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WEIRTON - The sights and sounds of America filled Weirton's Main Street Friday morning as the community celebrated Independence Day with its annual parade.

With a theme of "Independence Day - Red, White and Blue," hundreds lined the street, many of them getting there early to pick out a good spot to watch as local marching bands, floats, dance schools and cars made their way through town to observe the nation's birth and pay tribute to its military.

"We have about 69 entries," Parade coordinator Kevin Elias said.

RED, WHITE AND BLUE DAY Decked out in red, white and blue, Hancock County Savings Bank was represented Friday with a float ridden by employees and their families during Weirtons Independence Day parade. -- Craig Howell

The Lo-Fi Project from Wheeling was one of several bands during the Band Blast Friday at the Weirton Event Center. Sponsored by by Renaissance Weirton and also featuring the Semi-Supervillians and Led By Mercy, the bands were competing for $1,000 grand prize, with audience members casting votes for $1 per vote. Local band Legends later took the stage. -- Mark Miller

Local businesses, including Hancock County Savings Bank, First Choice America Community Federal Credit Union and Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort, entered professional-grade floats this year, many decked out in red, white and blue or featuring symbols related the the nation's history.

Dance schools performed routines to patriotic music while members of local veterans organizations made their way down Main Street.

One new feature in this year's parade was the inclusion of some local bands who were taking part in the Band Blast competition later in the day.

"We have all three bands that are performing," Elias said.

Led By Mercy, the Semi-Supervillains and the Lo-Fi Project all performed while riding in the back of pickup trucks going down Main Street.

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Weirton decks out for July 4 parade

Chavan told MHCC officials that Bal Bhavan did not fall in the proposed gymkhana sub-precinct, so it should be permitted to be raised up to 25 metres

The two-storeyed Bal Bhavan at Marine Drive is finally ready to stand tall at a height of 24 metres with the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC) giving the green signal after chief minister Prithviraj Chavan intervened in the matter.

At a recent meeting with Chavan, the MHCC agreed to permit the state government to raise the height of the building to 24 metres as opposed to the earlier proposal of 14 metres.

Speaking to dna on Sunday, V Rangnathan, chairman of the heritage committee, said, "We told the state government that the proposed heritage guidelines are lying with them at present. They should be approved with the modification that construction will be allowed at Bal Bhavan upto 24 metres. Once the modified guidelines are approved, we will sanction the project."

The MHCC had earlier refused to raise the height of the building stating that it fell in the proposed 'sub-gymkhana precinct'. It had asked the state government to reduce the height of the proposed development to two storeys (14 metres). The state government wanted to build a seven-storey building (35.10 metres) with a host of facilities for children's activities.

However, during the meeting at Sahyadri Guest house, Chavan told MHCC officials that Bal Bhavan did not fall in the proposed gymkhana sub-precinct, so it should be permitted to be raised up to at least the height of the adjoining Savitribhai Phule Girls hotels (24 metres). "As per Chavan's directives, the heritage committee agreed to raise the height of Bal Bhavan. We will soon submit the revised proposal plan," said a senior government official.

Tailor-made for kids Bipin Sankhe, the state's chief architect, told dna that the government plans to set up a host of facilities for children including a museum and auditorium. "We wanted to construct a big 500-capacity theatre and two small 180-capacity theatres. Now we have to manage within given space," said Sankhe.

The heritage committee has also asked the government to ensure that the building is spacious and precautions should be taken since the proposed project is for children. "There should not be any problems while manoeuvering the vehicles in parking area. The elevator should have a machine room and the proposed badminton court should be examined by the architect properly," said a heritage committee member.

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CM's nudge clears decks for Bal Bhavan's redevelopment

Air Testing - Clearing the Air of Asthma Triggers
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Corrales new Mayor Scott Kominiak has spent the months since his March election studying ways to make the cost of connecting to the controversial village sewer system more affordable for residents.

Kominiak and village staffers will present cost data and a proposed new sewer ordinance to the village council at a workshop at 2 p.m. on Thursday in the Council Chambers at 4322 Corrales Road. Public comment will be allowed.

Corrales currently has no sewer system and residents depend on septic systems. A liquids-only wastewater line from Wagners Lane south to the village limits at Cabezon was completed around 18 months ago but it is still not operational.

Kominiak said his plan is to shift the responsibility for installing the connection from the village to the individual property owner. Based on his research, allowing private property owners to install the connection infrastructure from their septic tank to the main sewer line would cost significantly less than if the village has to do the installation.

During the first several weeks since taking office, we examined all of the operational and legal aspects of the system, Kominiak said in an email. Our conclusion was that the village is committed to move forward with putting the system into service, but that we need to find a more sensible, practical way to do so.

Kominiak said the village would still provide pumps and filters and financial incentives for those who want to connect. His plan could reduce the cost of connection to between $3,000 and $9,000, depending on how much work has to be done.

In May last year, Councilors approved an ordinance establishing guidelines for connecting to the system but there were ongoing cost concerns. Souder Miller, the company that engineered the project, estimated the hookup cost at between $11,500 and $13,500 a price that some councilors said was too burdensome for residents.

The ordinance did not make it mandatory to connect, a situation that former Mayor Phil Gasteyer said put the village at risk of losing funding it received from the state Environment Department for the sewer project.

Councilors later approved using money from a gross receipts tax increase that took effect in January to pay off the $540,000 Environment Department loan. Village Administrator John Avila said the loan was paid off in March.

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Corrales looks at new sewer ordinance

By H.M. Cauley

There are few elements of architecture as infused with Southern style as the porch. And not just a little covered entranceway: A true Southern porch has room for more than a few rockers, a table or two, potted plants and maybe a swing. Its the ideal spot for catching a summer nights breeze while waving to the neighbors going by. And it serves a practical purpose as well.

A front porch performs a functional role by providing a space out of the weather while youre waiting to go inside, said Brad Cruickshank, a certified remodeler who started his Midtown-based firm, Cruickshank, Inc., in 1988. It also provides protection for the front door; without it, its apt to rot and warp. So its nice to have that protection for a door just as it is for guests waiting to be greeted.

Buyers and homeowners alike are drawn not just to front porches, but ones that are in the back of the house, screened-in, wrapping around or spanning two stories. With the Souths long stretches of mild weather, these outdoor areas easily become living spaces that are usable most of the year. And when that space is screened-in, it becomes even more popular.

After every screened-in porch Ive ever built, people tell me its their favorite room in the house, said Walter Lewis, president of Neighbors Home Remodeling in Roswell. The screens cut down on a lot of the bug problems we have in the South. So people can use that space a lot.

Both Cruickshank and Lewis work on projects that add porches to houses that dont have them. In one case, Lewis said the owner of a typically traditional brick two-story wanted a front porch just for that Southern flair. A front porch can substantially change the look of a house so it wont look like New England in the South, said Lewis.

While the sidewalks of many historic intown communities are lined with cottages, bungalows and Victorian designs that incorporate a prominent porch, the feature also holds a particular appeal for people who live a bit father outside the city limits.

In more rural areas, there are always people sitting out on their front porches, said Lewis. Its kind of a Southern thing.

That idea fits the experience of Ginny Bryant, director of sales and marketing for Lennar Homes, who says the companys new-home buyers in farther-out regions of Cherokee, west Cobb and Forsyth are crazy for porches.

I think a lot of it has to do with the larger home sites, said Bryant. For instance, the west Cobb market is a bit more rural with larger sites than east Cobb, and buyers there prefer a nice front porch that is truly functional, not just a few feet of covered space to give an architectural look.

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Porches with style

Four children were killed when a fire ripped through a Philadelphia home.

Four children, all aged under five, were killed in a fire in Philadelphia that ripped through several row houses early Saturday, the authorities said.

The fire, in the city's southwest section, was reported around 2:45 am, said Derrick Sawyer, the city's fire commissioner.

When firefighters arrived, four homes were ablaze, and the fire eventually spread to eight homes.

The children who were killed, all younger than 5, were in one home and appeared to be relatives, Sawyer said.

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Five other members of their family were taken to a hospital with minor injuries. Officials did not release the names of the victims, but local news media reported that they were twin 4-year-old girls, a 4-year-old boy and a 1-month-old boy.

"This is a tragic, tragic day for the city of Philadelphia," Sawyer told reporters.

"We lost four children today. I want everybody to understand that fire is everyone's fight, not just the fire department. It's everyone's fight."

At least 42 people were displaced by the fire, fire officials said. By 8:30 a.m., an American Red Cross shelter at a local high school had checked in about 28 people who were affected by the fire, Red Cross officials said.

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Philadelphia house fire kills four children

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PLANT CITY Six-year-old Brooklynn Santos parents physically struggled to bathe their daughter, who has a genetic disease that progressively weakens her muscles and saps her strength.

A Tarpon Springs-based charity, Wheelchairs 4 Kids, learned of the difficulties Jayson and Shawn Santos were having and offered a helping hand: a bathroom makeover.

The work at the familys Plant City home included ripping out the bathtub and making the shower wheelchair-accessible, among other work to accommodate Brooklynns condition.

Im overjoyed that the people would come together and do what they did for us, what they did for her, Shawn Santos said.

Brooklynn, a sweet, intelligent and animated child, beamed as her mom wheeled her into the remodeled bathroom.

Can I have a shower now? Brooklynn said.

Brooklynn, their only child, has spinal muscular atrophy and cannot walk or sit upright without support. She was diagnosed when she was about 1 year old after her parents noticed she wasnt reaching the milestones of babies her age.

Brooklynn receives daily physical therapy and makes regular visits to her pediatrician and other specialists.

The couple, who have been married for 13 years, have had difficulty lifting her into a shower chair and maneuvering around the tub to get her clean. Shawn said the accessible shower is a godsend as bath time was taking at least 20 minutes for the 34-pound girl.

Im just overjoyed. This will make it much, much easier, she said.

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Bathroom makeover makes life easier for ailing girl

A church stands beside a busy highway in the southern Chinese city of Wenzhou, its steeple shrouded in construction tarp. Its cross is gone, unceremoniously removed. A short distance away another church, a gleaming new structure only barely finished, has been reduced by wrecking equipment to a crater of rubble in another hillside. Police stand in the pouring rain to keep visitors from driving down the road that passes by.

Across Zhejiang, the Chinese province where Wenzhou is located, Christians have counted at least 100 churches forced to make alterations, knock down wings or remove crosses in recent months. It is the most visible evidence of a renewed Chinese effort to restrict the spread of religion, and particularly Christianity, which had until recently flourished over a decade that saw China soften its enforcement of rules that outlaw anything that officially sanctioned worship.

The changes are visible across China, with Christians being detained, publishers facing sudden restrictions on printing new Christian books and rising concern among those whose faith is again placing them at renewed risk in a country often criticized for religiously-motivated human rights violations.

Its very worrisome, said Bob Fu, the founder of China Aid, a Texas-based group that advocates for Christian rights in China. Mr. Fu, who helped human rights lawyer Chen Guangcheng leave China, said he has seen official documents that suggest the Chinese central government sees an imperative to, as he put it, contain the rapid growth of Christianity, or religion.

China is home to one of the worlds fastest-growing populations of Christians 67 million in 2010 (or 5 per cent of the population, compared with 18 per cent for Buddhism), according to the Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures project. At the time of the Communist revolution in 1949, there were an estimated four million Christians. At its current rate of expansion, China may one day be home to more Christians than any other nation.

Underground churches and seminaries so-called because they are unofficial and operate in a legal grey zone have in recent years flourished in plain sight, some occupying large office buildings and welcoming parishioners by the many hundreds.

But the past year has seen China clamp down on free speech and lock up hundreds of prominent online critics and human rights lawyers. That effort is now expanding to religion, in a campaign that now threatens a much larger segment of the countrys population.

In May, Zhang Chunxian, the Communist Party chief in Chinas far western Xinjiang territory, pledged strengthened management of religious affairs in accordance with the law, according the state-run Xinhua news agency. Those remarks were seen as opening a round of new crackdowns on Muslims in that region. However, it has become clear that they also gave voice to a broader effort to regulate religion nation-wide.

Many attribute the changes to Xi Jinping, who has waged a broad battle since becoming president a year ago on any force he sees as potentially threatening to the rule of the Communist Party.

We can see that the new central government is really much more controlling, said Max, a former pastor who asked to be identified only by his English first name for fear of repercussions as he remains an active Christian outreach worker.

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Christians face increased risks in China

Multiple crews battle Madison Co. field fire Multiple crews battle Madison Co. field fire

Updated: Sunday, July 6 2014 5:19 PM EDT2014-07-06 21:19:27 GMT

Updated: Sunday, July 6 2014 4:28 PM EDT2014-07-06 20:28:08 GMT

Updated: Sunday, July 6 2014 4:08 PM EDT2014-07-06 20:08:49 GMT

Updated: Sunday, July 6 2014 4:07 PM EDT2014-07-06 20:07:44 GMT

Updated: Sunday, July 6 2014 2:29 PM EDT2014-07-06 18:29:37 GMT

In response to recent shootings in North Huntsville, the Union Chapel Missionary Baptist Church held an event to curb gun violence Friday.

The church teamed up with the Madison County Sheriff's Department to host a gun buyback Friday and Saturday. Officials said people can drop off guns between 9 a.m. and noon in exchange for a $50 credit card. The department said it was a "no questions asked" situation.

Senior Pastor O. Wendell Davis helped organize the event and said the church has been hit hard by violence, particularly the recent death of Ashia Oliver. Ashia's family members attended the event and said seeing the community come together to try and end violence gives meaning to Ashia's death.

"He didn't just take her away to take her away," cousin Acayycee Crutcher said. "He took her away to wake up Huntsville. The grieving is going to come, but we're smiling now. Just look at what's going on."

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2 weeks after murder, church tries to stop gun violence