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CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KFVS) -

?Here is a list of road projects around the Heartland scheduled for Tuesday, August 26.

Labor Day

The Missouri Highway Department of Transportation reminds behavior is the key to safe driving in work zones and on busy highways this Labor Day. They offer the following tips:

Wear your seatbelt. During the Labor Day holiday in 2013, there were eight fatalities in crashes on Missouri roadways and two of those killed were not wearing a seatbelt.

Butler County, MO

Route CC will be reduced to one lane while crews perform pavement repairs. This section of road is located from Route 51 to Route U. Weather permitting, crews will be working on Tuesday, Aug. 26 and Wednesday, Aug. 27 from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily.

East and westbound traffic will be restricted. Existing lanes of Route 67 from CR 323 to Route 160/158 will be signed as Route C. The north end of Route C (existing Route 67) will remain closed for about two months as work is completed at the intersection of Route 67, Route C, and CR 323.

Cape Girardeau County, MO

The Fruitland rest area on Interstate 55 mm 110 in Cape Girardeau County will be closed as contractor crews perform repairs. Closures for the north and south facilities will occur the week of Aug. 25, weather permitting. Work will begin at the southbound rest area at 7 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 25 with crews moving to the northbound rest area on Wednesday, Aug. 27. Repairs are expected to be finished by 8 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 29

Originally posted here:
Heartland road projects for 8/25

Tucson took some noticeable steps on Monday in implementing the final phase of its decades-long attempt to connect the east side with Interstate 10 near downtown.

Crews started demolishing three state-owned warehouses on Stone Avenue and Sixth Street to make way for the third phase of the citys Downtown Links project. Itwill ultimately connect Barraza-Aviation Parkway with I-10.

The $84.6 million project was divided into three phases, with the last involving work on Sixth Street from Church Avenue to Broadway.

You can view the map of the projecthere.

This is going to be the most difficult phase, said Tom Fisher, Tucson Department of Transportation project manager.

Plans include constructing a new underpass, a deck plaza, buffered bike paths, elevated pedestrian walkways and a new four-lane road.

Downtown Links has its origins in the Arizona Department of Transportations 1981 Aviation Parkway plan to create a six-mile link between Interstate 10 near downtown and South Palo Verde Boulevard.

Almost from the start, the project garnered stiff opposition from neighborhood activists and businesses who feared the proposed route would destroy too many homes and buildings in historic parts of town.

It took 12 years to get the first one-mile length of roadway built, and another three years to finish the whole five-mile leg to the eastern edge of Downtown, which is where the parkway has stood at a dead stop since 1996.

Even though it only spanned one-mile, the proposed downtown route underwent over 20 redesigns before a final route was settled on in 2008.

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3 downtown-area warehouses to be razed for road project

Kevin M. Smith, an architect with Robert A.M. Stern Architects, testified Thursday at the second conditional use hearing for a Villanova University plan.

The university wants to build dormitories to house 1,135 students, a performing arts center, a parking garage and retail space on the south side of Lancaster Avenue on what is now a 13 acre parking lot. Smith described the Gothic-style buildings with exteriors of schist stone, which is similar to the stone facades of other buildings on the universitys campus.

Its meant to reflect the character of the buildings across the street, said Smith, who has designed edifices for Harvard, Drexel and Penn State, among many other universities. The 3 story dormitories will have pitched roofs, gables and casement windows. He envisions six residence halls in two groups of three. Students will stroll exterior walkways and gather in courtyards between the buildings, set off by archways.

The focus is on the pedestrian experience, said Smith.

The stone will also cover portions of the exterior a new pedestrian bridge to be built at Church Walk and extended to the R 100 Septa train station at the rear of the parking lot. However, Smith explained that plans call for the stone on the bridge to be broken up with other design elements, rather than a monolithic stone clad siding.

Its actually quite attractive, said Smith. More attractive than solid stone.

Resident Tish Long asked about the SEPTA bridge and Smith told her that Villanova plans to work with SEPTA to improve that bridge, also.

Residents Annamarie Hessman and Toni Bailey were concerned that the disabled people who attend Mass at St. Thomas of Villanova Church on campus would have further to go to reach the chapel. Smith said that handicapped parking areas will be designated at the rear of the parking lot next to a ramp for the pedestrian bridge. Also, there are some parking for the handicapped on campus next to the church, he said.

William Bolla, a lawyer representing Radnor Township in the matter, asked whether an elevator had been considered at the steps to the bridge nearer to Lancaster Avenue.

A variety of things were considered, said Smith. Continued...

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Architect testifies at Villanova University conditional use hearing

Does it a take an actor with a fossil fuel surname to save the planet?

Hollywood action star Vin Diesel - a human with hickory hard muscles - is channeling his inner tree. OK, so maybe he's just channeling his latest role, the character of "Groot" in the hit Marvel Comics movie "Guardians of the Galaxy."

Groot is a large, extraterrestrial tree being of immense strength but with limited vocabulary. According to Marvel comics lore, the Flora Colossi have a language that is almost impossible to understand due to the stiffness of their larynxes, causing their speech to sound like they are simply repeating the phrase "I am Groot." Indeed, with one exception, this is Diesel's only line in the "Guardians" film.

Like many celebrities and ordinary mortals, Diesel took the now ubiquitous "Ice Bucket Challenge" but used the attention to redirect to another worthy cause.

On YouTube, Diesel called out Guardians director James Gunn to "plant a tree for Groot." Diesel later posted a photo of himself planting a tree. Gunn accepted the challenge. And so have some of Diesel's Facebook and Twitter followers.

Diesel doesn't provide any horticultural guidance or rationale. But there's at least one reason to plant a tree in the city.

Much like Groot in "Guardians," urban trees may save human lives just not with as much fanfare.

A study of 10 US cities found that urban trees acted as filters, removing fine particulate pollution from the air.

More than 80 percent of Americans live in urban areas containing over 100 million acres of trees and forests, said Michael T. Rains, Director of the US National Forest Services Northern Research Station and Acting Director of the Forest Products Lab. This research clearly illustrates that Americas urban forests are critical capital investments helping produce clear air and water; reduce energy costs; and, making cities more livable. Simply put, our urban forests improve peoples lives.

The study, Modeled PM2.5 Removal by Trees in Ten U.S. Cities and Associated Health Effects, was published last June by the journal Environmental Pollution.

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Vin Diesel redirects ice bucket challenge: 'Plant a tree for Groot' (+video)

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By: Charles Fennell

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Homes for - 353 PEACHTREE LANE, Sanford, NC 27332 - Video

PLYMOUTH A senior center in Grafton County that serves an average of 142 people per day has just been given $170,000 in emergency block grant funding to fix its malfunctioning sprinkler system.

The Plymouth Regional Senior Center's leaking fire suppression system required five emergency repairs in April and May of this year, administrators of its overseeing agency, the Grafton County Senior Citizens Council, said in their application to the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority.

Kevin Flynn, CDFA's communications director, said the grant was approved late last week.

The situation is critical, administrators said, because of the intensity of use the restored former Boston & Maine train station now gets as a full-service senior center. It includes activities rooms, a library, exercise rooms, a computer lab and a large dining room that regularly serves more than 75 diners.About three-quarters of the seniors who use the site regularly are determined to be of low and moderate income according to administrators. We're pleased and relieved to get this grant, Roberta Berner, Executive Director of the Grafton County Senior Citizens Council, said Friday in a news release.

It's important to protect the safety of our participants, staff and volunteers. We'd like to thank CDFA for quickly responding to the emergency.Leaks were found this spring throughout the building where condensation had built up in the pipes and one leak was particularly severe. During an inspection, it became clear that leaks were occurring throughout the system and that portions of the system were in need of substantial repair or replacement, council administrators said.

bhookway@newstote.com

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Plymouth senior center gets grant to fix sprinkler system

Ponderay, ID (PRWEB) August 25, 2014

Storage Sheds Outlet now offers a wide range of exceptional greenhouses to enhance their clients gardening experience. Their greenhouses provide abundant light which is crucial to plant and sapling needs. These attractive and highly-effective greenhouse solutions provide more than enough storage capacity. This company also sells the Monticello line of greenhouses by Riverstone Industries which is made in the USA. These greenhouses are manufactured from superior-quality extruded aluminum as per US grade, which is not thin or brittle like foreign aluminum. Their greenhouses are made from 40 lbs or more aluminum, much more than average imported greenhouses. These greenhouses consume less electric energy, helping customers to save on costs.

Talking more about Storage Sheds Outlets greenhouses, one of their representatives, Jason Guerrettaz, CEO of United Commerce Group, owner of StorageShedsOutlet.com stated, While most hobby greenhouses on the market use less expensive, thinner walls and roofing materials, the Monticello uses professional grade 8mm twin wall polycarbonate materials. This is the same thickness as used in commercial greenhouses; the walls act as a double pain window, keeping cooler air in during warm months, and insulating the greenhouse from cold air in the winter. This makes the Monticello more efficient in growing plants for a longer period of time than other greenhouses.

The company also offers plastic Storage Buildings Shed at discounted rates. These plastic sheds are maintenance-free and are designed to provide heavy duty storage. Plastic sheds are created with high-density steel and polyethylene plastic. In addition to this, they also offer Metal Garden Sheds and Storage Shed Accessories.

About Storage Sheds Outlet- A Division of United Commerce Group, Inc.

StorageShedsOutlet.com is a market leader in the provision of a number of outdoor structures including Storage Sheds (garden, metal, plastic, vinyl and wood), Storage Buildings, Garages, Portable Buildings, Deck Boxes, Greenhouses, Outdoor Canopies, Outdoor Shelters, Carports, Utility Sheds, Patio Accessories, Shed Accessories, Solar Lighting and Firewood Storage. This company will continue to expand by increasing its product offerings and categories. Its primary goal is to ensure a positive customer service relationship and to ensure the very best prices in this sector.

For more information, please visit http://www.storageshedsoutlet.com.

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Storage Sheds Outlet Now Offers Durable and Effective Greenhouses

Little official information has been released concerning exactly what happened to 20-year-old Brandon Ellingson.

Watch this story

Ellingson went overboard while handcuffed under the care of Missouri State Highway Patrol, but a photo taken by a friend of Ellingson sheds new light on what happened moments before he went overboard.

The photo shows Ellingson sitting in a Missouri State Patrol Boat May 31 just as he was being taken into custody.

It is clear in the photo that there is a life jacket on the left side of the boat just in front of the 20-year-old, which is a Type 1 life jacket.

He took Brandon into custody. He handcuffed Brandon first and then he put a Type 3 life preserver on over the top of Brandon, said Matthew Boles, attorney for the Ellingson family.

Boles said the officer should have used a Type 1 life preserver, which would have gone around Ellingsons neck and tied around his body.

Boles said the officer had two of them on the boat and chose not to use those.

A Type 3 life preserver is like a vest, and needs the user to have both hands free to put it on, but Ellingson was handcuffed.

Boles would not speculate on charges, but he did say who is to blame for Ellingsons death.

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Family attorney sheds light on Ellingson drowning

RICHLAND CENTER, Wis. -

In the wake of an act of vandalism in which 50 pheasants were killed at Richland Center High School several individuals and organizations have offered to replace the birds for the student program.

Last Wednesday the agriculture teacher at the school discovered the pheasant-raising sheds had been broken into. Inside the two sheds he found 50 birds dead, another 50 escaped the enclosure to nearby fields and 50 pheasants were found alive inside the sheds.

The pheasants are raised by students at the school throughout the summer and then released in the fall. The pheasant-raising program has been operated at the school for 16 years.

Jon Bosworth, principal at Richland Center High School, confirmed that four individuals or organizations have contacted the school with an offer to replace the pheasants that were killed. That information has been given to the agriculture teacher at the school.

A decision on when or how to replace the birds killed by the vandals will be made at a later time.

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Help coming for school where pheasants were killed

Angie Hong

On the south end of Afton, just before the road heads out of town, a small stream flows down from the wooded bluffs to meet the St. Croix River below. A little less than three miles long, Kelles Creek is groundwater fed and surrounded by mostly undeveloped land. The stream is home to an unusually large number of macroinvertebrate species (insects and other water critters), which is an indication of very good water quality and a healthy, intact biological web. A few years ago, however, the Valley Branch Watershed District and Washington Conservation District discovered a problem in this otherwise healthy stream E. coli.

E. coli is a type of bacteria that can sometimes make people sick and is an indicator organism for other harmful pathogens as well. E. coli in our waterways can come from dog and goose poop, manure or even human wastewater.

Across Minnesota, 533 streams and river reaches have unsafe levels of E. coli or fecal coliform (another variant). Along with Kelles Creek, eight other creeks in Washington County have E. coli impairments: Browns Creek (from Lansing Avenue to Manning Avenue in Grant); Trout Brook (which flows through Afton State Park); Perro Creek (Bayport); Gilbertson Creek (near the Log Cabin landing in Scandia); Swedish Flag (Copas); and three unnamed streams (one running from Boutwell Road to the diversion structure in Stillwater, one flowing into Big Carnelian Lake in May Township, and one connecting Bone Lake in Scandia to Birch Lake in Chisago County).

Down in Afton, the Valley Branch Watershed District has spent the past year conducting additional research to determine where the E. coli is coming from in Kelles Creek. In addition to testing water at the existing monitoring station in town near St. Croix Trail, theyve also collected samples further upstream and at the headwaters of the stream where it begins to flow from groundwater springs. The results show that E. coli levels are high even at the headwaters and even during low-flow conditions, which are both indications that the bacteria are coming from groundwater, not surface runoff. As a result, the district has concluded that outdated and failing septic systems in the area are most likely to blame for the E. coli contamination in Kelles Creek.

Septic systems, officially known as subsurface sewage treatment systems (SSTS), use biological, physical and chemical processes to treat and clean household wastewater. A typical SSTS consists of a septic tank followed by a soil-based treatment system such as a mound, trench or at-grade drainfield. If designed and installed properly, septic systems are very effective.

In many places, however, extra precautions are needed to make sure they work right. For example, if there is a high water table, the soil-based treatment component of the system wont work, and pathogens can move quickly through the soil without being adsorbed or filtered, thus polluting the shallow ground water which can, in turn, infiltrate into deeper aquifers as well.

Karst topography creates another challenge for SSTS. In southern Washington County there are many places where there is less than 50 feet of sediment over limestone bedrock. Over time, rainwater has cracked the limestone, creating passageways for pollutants on the lands surface to travel down into both shallow and deep aquifers. Two unfortunate examples of this process in action include bacteria from outdated septic systems working their way into Kelles Creek, as well as nitrates from fertilizers contaminating many private wells in Cottage Grove and Denmark Township.

The city of Afton has a large improvement project underway to upgrade roads, flood protection and septic systems in town. As part of the project, the city plans to build a shared sanitary sewer system to replace individual systems within the downtown village. Most of the 160 septic systems in the Kelles Creek watershed are outside of the downtown area, however, so this project alone wont solve the problem. Testing has not yet identified the sources of E. coli in other streams in the county, but it is possible that septic systems may be to blame for contamination in some of those streams as well.

This year, Washington County introduced a new program to help homeowners throughout the county replace failing and noncompliant septic systems. Low interest loans are available for anyone, and there are grants for low income households as well. To qualify for this assistance, septic systems must be deemed noncompliant by the county or a private inspector. Learn more about these programs at co.washington.mn.us or 651-430-6655.

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Column: Outdated septic systems contaminate area streams