The Hallgrmskirkja in Reykjavk - Iceland (2013)
Viewing Hallgrmskirkja, the largest church in Reykjavk. This was in October 2013. In this video: Streets of Reykjavk 0:05 Hallgrmskirkja 0:25 Reykjavk i...

By: Jeroen Aalderink

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The Hallgrímskirkja in Reykjavík - Iceland (2013) - Video

A stolen backhoe was recovered by San Diego police investigators 500 miles from home and is just one example of construction-related crime - a rising trend throughout San Diego County.

A $20,000 backhoe recovered about 500 miles from home and a San Diego-based burglary ring busted in December are just two recent cases showcasing an uptick in construction crimes in San Diego County.

Over the past six months, San Diego police investigators have worked dozens of construction-related thefts, and the crimes are making some thieves tens of thousands of dollars, said Officer Pat Shadoan.

Other law enforcement agencies also are dealing with the problem, including the Sheriffs Department and Chula Vista police.

Stolen items include air compressors, generators, light stands, tools and construction vehicles, including the backhoe that was stolen in November near Benicia in the Bay Area and recovered in San Diego.

Lou Little, who manages used equipment for Peterson Tractor Co., said it was pure luck when San Diego police called to tell him the backhoe had been found when another backhoes theft-tracking device went off.

Almost every big piece of construction equipment the company works with has a tracking system, but the stolen one didnt, Little said.

We had lent it to a church, he said. We got a call from them later asking if there was something wrong with it. I pretty much knew then it had been stolen.

Shadoan said the backhoe was found in a salvage yard near the U.S.-Mexico border along with another stolen backhoe.

Many of the cases San Diego police have worked in the past six months began in Mexico, he said.

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Cops: Construction crimes on the rise

MONTREAL The bride and groom may have to wear their coats on Saturday.

The day before a wedding was scheduled to take place there, it was below the freezing mark inside St. James United Church on Ste-Catherine St. W., at the corner of St-Alexandre St.

The iconic church with its signature pink-brick facade had to go without heat Friday, one of the coldest mornings of the season, after a pipe burst on the third floor, causing water to pour down to the main floor and basement. The basement flood shorted out the 125-year-old churchs original boiler and its burner, which provided heat for the whole building. There was also extensive water damage in a hallway in the churchs eastern section, as well as the vestry a meeting room.

Allen Fuller, director of restoration projects for the church and one of its trustees, said that near 1:30 a.m. Friday, a pipe providing water to the sprinkler system burst in the area between the sanctuarys ceiling and its roof, where there isnt much insulation.

A good Samaritan saw water coming out of the church and called the fire department, he said.

With no heat, and lots of water damage, salvage workers brought in dehumidifiers and portable space heaters.

But because everything is so old, we have to heat it up very slowly, otherwise all the wood around here will split, Fuller said.

While the sanctuary was unscathed, there may be more complications for the church if temperatures dip too low. The churchs organ, which dates back to 1891, cant be exposed to sub-zero temperatures for too long or its wood will break.

In the basement, water flowed over a four-foot ditch where the churchs heating system is located, and spread over most of the floor underneath the sanctuary. By later Friday morning, the water had turned to ice, making the floors slick.

The boiler is one of two in the church, but the other stopped working several months ago, having been damaged by rust. The church might be able to get a temporary boiler, Rev. Arlen Bonnar said. If not, it will have to make do with portable space heaters until a permanent boiler can be found.

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Burst pipe at St. James United Church

By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - Expectations are rising for a stronger U.S. economy in 2014 after reports Thursday showed solid growth in manufacturing and construction spending at the end of last year.

Factory activity in December stayed near a 2 -year high. Americans are buying more cars and homes, increasing demand for steel, furniture and other manufactured goods. Manufacturers have boosted hiring to meet that demand and may add jobs at a healthier pace this year.

And builders stepped up spending on home construction in November, despite recent increases in borrowing rates. That suggests many remain confident in the housing recovery.

The economy has had bursts of healthy growth since the recession ended in June 2009, only to be followed by disappointing slowdowns. But many analysts think growth is now more sustainable.

"There was strength in some important sectors of the economy at the end of last year," Paul Dales, an economist at Capital Economics, said. "2014 could be the year where the recovery really starts to gain some ground."

The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing managers, said Thursday that its index of manufacturing activity slipped to 57 in December from 57.3 the previous month. But that's still the second-highest reading since April 2011. And any reading above 50 signals growth.

The ISM's measure increased for six straight months through November.

A measure of new orders rose to the highest level since April 2010. And a gauge of hiring increased to its highest level since June 2011. Indexes of production and manufacturers' stockpiles fell.

Separately, construction spending rose 1 percent in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $934.4 billion, the Commerce Department said. That's the highest in more than four years.

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Factory, construction growth boost 2014 outlook

SOMERS Two years after a fire destroyed its former edifice, members of Somers Congregational Church will be celebrating this new year with a different sort of brightness.

A special outdoor service has been scheduled New Years Day at 5 p.m. outside the church, located at 599 Main St.

The service will mark the two-year anniversary of the late-night fire on New Years Day 2012 that destroyed the meeting house built in 1842.

Its been a long time coming, church Moderator Anne Kirkpatrick said Monday. Its been 104 weeks.

Kirkpatrick said the ceremony will be brief, with several hymns planned before new LED lights are turned on to brighten the church at night.

We want to have a positive memory moving into 2014, she said. We are looking to the future.

After relocating its worship services to Johnson Memorial Hospital for the last two years, the congregation held a Christmas Eve service last week in the downstairs hall of the rebuilt church.

The church is still in the final stages of being rebuilt. The cause of the fire remains undetermined.

Kirkpatrick said several new LED lights will be used to shine brightly on the churchs steeple and some portions of the churchs portico.

We needed to do something to get over the hump there, she said, adding the lights will be on for roughly four hours each night. This is something we can do.

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Church welcomes brighter days

FAIRBANKS Fairbanks' soon-to-be newest youth shelter, The Door, hasn't quite opened its own doors yet, but the building took one significant step in the right direction Sunday.

Volunteers from Community Covenant Church showed up at the storage unit of Fairbanks Youth Advocates, the organization that runs the shelter, Sunday morning. The volunteers brought their own box van, loading all of the small two-story shelter's furniture and transporting it to the new building.

The building had been sitting empty since its completion two weeks earlier. Fairbanks Youth Advocates began construction on the new shelter in August, originally hoping it might be completed by winter.

Fairbanks Youth Advocates Director Marylee Bates said the organization hopes to have the shelter fully operational by sometime in February. Before it can open the staff must finish preparing the inside of the shelter and complete a lengthy state application.

"Most of our employees are working nights at the shelter, so it's kind of a slow going process because we can't work days and nights," Bates said.

Fairbanks Youth Advocates has been operating a temporary overnight shelter at First Presbyterian Church on Seventh Avenue in downtown Fairbanks since last December. The organization will operate that shelter from 9 p.m. through 8 a.m. each night until the official opening of The Door.

Bates said Fairbanks Youth Advocates has served nearly 170 different teenagers at the temporary shelter in 2013.

The volunteers who helped the organization move its furnishings Sunday came from Community Covenant Church, located just off Airport Way between Wilbur Street and Peger Road, as part of a community service program run by the church.

On months with five Sundays, the church does not hold a service on the last Sunday of the month. Instead, the church organizes service projects throughout the community, which church members attend that day.

"They contacted us maybe three weeks ago and said they were looking for a community service project to do on this particular day and if there was something they could do for us," Bates said. "We thought maybe they could help us move. We tossed that idea back to them and they said 'yes we can help you move. We'd be glad to.'"

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Fairbanks youth shelter hopes to open by February

Mobile, AL - This church is technically LeFlore high school's gym. It's been the congregation's home for months. The 2012 Christmas Day Tornado destroyed Sweet Pilgrim Baptist Church.

When I got there the first thing that happened was my mouth dropped wide open I was just amazed to see how damaged the church really was, says Reverend Julius Bryant. The church couldn't be saved--it's been cleared away, the only thing left is the church's name on a block. The Reverend says they've done all they can and await permit approval from the City of Mobile to start construction. Until a church is built the congregation will have to adjust to some changes.

Well it's been kind of frustrating, busy but I wont complain my plan is not God's plan, says Willard McCaskey. The reverend isn't sure when the new building will be up. In the year since all this--he says everyone here has raised their hands to god and learned many lessons. The most important one is a church isn't a building--it's people who grow the word of God. This year brought the entire congregation closer together.

I think there is a newness God is restoring on this church and this community, I think God has some things planned for us, says Reverend Bryant.

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Church Continues Post Tornado Recovery

FAIRBANKS Fairbanks' soon-to-be newest youth shelter, The Door, hasn't quite opened its own doors yet, but the building took one significant step in the right direction Sunday.

Volunteers from Community Covenant Church showed up at the storage unit of Fairbanks Youth Advocates, the organization that runs the shelter, Sunday morning. The volunteers brought their own box van, loading all of the small two-story shelter's furniture and transporting it to the new building.

The building had been sitting empty since its completion two weeks earlier. Fairbanks Youth Advocates began construction on the new shelter in August, originally hoping it might be completed by winter.

Fairbanks Youth Advocates Director Marylee Bates said the organization hopes to have the shelter fully operational by sometime in February. Before it can open the staff must finish preparing the inside of the shelter and complete a lengthy state application.

"Most of our employees are working nights at the shelter, so it's kind of a slow going process because we can't work days and nights," Bates said.

Fairbanks Youth Advocates has been operating a temporary overnight shelter at First Presbyterian Church on Seventh Avenue in downtown Fairbanks since last December. The organization will operate that shelter from 9 p.m. through 8 a.m. each night until the official opening of The Door.

Bates said Fairbanks Youth Advocates has served nearly 170 different teenagers at the temporary shelter in 2013.

The volunteers who helped the organization move its furnishings Sunday came from Community Covenant Church, located just off Airport Way between Wilbur Street and Peger Road, as part of a community service program run by the church.

On months with five Sundays, the church does not hold a service on the last Sunday of the month. Instead, the church organizes service projects throughout the community, which church members attend that day.

"They contacted us maybe three weeks ago and said they were looking for a community service project to do on this particular day and if there was something they could do for us," Bates said. "We thought maybe they could help us move. We tossed that idea back to them and they said 'yes we can help you move. We'd be glad to.'"

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Youth shelter hopes to open by February

MARINE CITY, Mich. - Members of the congregation at Marine City United Methodist Church could be forgiven if there were a few tears this Christmas morning.

After being a presence for 162 years in Marine City's spiritual community, the church hosted its final Christmas Day service Wednesday.

The church is closing.

It will have its final service on Sunday, Jan. 26, and the doors of the red brick building at North Main and Broadway will shut for good on Friday, Jan. 31.

"My parents were married here, I was married here, my son was married here," said Darlene Markel, a church member who lives in Cottrellville Township. "I was baptized here, my son was baptized here, and my grandchildren were baptized here."

The church's membership has declined from a high of 650 to 700 in the 1950s - when its services were broadcast on the radio - to the current roster of 56 people.

"That's total membership, including shut-ins and people who don't live in the area but are still members," said Harvey Finsterwald of Marine City and a church member with his wife, Chris.

Bob Rhoades, a church member and Marine City resident, said the declining membership is a trend.

"The younger people are not joining anything, churches, social clubs, ... so as the older members are dying off, the membership is shrinking," Rhoades said.

Marine City United Methodist had 124 members as recently as 2001, Chris Finsterwald said. Now, "the average age is in the 70s."

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Historic Michigan church to close its doors

PRAIRIE CREEK A western Indiana congregation whose rural church was recently gutted by a fire also lost their sanctuarys beloved nearly 160-year-old bell to the intense flames.

The Dec. 5 fire that left Prairie Creek First Baptist Church in ruins also melted its bell, which was found in the churchs basement after the steeple that once held it collapsed during the fire.

Pastor Kevin Dobson said the bell was a big part of the rural church, in part because many children had pulled on a rope to ring the bell over the decades.

Lots of kids have been lifted into the air by the weight of that bell over the years, Dobson told the Tribune-Star.

The bell was cast in 1855, more than 20 years before the church was built in 1876. The churchs insurance will replace the sanctuary but wont pay for much of the interior work or to replace the bell.

A portion of the bell that survived the fire is now stored in the home of congregation member Dan Watson. He said he isnt sure how much the 3-foot-tall bell originally weighed but said what remains is still heavy.

I was hoping we (would) find it intact, Watson said.

When the fire took place, construction was underway to add on to the 137-year-old church. The congregation of about 80 people now gathers at the community center in Prairie Creek. Despite an offer from another church to use its building, theyve decided to rebuild the church and replace the bell.

Were a community church. Our folks really just wanted to stay in Prairie Creek, Dobson said.

The church already has received one of its first donations for its rebuilding effort. A young girl who now lives out of state sent $1 to help replace the church.

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160-year-old bell destroyed in fire that gutted church