WEST TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) – Work to clean up the Ottawa River in Toledo has entered a new chapter. On Tuesday, plans to restore the portion of the river that flows through the University of Toledo's campus were unveiled to the public.

Nearly three-quarters of a mile of the Ottawa River runs through the middle of UT's campus. For two years, a commission has been working to create a restoration plan using several grants.

"It's to create habitat in the river for fish and aquatic organisms, the critters and bugs that fish eat," said Patrick Lawrence, Ph.D.

Lawrence is the commission chairman and said restoration efforts will make the river cleaner. It has been home to contaminated sediments along with a lack of fish and wildlife for years.

The commission brought in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to design a plan of attack. Their plan includes building a number of structures in the river and along its banks.

"We're trying to recreate what nature would provide. Again, we're using all natural materials: stone and wood," explained Lawrence.

Hans Gottgens, an ecology professor at UT attended Tuesday's presentation. Gottgens said his students use the river as a lab and have found more than 40 species of fish in it.

"People were really surprised to see how much life and how much diversity exists in this river. It was always considered a dead ditch, but it's not," said Gottgens.

Gottgens even said one species was on a state list facing extinction.

The goal is to save more and Lawrence feels the Corps' plan will help.

"It looks interesting, a lot of unique ideas and I think we're well on the path to getting this work underway," said Lawrence.

The restoration plans are expected to be finalized in a couple of weeks. The first changes in the river could be notable by August.

Copyright 2012 WTOL. All Rights Reserved.

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Restoration plan unveiled for portion of Ottawa River in UT's campus

MARIETTA, GA (CBS ATLANTA) -

Members of a Marietta Brazilian church held a going home ceremony for five members killed in a crash along I-75 in late January. A total of 11 people died in that accident.

Five hearses and five caskets arrived one-by-one at the First United Methodist Church of Marietta. The larger church hosted friends and family to say goodbye to members of the International Church of the Restoration.

"It's very hard for everybody," said friend Rinaludo Rodriguez.

Jose Carmo was a pastor at the church. He, his wife Adriana, and daughter Leticia died in the crash in Gainesville. Jose's brother Edson and his girlfriend Rose were also killed. 

They were riding in a van on their way back home from a church conference in Orlando, FL when they crashed. Poor visibility because of smoke and fog played a major role in the crash.

"He was a faith guy, from a faith family. I wanted to pay my respect for a good man," said Rodriguez.

Several of Leticia's classmates from Sprayberry high school came to pay their respects.

"She sat in my lunch and she was really sweet and nice. It just doesn't seem real that something like that would happen to her," said Jeremy Bernal.

Leticia's younger sister, Lidiane is the only survivor from the van. She's still in an Orlando hospital, unable to attend the service for her family.

While friends say goodbye to too many members of their congregation, they are still praying for strength for Lidiane.

"I just pray. It's the only thing you can do is just pray and God will take care of the rest," said Rodriguez.

The bodies will be flown to Brazil on Tuesday. The family will be buried on Wednesday.

Copyright 2012 WGCL-TV (Meredith Corporation).  All rights reserved.

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Going home ceremony held for five members of Marietta church

On what would have been his 80th birthday, Feb. 26, the legendary Johnny Cash will be honored with the official ground breaking ceremony of the Johnny Cash Boyhood Home Project in Dyess at 2 p.m.

The Cash home is one of the few houses still remaining in Dyess. The restoration of Cash's childhood home began in January and is expected to be finished in June of 2013.

There is a lot of work that needs to be done before we can actually open the home up to the public," Ruth Hawkins said, director of the Arkansas Heritage Sites.

With the unpredictable weather and conditions of the gumbo soil, the ceremony will be in the Dyess Community Center, but there is an opportunity to drive past the Cash home and see the progress of the restoration.

During the ceremony the Cash family will make tributes, performances from the family; along with the status of the restoration.

The funding for the project came from the very first Johnny Cash Music Festival held last year at the Convocation Center.

"We raised $300,000 from the festival, part of the money is going to scholarships in Johnny Cash's name for students from that area, as well as money towards the restoration," Hawkins said.

As part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal program in 1934, the town was originally built as an Agricultural Cooperative Project.

The main purpose of the town's administration was to give poor families a chance to start over.  The Cash family was one of 500 families to receive this chance, moving to Dyess in 1935.

The current status of the project is stripping away the paint of the walls inside.

"When the Cash family lived there, it had wood panelling that was milled on site in Dyess," Hawkins said.

With the help of photos and memories of relatives

of the Cash Family, Hawkins and her team have been able to make this restoration possible. When all is said and done the home will be an exact replica of the time when the Cash children lived there.

His family's economic and personal struggles during the Great Depression was the inspiration of many of his song fans know and love today. The project will not only be a tribute to 'The Man in Black,' but a reflection and illustration  of what life was like during the Great Depression.

The Arkansas Heritage Site is not only working on the restoration of the Cash home, but also have acquired the town theater and the administration building.

"After the completion of the theater it will be used as an orientation center for visitors, where there will be Johnny Cash films along with documentaries from the 1930s," Hawkins said.

The exterior of the administration building has been completed. Once the interior has been completed, half of the building will be leased out to the city hall. The other half will be a museum dedicated to the city of Dyess and the impact Dyess made on Johnny Cash's life.

"The overall vision for this project is to create a museum complex that tells the story of Dyess and Johnny Cash," Hawkins said.

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Cash Home Project to hold ground breaking ceremony on Cash's birthday

Dales water tower makeover to be featured on TV's Restoration Man

1:17pm Thursday 9th February 2012 in

THE transformation of a former water tower into a luxury home will be revealed on television later this month.

Settle Water Tower – which sits next to the famous Settle-Carlisle Railway Line – has been lovingly restored by railway enthusiast Mark Rand and his wife, Pat.

They bought the grade two-listed structure for £208,000, in October 2010, because of “an overarching desire” to restore the building which was hidden by trees and ivy and allow it once again to be a visual part of Settle Station.

And while the fabric of the water tower was in excellent state, the interior was just an empty shell.

“It came with planning permission for conversion into a dwelling, but the plan wasn’t to our liking,” said Mr Rand, who is a former chairman of the Friends of the Settle-Carlisle Railway.

The couple submitted new plans, but it took six months before permission was granted and work could start.

In the meantime, Mr Rand took on the colossal job of painting the 72 panels on the water tank himself in order to keep costs down.

“I did it hanging from a gondola, but I knew it was time to stop when the paint blew off the brush in the wind,” he added.

Using local tradesmen, the vast majority of the work was completed within six months and the couple hope to move into their new home by Easter.

“We are thrilled with the outcome,” said Mr Rand, whose favourite part of the restoration is the view from the tower roof which no-one had been able to see before.

The project has been filmed by Channel 4’s Restoration Man programme and, this week, camera crews and presenter George Clarke paid their final visit to the water tower, which was last used in 1968.

“We offered the project to Restoration Man as a means of getting some nationwide publicity for the Settle-Carlisle Line,” said Mr Rand.

“I know more or less what is in the programme but I’m looking forward to seeing it.”

The footage will be screened on Channel 4 on Thursday, February 16, at 9pm.

Meanwhile, Mr and Mrs Rand are looking at the possibility of holding an open day before they move in and intend to open their home as part of the national heritage open days in September.

l More images from the restoration will be published as a picture feature in the Craven Herald on February 23.

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Dales water tower makeover to be featured on TV's Restoration Man

Water damage provider looks to expand its service area through the addition of new partner companies.

Cleveland OH (PRWEB) February 09, 2012

RestorationLocal.com, one of the leading providers of water damage restoration services in the country, is actively seeking service providers in markets across the US to add to its network of partners. Nearly every home will suffer from water damage at some point, and it is important for homeowners to have a place to turn for help in the event of such a problem.

RestorationLocal.com has established itself as one of the leading providers of water restoration services in the country, servicing 30 states with companies providing 24/7 availability and same day service.

Restoration Local.com provides its partners with top flight marketing and lead generation, allowing them to concentrate on providing the best possible quality service to their customers and freeing them from the extra effort of marketing, promotion, and internet ad campaigns.

The approach utilized by Restoration Local.com makes use of marketing promotions, social media, and white hat SEO techniques that are designed to drive business to a high ranking company web site. When people discover the presence of water damage in their home or business, the process is simple: they go online, search for “water damage” (or a related term), and find the Restoration Local.com site. When they call the number or enter their information, they are immediately connected to a professional, certified water damage repair company serving their community.

The single most valuable benefit to listing with Restoration Local.com is exclusivity: each Restoration Local.com service provider has its own exclusive service area, which means that all leads generated from within that given area are unique to that company. There is no shotgun approach or sharing of leads among multiple providers. Other benefits include a 70% SEO/PPC conversion rate (higher than industry average), no charge for bogus leads or wrong numbers, and no long term contracts.

There are only a limited number of water damage service areas available, so any interested water damage repair company is encouraged to act quickly by calling 1-877-725-2459 or visiting their website.

###

Matt Staton
33 Mile Radius
1-877-725-2459
Email Information

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RestorationLocal.com Looking to Add Water Damage Restoration Partners to Its Roster

12-01-2011 10:54 Episode 1 and 2 - Joining Technologies is proud to support the Connecticut Corsair restoration project by employing its state of the art laser additive manufacturing production techniques to irreplaceable original components. Connecticut Corsair is a volunteer organization, dedicated to the promotion of education in the state of Connecticut. We are also an aircraft restoration project aimed at restoring to flight the official State Aircraft of Connecticut, the Chance-Vought F4U Corsair. Through the restoration of one of the most advanced fighter aircraft of the second World War, we provide a medium by which current and future students can be educated in the areas of math, science, and engineering. Furthermore, our program aims to promote and develop the advanced manufacturing processes hosted by the local businesses here in Connecticut, helping to keep Connecticut the home of modern aerospace technology. See more at joiningtech.com

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Corsair Restoration Project Episode 1

05-11-2011 09:30 Here's my 1979 Kenworth K100 Aerodyne in the spray booth during the paint process. Next will be clear coat, colour sand and polish....then home for reassembly and completion.

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1979 Kenworth K100 Aerodyne Restoration #2 - Video

30-01-2012 14:19 Nationwide will help you determine the damage from a tornado.Our experts at Nationwide Adjusting are here to assist you

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Nationwide Adjusting Official Site...Tornado Insurance Claim Advise - Video

27-01-2012 15:32 No job too small we do it all. http://www.nationwideadjusting.com

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Nationwide Adjusting Official site... Restoration - Video

31-01-2012 14:05 Nationwide Adjusting offers advise on lightning strikes to property damage at your home.

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Nationwide Adjusting Official Site...Offers advise on Lightning strikes - Video