Tony Bolick|The Courier-TribuneAsheboro Police Reports

Recent reports

Oct. 12: Asheboro Police responded to Wendys, East Dixie Drive, Asheboro, in reference to a larceny.

Oct. 13: The manager of The Salvation Army Thrift Store, East Dixie Drive, Asheboro, reported the theft of a bicycle valued at $50.

Oct. 13: CedricJumar Cassidy reported the theft of work equipment from his work truck parked at a construction site, North Fayetteville Street, Asheboro.

Oct. 13: Barbara Eleanor Funkey, Elwood Stout Street, Asheboro, reported a larceny at her residence.

Oct. 13: Jennifer Nixon Damron, Old Liberty Road, Asheboro, reported a possible larceny at her residence.

Oct. 13: Asheboro Police responded to Workout Anytime, East Dixie Drive, Asheboro, in reference to a larceny.

Recent charges

Emmanuel D. Jones: 23, 1009 S. Church St., Apt. 12, Asheboro, simple possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, open container.

Stanley Jean Lerebours: 29, 1002 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Greensboro, probation violation.

Chris Elvin McNeill: 38, 73444 Union Grove Church Road, Seagrove, possession of heroin.

Recent reports

Oct. 8: Kimberly M. Blake, Beechwood Court, Asheboro, reported the theft from her residence of $710 in clothing, $435 in shoes, a bag valued at $575, jewelry valued at $252, a cell phone valued at $600, toiletries valued at $67, a pillow valued at $25 and a drill valued at $20.

Oct. 7: Brian E. Pearman reported a check stolen from his business located on NC 62, Trinity.

Oct. 10: Douglas Eckland reported the theft of a Kubota BX23S tractor valued at $25,000 from a construction site on Tobacco Road, Trinity.

Oct. 13: Tyler G. Smith, US 220 S, Asheboro, reported the theft from his motor vehicle of a cell phone valued at $500 and $300 in damage to his vehicle.

Recent charges

Donald Robert Lynch: 54, 2958 Spencer Road, Archdale, communicating threats, assault and battery.

David Anthony Powell: 52, 4546 River Oaks Drive, Randleman, bill of indictment.

Denise Saunders Powell : 56, 4546 River Oaks Drive, Randleman, bill of indictment.

Donald Lee Stiles: 56, 5117 Elmont St., Archdale, possession of a stolen firearm.

Cody William Toler: 33, 5240 Ridge Road, Trinity, court/receive active sentence.

Heather Leigh Davis: 36, 3141 Nance Country Road, Climax, second-degree trespass.

Joshua Michael Wood: 37, 1840 Dennis St., Asheboro, electronic house arrest.

Nicholas Joseph Davis: 31, 3499 NC 42 South, Asheboro, true bill of indictment.

William Ray Carpenter Jr. : 42, 4328 Briarcliff Road, Thomasville, two counts financial card fraud.

James Carroll Chriscoe: 52, 1656 Jericho Road, Asheboro, second-degree trespass.

Branson Marshall Culler: 20, 6925 Union Grove Church Road, Asheboro, true bill of indictment.

Catherine Alexis Dilldine: 21, 333 Hill St., Asheboro, cyberstalking threats.

Jerry Wayne Grice: 51, 5420 Edgar Road, Archdale, failure to return rental property.

Bonnie Dean Larimore: 59, 6819 Kerr Drive, Randleman, first-degree trespass, misdemeanor larceny.

Thomas Alton Lucas: 43, 2272 Woods Stream Lane, Asheboro, violation of 50B protective order.

Excerpt from:
Business-related thefts reported around Asheboro and the county - Asheboro Courier Tribune

Workers for Monadnock Construction prepare the foundation for the Catholic Charities Bishop Valero Residence in Astoria, Queens. (Photo: Bill Miller)

ASTORIA Construction of a new home for low-income people was about to start last spring in Queens, but the COVID-19 pandemic rattled all aspects of normalcy worldwide.

The Bishop Valero Residence, a project of Catholic Charities of Brooklyn and Queens, is expected to add 102 badly-needed apartments for seniors and formerly homeless adults. Its located at 23-11 31st Road in Astoria, Queens.

Financing for this $62 million effort depended on several partners, including the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD). The pandemic forced that agency to cut back on its budget by 40 percent for the rest of 2020, plus next year, according to David Downs, the deputy director of Catholic Charities Progress of Peoples Development Corporation.

The projects partners, realizing its importance, did not give up.

All the players chipped in to make the project work in the time frame we needed, Downs said. A lot of people had to make some concessions and be flexible.

For example, Downs said Catholic Charities and the city agreed to add more financing. The citys portion of the funding was key because it involved $3.1 million in low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC), which are expected to generate $30.8 million in equity over 15 years, nearly half of the money needed to build the project.

Other partners include Bank of America, Richman Housing Resources, and Barings, LLC. Dattner Architects designed the project and Monadnock Construction is the builder.

Although the projects closing was a few weeks late, construction started on time in June, which was a great relief, according to Downs.

We had our construction budget in place, but we could only guarantee costs through June, he said. Supply was a big concern for building materials like steel. So there was a lot of pressure on the team.

We had a calm exterior, but on the inside, we were very nervous.

Affordable Housing Shortage

The Progress of Peoples Development Corporation started making affordable housing in the 1970s serving families, formerly homeless people, senior citizens, and people with HIV.

The task has only gotten harder as New York Citys population swelled to about 8.6 million people, the biggest of all U.S. metropolitan areas. The citys expensive real estate market adds even more hurdles for land acquisition.

Tim McManus, vice president of Progress of Peoples Development Corporation, said a 2016 study showed there were 200,000 applicants for 20,000 affordable housing units in New York City.

Demand for senior affordable housing is a mess throughout the city, McManus said. We dont have numbers to suggest whats happened since COVID, but we know that number has grown.

The Bishop Valero Residence is the second affordable housing project from Catholic Charities to start in 2020. In January, ground broke on the eight-story, 135-unit Catholic Charities Loreto Apartments on Sackman Street in the Brownsville area of Brooklyn.

This site is the former address of Our Lady of Loreto Church, which was demolished in 2017. Nearby is the Catholic Charities Monsignor Anthony J. Barretta Apartments, which was opened in 2013 on the former site of Our Lady of Loreto School.

The Brownsville project began a few weeks before the pandemics onset in March and continued uninterrupted.

However, projects planned by other developers are not as fortunate, being stuck in a COVID-wrought financing limbo, adding to the frustration of advocates struggling with an existing shortage of affordable-housing citywide.

A lot of projects, McManus said, are still on the sidelines.

Build a Community

The six-story Bishop Valero Residence is expected to open in 2022 with nearly 85,000 square feet of space and environment-friendly features like solar panels.

Its located in a former parking lot for the existing Catherine Sheridan Senior Housing project, another property in the Progress of Peoples Development Corporations affordable-housing portfolio.

About 6,500 square feet are set aside for a ground-floor, 200-seat community center operated by Catholic Charities Neighborhood Services. Other amenities include a commercial kitchen serving hot meals, an exercise area, a computer lab, and a landscaped patio area.

We build buildings wed like to live in ourselves, Downs said.

Of the 102 units, 71 are designated for low-income senior citizens, while the other 31 are for formerly homeless seniors. All residents will have access to on-site social services.

We really are trying to put together a comprehensive model, providing not just for housing, but also social services to address the residents physical and social needs, McManus said.

Father Patrick Keating, deputy chief executive officer of Catholic Charities of Brooklyn and Queens, explained that low-income tenants deserve safe homes, hopefully in the neighborhoods where theyve lived and near their longtime parishes.

What we try to do is build a community, Father Keating said. But its not just buildings; its a greater integration of bricks and mortar with services. All our programs are interconnected.

Father Keating credited Msgr. Alfred LoPinto, chief executive officer, for devising a holistic approach to integrating services.

The Church teaches the dignity of every single person, Father Keating said, and by providing a safe home, youre serving that person, which allows us to fulfill our ministry.

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Catholic Charities Stays on Its Quest for Affordable Housing - The Tablet Catholic Newspaper

A Christian group in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh is mulling a protest after the state government prevented construction of a church because it says it was illegal.

Arunachal Christian Forum (ACF) has asked the state government run by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to quickly resolve the issue in Buddhist-majority Tawang town.

The present government says thatthe church is illegal as it is on public land, referring to the Supreme Court order that bars construction of religious structures in public places, but that is not the case here, Father Felix Anthony, spokesman for the Catholic Church in northeastern India, told UCA News.

People here who are for or against the construction of the church are not for disturbing the peace of the community that has been prevailing for years. People want the issues sorted out amicably. There is no question of disobeying the law written in the constitution.

Police in Tawang on the India-China border on Oct. 6 arrested Joseph Singhi, a pastor of Tawang Christian Revival Church, on charges of constructing a church without any land allotment.

He was arrested after a complaint by the district Land Revenue and Survey officer but was released the same day. Police also detained and interrogated eight others associated with the church.

ACF claimed that the church was established in 1999 and had given several applications seeking land allotment. The papers were submitted to the government through the local administration since 2003, but the authorities never responded.

It was a makeshift church and the problem arose in 2015 when work started on the construction of a permanent structure.

However, Tai Ete, president of Arunachal Pradesh Christian Revival Church Council, said nobody objected when the church was set up in 1999.

The problem started in 2015 when we started construction of the church. The government authorities said it was government land and we didnt have the land allotment order, Ete told media.

Ete said that in 2003 Gegong Apang, then chief minister, and the department concerned had no objection to the church. He claimed that the disputed site is unused and rejected.

Is India not a secular country? The right to freedom of religion is enshrined in the constitution to enable its citizens to freely profess and practice their religious beliefs, Ete said.

We want the case to be resolved amicably. They are harassing us intentionally. All have the right to propagate their own religion.

Arunachal Pradesh Christian Revival Church Council had earlier said Christians have no intention to disturb the way of life in Tawang, known for a 339-year-old Buddhist monastery.

ACF handed over a memorandum to Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Oct. 9 informing him about the blocking of the construction of a permanent structure where a temporary church has existed since 1999.

Christianity is the largest religion in Arunachal Pradesh followed by Hinduism. According to the census of 2011, Christians constituted 30.26 percent of the state's population. The Catholic Church is the largest Christian denomination in the state with around 180,000 adherents.

Originally posted here:
Christians angry over blocking of church construction in India - UCAN

100 years ago

Oct. 17, 1920: The new Church of the Nazarene building is being dedicated this weekend at Washington and Mason. The congregation has been in town for five years, but this will be their permanent home. The first service was last night, with more scheduled for today.

75 years ago

Oct. 17, 1945: About 200 machinists at the Meadows plant on Bell Street walked off their jobs, shortly after the posting of a progress report on wage negotiations. The issue is a federally directed 14-cent increase that dates back to 1944: who should get it and how much.

50 years ago

Oct. 17, 1970: Four teenagers were injured when a 20-foot section of bleachers collapsed at Heyworth High School. All four of them were from Fairbury and Cropsey. They were treated at a hospital and released. Meanwhile, Fairbury-Cropsey High School won the football game.

25 years ago

Oct. 17, 1995: Normal City Council approved the new Walmart site at Fort Jesse Road and Greenbriar Drive. There was one dissenting vote because of complaints about the tax rebate involved. Construction of the new Walmart is expected to begin this fall.

Compiled by Jack Keefe; jkeefe@coldwellhomes.com.

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100 years ago: Church of the Nazarene dedicates new building - Bloomington Pantagraph

RCMP have arrested five people for chaining themselves and destroying property at TMX construction sites near Kamloops.

RCMP said about 12:40 p.m. on Thursday they were called after demonstrators had gathered at a Trans Mountain (TMX) drill site on Mission Flats Road in Kamloops, and were blocking work trucks from driving through the facility gate.

Officials talked to the demonstrators but three refused to move away from the gate; a 69-year-old man, a 44-year-old woman and a 57-year-old woman who had tied her arm to the fence with a zap strap.

Officers read a B.C .Supreme Court injunction to the three individuals who remained at the gate and they were arrested for allegedly being in civil contempt of the court order issued on June 1, 2018.

A second group of demonstrators had gathered and were blocking an active work site on the south mountain slope, said RCMP.

A 43-year-old woman was arrested for allegedly breaching the court-ordered injunction after she refused to leave and attached herself to a bulldozer.

All four arrested were transported to Kamloops RCMP Detachment for processing and released on condition. They are scheduled to appear in court on January 20, 2021.

A fifth individual, a 32-year-old woman, was observed destroying survey stakes across the road from the drill site, and was subsequently arrested by Kamloops RCMP for Mischief. She was released without charges.

Trans Mountain said in June, a workforce of 30-50 people will be working in Kamloops and this will increase to approximately 600 people at peak construction in the late summer or early fall.

The company said construction spending in the Kamloops area is expected to be more than $450 million over the next two years with additional workforce spending of more than $40 million for goods and services at local businesses.

After expansion, Trans Mountains annual contribution to the city of Kamloops in taxes will increase by $1.2 million to $2.8 million.

The feds bought the Trans Mountain pipeline for $4.5 billion in May, 2018, after Kinder Morgan, pulled out because of political and environmental opposition.

In February, the Federal Court of Appeal dismissed the latest attempt by four B.C. indigenous groups to quash the Government of Canadas approval of the TMX clearing the way for the 1,150-km, 890,000 bbl/d line between Edmonton and Burnaby.

The cost to complete the project, from Alberta to the lower mainland, now stands at $12.6 billion.

Construction along the entire route should be complete in 2022.

The original Trans Mountain Pipeline was built in 1953and the expansion is essentially a twinning of this existing 1,150-kilometre route.

The system will go from approximately 300,000 barrels per day to 890,000 barrels per day.

A reminder that demonstrators have the right to peaceful, lawful and safe protest and companies have a lawful right to complete their mandated work. The RCMP is working hard to protect both of these rights and ensure all parties and public are kept safe, said Cpl. Madonna Saunderson.

Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standarddnaylor@westernstandardonline.comTWITTER:Twitter.com/nobby7694

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Pass the collection plate: Church fined $14000 for causing COVID outbreak - Western Standard

By Phill Colomboofni.1602993279swen-1602993279rats@1602993279obmol1602993279oclli1602993279hp1602993279

Grace Memorial Episcopal Church Rector Martin Elferts vision for a parking lot west of church buildings at 1535 N.E. 17th Ave. in Sullivans Gulch had to answer the question: How can we be the best possible stewards of our resources to mutually benefit our church and our community?

On the job for five years now, Elfert said his vision was at first modest and simple but has since blossomed into the idea not without some risk of developing a space that will serve the poor, the developmentally disabled and the arts with equal dignity.

Engaging a coalition of long-time collaborators like Grace Art Camps and PHAME PDX, Elfert enlisted the talents of Northwest Housing Alternatives to develop a concept that will soon move into its fundraising stage.

Grace Art Camps provides creative arts experiences for over 1250 children annually and PHAME PDX creates performance opportunities for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The teams proposal will include the construction of nearly 100 units of affordable housing on the upper floors of a six-story building, with about 24,000 square feet of office, church and classroom space on the ground floor. The L-shaped structure will be completely accessible. The church building, built in 1927, will remain as is.

Jenny Stadler, executive director of PHAME PDX for the past three years, is an eager participant and avid cheerleader for the project.

PHAME is booming by leaps and bounds, and we need more space, she said. Im especially enthused about a new, accessible performance theater that will serve the entire arts community.

Stadler said there is a huge lack of accessible performance and rehearsal space in the city.

Weve found in the church, landlords who are friends and who understand the equity and inclusiveness of our community, she said. As we grow and thrive, our organization will reach out to others in the community to help with the fundraising.

Rector Elfert characterized the project as the right people descending from heaven on a cloud to move the concept out of fantasy mode.

After conversations with Walsh Construction, Carleton Hart Architecture and capital campaign consultants, the church selected Northwest Housing Alternatives as its developer for the project.

Destin Ferdun, Northwests director of real estate development, said the regional agency is super-thrilled to come aboard.

The development team is eyeing the fall of 2023 as a possible completion date for the project and has proposed to the city that a short portion of Northeast 16th Avenue between Weidler and Halsey streets be vacated. Tentative schedules call for Grace Arts Camps to be moved off-site for 16 months during construction.

The main task now is getting the capital campaign back on schedule, said Elfert.

For more information, visit http://www.grace-memorial.org, http://www.grace-institute.org, http://www.phamepdx.org and http://www.nwhousing.org.

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Church vision drives affordable housing project in Sullivan's Gulch - Hollywood Star News

The countries in Central and Eastern Europe have faced a century of hardship. They have been oppressed by radical communism, horrendous crimes against humanity, and revolutionary, civil, and world wars.

Under communism, religion and religious practices were openly persecuted, and atheism was actively propagated and enforced.

Control of every aspect of life was taken over by totalitarian governments and the communist party, and civil society and the economy were deconstructed.

The Aid to the Church in Central and Eastern Europe, part of the diocesan International Combined Collection, funds projects in 28 countries to build the pastoral capacity of the Church and to rebuild and restore the Faith in these countries.

The funds raised in the Collection for the Church in Central and Eastern Europe are used to support the renewal of vital aspects of the Church life: seminaries, youth ministry, social service programs, pastoral centers, church construction and renovation, and Catholic communications projects.

Years after the fall of communism, though some countries are now a part of the European Union and serve as examples of positive changes, a majority of the countries are lagging behind and still struggling to overcome the legacy and destruction left by the communist system.

The Catholics of these regions continue to need our help.

As a member of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishop's, USCCB, subcommittee on Aid to the Church in Central and Eastern Europe, Bishop Donald Hying visited two of these countries, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, in 2019.

Bishop Hying said he made this visit "to be supportive of the Church and see what projects we could support." The progress these countries are making, after the fall of communism over 25 years ago, is encouraging. Churches were confiscated or destroyed, yet their faith is strong as they rebuild.

"They are very strong in faith and dedicated to the Church and each other. For many years, they practiced their faith underground, living without priests and the sacraments," Bishop Hying commented. He was inspired by their commitment to their faith, commenting "their faith is the essence of their lives."

The International Combined Collection is held every October in parishes across the Diocese of Madison.

Questions on the collection can be directed to the office of Stewardship and Development at the Diocese of Madison at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 608-821-4577.

Jill McNally is the director of the Office of Stewardship and Development in the Diocese of Madison.

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Aid to the Church in Central and Eastern Europe - Catholic Herald

A stalled affordable housing project near the Ballston Metro station is poised to get a three-year extension.

The Ballston Station project, set to be built on the site of the Ballston Central United Methodist Church at 4201 Fairfax Drive, was previously approved by the County Board in 2017 and again in 2019. The latter approval upsized the project from 119 units, including 48 designated as affordable, to 144 units of 100% committed affordable housing.

The Board previously also allocated $3.1 million in affordable housing loan funds to the project.

The church and its development partner, the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing, are now going back before the Board this weekend, seeking to extend the now-closed window for beginning construction through October 2023.

The developers are also seeking a minor change to the affordability mix, switching six units from being affordable to those making up to 30% of the Area Median Income to 60% AMI, to make the project more fiscally sustainable.

The planned eight-story building will still include a daycare facility for up to 100 kids and a church space with up to 200 seats, as well as eight visitor parking space and 0.25 parking spaces per apartment.

County staff is recommending approval of the proposed site plan amendment, but there is some opposition from neighbors in the adjacentSummerwalk condo complex at 1020 N. Stafford Street.

The condo association is concerned about parking, noting that their own building has insufficient parking and condo residents who are barred from participating in the countys under-review Residential Permit Parking Program find parking on the street difficult as it is. The association is also concerned about their future neighbors making the area less desirable.

More from the county staff report:

In addition to the previously submitted concerns from the Summerwalk Condo Association, a new comment has been submitted regarding the project having changed in 2019 to a commitment of 100% affordable units on site. The Association notes that the previous proposal of a mixed income housing development would better serve the needs of the entire community and instill a greater sense of equality within the neighborhood. The Association also notes concerns that the project being 100% affordable will make the surrounding area less desirable.

In response, county staff assert that the parking ratio is in line with existing parking policies, while the project meets multiple affordable housing goals, including units in close proximity to transit. It alsoprovides an opportunity for a mixed-income neighborhood as most nearby developments are predominately market-rate, staff wrote.

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Ballston Church Seeking Three-Year Extension for Affordable Housing Project - ARLnow

Best Project & Project of the Year: Capitol Crossing Highway, Deck, Bridge, and Garage | 2020-10-15 | Engineering News-Record This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more. This Website Uses CookiesBy closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Learn MoreThis website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more.

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Best Project & Project of the Year: Capitol Crossing Highway, Deck, Bridge, and Garage - Engineering News-Record

Lyuba, a Buryat girl from the Chita Region, decided to live in harmony with nature and in early spring went into the taiga unclothed and three days later was found frozen to death. Ira Goldina refused treatment and died of advanced breast cancer. Kapitolina had cancer and treated it by starving herself and died of malnutrition. Nina Mikova killed herself under a portrait of Vissarion. Arkasha Drozdov died aged 15 months from a pathological condition that was treated too late.

This summary of tragic deaths is not a crime news round-up. It is just a small part of a list recreated from memory on social media forums by former followers of the Church of the Last Testament and its savior, Sergey Torop, known as Vissarion.

For almost 30 years the Torop-Vissarion commune has existed in the middle of the taiga as a quasi separate state - it has lived quietly according to its own customs and rules, having fenced itself off from the rest of the world behind a barrier gate, security guards and dense forests. Information about life inside the settlement was mainly brought to the outside world by people who left the commune after becoming disillusioned with the manufactured faith of former traffic cop Torop and wanted to return to society. But there are few such people. The taiga hermits have carefully guarded their self-isolation and tried not to make a fuss, even when they realized that things were not going right. Now their utopia has come to an end.

Incest, pedophilia, suicide, murder and other crimes have suddenly come to the surface. Outside, observers throw their hands in the air, perplexed: How is it that in the Russian Federation, in an area about two-thirds the size of Belgium, such a community could exist for such a length of time - and nobody intervened or even noticed?

After his dismissal from the traffic police, Sergey Torop became a regular at a Siberian UFO club and for some time was seeking contact in so-called anomalous zones. But looking for UFOs did not become his ide fixe. Torop turned his attention to methods of exerting psychological influence on people. He attended several courses in Moscow that were popular in the 1990s and delivered his first sermon on air from a small television studio in Siberia.

Sergey Torop

It was 1991 when the former metal worker, neighbourhood policeman and traffic cop underwent a spiritual awakening and proclaimed himself to be a reincarnation of Jesus Christ. Unless I become world famous I wont be able to live on this Earth, he said in one of his letters home at the age of 18. And popularity did seek him out. Against the background of economic collapse, the disintegration of the USSR, broken hopes and discredited values, the ideas of the 30-year-old Jesus about universal happiness in the remote taiga and the approaching end of the world found their audience. In his early sermons, he introduced revisions to the New Testament and told the true story of the First Coming.

In the following two years, he travelled around half of Russia, the Soviet republics and several European countries with money from donations, attracting a faithful flock and implausible rumors. Yelena Melnikova listened to all the sermons of Vissarion, but couldnt understand him. But her husband was hooked.

In particular, his manner of communicating his message drove me mad. Going round in circles and beating about the bush. As in Gypsy hypnosis, when they start touching you and making a lot of noise and you get confused. All his sermons were long-winded and incoherent. He tried to instill the idea in people that they should cut themselves off from the outside world and sever ties with family and relatives. And the more stressed a person was, the more susceptible he or she was to his influence. I realized straight away that my husband would go - with or without me, Yelena said. In May 1994, with two children and a third on the way, they sold their apartment in Novosibirsk and moved to the south of Krasnoyarsk Territory. There, near Lake Tiberkul and Mount Sukhaya, both of which he proclaimed to be sacred, Vissarion had set up a commune, while the Russian Ministry of Justice officially registered his Church of the Last Testament as a religious organization.

To my surprise, Vissarion seemed like a sensible person and didnt ask for anything. On the contrary, he advised me to shape my own destiny and, most importantly, not to do evil, recalls another former follower, Samara resident Mikhail Ilyin. And, true, Vissarion didnt ask for anything. At the time, about 5,000 people headed for the taiga to settle there and build Sun City on the sacred mountain. Like the Melnikov family, many sold their property and other assets and put their money in the common kitty. Apparently of their own accord. But very soon, Vissarion started imposing prohibitions.

The Church of the Last Testament could find a justification for any way of life and dogma. If only because it mixed together a whole assortment of world religions and religious practices - from Hinduism and Buddhism to apocalypticism and the atheistic teachings of Karl Marx. So when Vissarion handed down yet another prohibition, nobody doubted that his decision was correct.

Restrictions on what people could eat began in the commune almost immediately. Meat was prohibited, as was all animal protein - milk, eggs, etc. The followers believed that after an animal is slaughtered an aggressive energy remains in its cells. Vissarions chauffeur drove around the villages where followers lived and proclaimed: From August 1 sugar is poison. In September 1994, prohibitions were imposed on vegetable oil, tea, semolina and a number of grains. Then, it was the turn of leavened bread. Exceptions were only made for pregnant women. By 1995, people could only talk of food. The permitted diet included potatoes, honey, grains, vegetables, mushrooms and flatbreads. The Vissarionites suffered, but endured.

Vissarion himself did not appear in public frequently and when he did, it was in a specially-designated Place of Confluence - at a distance. He lived on the hill along with his closest followers or apostles. All newcomers to the commune were met and a decision was taken whether to accommodate them in the village, or on the outskirts if they did not receiveVissarions blessing. Salvation was his key idea. The trouble was that the savior predicted the end of the world, set specific dates and when the end did not come, he would literally throw his hands in the air uttering the words I didnt promise you anything and then predicted a new Apocalypse.

Violinist Dimitr Khetemov, 42, a follower of the Church of the Last Testament religious movement, with his wife Natalya, daughter Sofia, 6, and son Alexander, 9.

In August 1999, he gave the sermon he called: I want to show you how to love in a beautiful way. And he asserted that a man can have as many wives as he wants for the sake of the submissiveness of women. From that moment, love triangles began to appear in the commune and men were allowed to change their wives. Some families could not bear this kind of psychological onslaught and fell apart. Then, Vissarion himself parted from his wife and took a new wife - a 16-year-old.

All this became intertwined with the established procedure of not seeking medical assistance and not permitting children to attend the village school. I clearly remember this precept - it was No. 37 - which stated that all our ailments stem from spiritual disharmony. That is why the non-believer need not be treated yet and a believer need not be treated any longer, Yelena says. With education it was the same logic - believers did not need much learning.

It wasnt like this indefinitely, however. Vissarion knew that the times were changing, people were becoming different and the commune needed to change, too. Even in the taiga.

The Church of the Last Testament was already close to being banned once - at the turn of the century - when all sorts of nasty stuff began. Local doctors and teachers were behind a series of demands for a judicial investigation. But a prosecutors office probe into one such complaint was abruptly halted. Photographer Yury Kozyrev, who has been a regular visitor to the commune over the years, believes that the law enforcement authorities were seriously concerned at the time that any detentions could result in mass suicides: Vissarion also grasped everything clearly: After this, the sect transformed itself into the Tiberkul eco-settlement and the matter was closed. So vegans live there - let them.

In reality, however, the commune never stopped being the object of scrutiny. According to Vadim Redkin, one of Visssarions first followers - he is responsible for public relations and for the communes official Facebook page - the church was assigned a case manager from the FSBs district directorate from the very beginning. In actual fact, this never presented any serious nuisance for cult followers. Businesslike relations evolved with the FSB, he says. In all these years, there has been a very large number of different case managers. Ive been here since 1992, says Redkin.

The local authorities had almost no concerns, either. This was aided by the fact that since the early 2000s, the communes rules began to be relaxed. Vissarion allowed mobile phones, TV-sets, satellite dishes and visits to the doctor. The commune opened its own schools for children, as well as inaugurating musical ensembles, recording studios and football and ice hockey teams. Slowly, it all began to look more like an eco-settlement than a sect.

Furthermore, the make-up of the Vissarionites became less homogenous with the passing years: Fewer and fewer followers believed in the end of the world and more and more simply liked living in a commune with its own rules and laws - in an ecological settlement where everyone is family. Even those who were extremely sceptical of Vissarion stayed on in the commune. He told us to shun money, but he himself would travel to Israel or to Taiwan for medical treatment. Why should Christ require medical treatment?! said one of the disillusioned residents of the commune, Tatyana Kholyavko.

Outsiders began to be allowed into Sun City, something that would not have happened before, and Vissarionites began to actively infiltrate the local authorities and integrate with the local elite - they could supply premier felled timber for the construction of excellent and fine houses and people with money liked to hire them. Vissarion himself started addressing his flock not once a month, but once every four and he always said roughly the same thing - that the world would come to an end, but his followers would be saved.

Vyachelav Osipov, head of one of the rural settlements in the Kuraginsky District, says he sees no problem with the commune. Quite the contrary, people were pleased to have them there: The Vissarionites worked a lot, they farmed, they provided a boost to the economy; thanks to them, the adjacent villages have not died out, land values have risen and the population has increased.

All upsides.

In the past two years, however, law enforcement bodies have started paying close attention to them.

It is all believed to have begun with the deaths through negligence of two infants in the families of cult followers. In summer 2018, investigators called on the Nazemtsev family to conduct a house search after the death of their 10-month-old son. The Karmanov family was also investigated at the same time after their child had died of pneumonia. Subsequently, a report on the federal channel REN TV also said that the discovery of the body of an infant was the reason why the commune was being probed.

A whole string of investigations ensued. According to Redkin, the commune found itself under overt pressure. All lines of inquiry were pursued: from psychological abuse, property fraud, ritual sex with minors and home births to illegal land use and the felling of stone pines. More than 300 followers were questioned in the year since the first searches.

In 2019, when it all kicked off, investigators would turn up and say: Thats it. Your cover has gone up in smoke. They were referring to our protection. And all the top people will be arrested in the autumn. That is what the FSB inspectors were telling the forestry people. The forestry people just repeated it to us, Redkin recalls. The Novaya Gazeta publication also refers to the protection the commune may previously have enjoyed: The recent resignation and arrest in Krasnoyarsk of regional forestry minister Dmitry Maslodudov may be linked to the searches and detentions in Sun City.

But, there are also several other theories to explain why Sun City has become the object of scrutiny only now. In the course of so many years, the area has become the center of premier timber felling in Russia and the Vissarionites now believe they are being squeezed out of business. Another factor may have been a protest by local residents against tree felling and the construction of a road through neighboring localities previously untouched by civilization, in order to provide access to gold-mining areas.

In mid-September 2020, teams of FSB special forces arrived in the Krasnoyarsk taiga in helicopters and sealed off Sun City. Torop, Redkin and another organizer of the commune, Vladimir Vedernikov, were placed under arrest and the public prosecutors office demanded that the Church of the Last Testament religious organization - which has a membership of around 4,500 at the last count - should be banned. It is now up to the courts to rule on the matter.

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The man behind the notorious Siberian cult The Church of the Last Testament - Russia Beyond