According to Yost, several steps were needed to get the building up to restoration standards including cleaning and repairing parts of the house, and removing non-historic elements, such as wall and floor coverings, a jetted tub, exposed ducting and trim. There were also upgrades to electrical and mechanical systems and reconfiguring the main floor service area to accommodate an ADA-accessible restroom.

By following their desire to leave it alone Encircle completed the interior rehabilitation while making only limited changes and maintaining a patina of age and use that enhances the sense of historic authenticity experienced in the house, Yost wrote in his nominations.

Yost continued, Encircles work and long-term commitment to the property has already created a sense of stable investment in the surrounding area and will ensure the continued use and preservation of this unique house long into the future.

Companies and individuals that helped in the restoration of the Alexander House include Dean Peterson of Demar Construction, Jared Connors of Connors Design, Mountain Land Design, Arizona Tile, Juilliard Rivas, Holly Alden and the John Williams Memorial Foundation.

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Encircle Home receives restoration awards - Daily Herald