This past winter break, nine students and an adviser packed their bags for a seven-hour flight to Puerto Rico on Jan. 25 and came home Jan. 31.

These students got some free time to enjoy the beautiful beaches and relax; it was a service-based trip as well as an educational one. Nicole BellCorelli, the program adviser and the group adviser for the trip, said that they really tried to focus on service work and opportunities to learn more about Puerto Rico both before and after Hurricane Maria.

Courtesy of UWO Alternative Break BlogspotStudents volunteered during a service-based trip to Puerto Rico over winter break. They left on Jan. 25 and returned Jan. 31.

The students helped to rebuild homes that were destroyed during the hurricane with the St. Bernard Project that helps areas impacted by hurricanes. The group split into two and drove to where the hurricane touched down.

They helped Angel Mora and Martin Velez Rio to restore and rebuild their homes. The group also participated in ecological restoration projects like sea turtle monitoring, sea turtle nesting area restoration and dune restoration.

On Jan. 30, the group traveled to Camuy to move trees, prepare tools and signs, plant and prune plants and finished with a beach clean up. This was all to help restore the natural hurricane and storm barrier to the shoreline.

The coordinator said that the group got more done than a larger group there before who worked double the time they did; they did a weeks worth of work in one day.

On the final day of the trip, students got to help endangered manatees by working in the rehab center, cleaning the pools and cages, preparing the manatees food and filling up the fridge with it. After helping the manatees, the students went to a neighborhood to hear about the efforts to improve residents homes after the hurricane.

Courtesy of UWO Alternative Break Blogspot

A blog posted during the trip said It was good to know that we have not just been exposed to the tourist version of the island.

This was similar to the students thoughts after each activity when they had discussion and reflection. BellCorelli said that during these, the groups look[ed] back at the service work we did that day or what we learned about Puerto Rico.

We talked a lot about how, as a group of 10, we were able to accomplish a lot of work that would have taken longer had we not been there.

This trip to Puerto Rico was only the first of four service trips that Alternative Break has planned. There will be a service and leadership trip to Black Mountain, North Carolina, a diversity and inclusion trip to Atlanta Georgia and an education and privilege trip to Honduras all over spring break.

If Alternative Break interests you, check out https://uwosh.edu/altbreak/ for more information.

Read more from the original source:
Alternative break offers adventure - Advance Titan

CLEAN UP. >> JEREMY FLOYD OF SERVICE MASTER FIRE AND WATER SAYS THURSDAY'S RAIN HAS LEFT HIM AND HIS TEAM WITH A STREAM OF SERVICE CALLS. >> THERE WAS CARPET AND PAD. WE ARE T REMOVE THE MATERIALS AND. >> THIS BASEMENT IS FLOODED AND WATER NEEDED TO BE TAKEN OUT AND SO DID THE CARPET. AND CALL FOR A DIFFERENT RESPONSE. >> WE CAN DRY CARPET AND PADS BUT HAD THIS SITUATION THAT NOT AB OPTION. >> IT CAUSED TREES TO TOPPLE AND OTHER WATER DAMAGE INSIDE HOMES AND BUSINESSES. >> AND WE HIT EVERY AREA THIS THREE DAYS. >> IT'S COMMERCIAL, HE SAYS TO CALL AFTER FLOODING AND HE RECOMMENDS CALLING INSURANCE FIRST SO HE AND OTHERS WHO DO THIS WORK CAN GET IN TO GET THAT WATER OUT. >> YOU'VE GOT SOMEONE INTO THEY'RE POSITION HAD YOU GOT THERE. >> HE SAYS ONE WATER IS OUT OF THE HOME IT MIGHT BE A ABOUT TIME TO TALK ABOUT MEASURES YOU CAN PUT INTO PLACE

Following downpours, restoration expert weighs in on water damage, cleaning up

While severe weather is not expected, more rain forecasted for late week

Updated: 5:41 PM EST Feb 11, 2020

Following last week's flooding, restoration crews have been hard at work helping Triad families remove water from flooded basements, toppled trees from property and with other restoration efforts. Jeremy Floyd, operations manager for ServiceMaster Fire & Water Restoration, said floodwater must be treated differently than water that comes from within the home. "Anything that the (outside) water touches basically has to be removed because it's considered contaminated," he said from a Winston-Salem basement being treated for water damage from Thursday's storm. "A lot of the time, we can dry carpet, pad and drywall, but in a situation like this, that's not an option." Floyd said crews have been working across the region since Thursday's drenching rains, bringing them to Winston-Salem, Greensboro, even as far as Pittsboro and Danville, Virginia. He said when homeowners identify an issue, they should call their insurance immediately. He said it's crucial to get the water out as soon as possible to stop mold from developing. He said it's satisfying to assist families during what can be a stressful ordeal. "Every job is different," he said. "You get a good satisfaction, whether you do the entire rebuild or just this part, getting it good and dry. You've got somebody in a better position than they were when you got there."More rain is expected in the Triad this week.

Following last week's flooding, restoration crews have been hard at work helping Triad families remove water from flooded basements, toppled trees from property and with other restoration efforts.

Jeremy Floyd, operations manager for ServiceMaster Fire & Water Restoration, said floodwater must be treated differently than water that comes from within the home.

"Anything that the (outside) water touches basically has to be removed because it's considered contaminated," he said from a Winston-Salem basement being treated for water damage from Thursday's storm. "A lot of the time, we can dry carpet, pad and drywall, but in a situation like this, that's not an option."

Floyd said crews have been working across the region since Thursday's drenching rains, bringing them to Winston-Salem, Greensboro, even as far as Pittsboro and Danville, Virginia. He said when homeowners identify an issue, they should call their insurance immediately.

He said it's crucial to get the water out as soon as possible to stop mold from developing. He said it's satisfying to assist families during what can be a stressful ordeal.

"Every job is different," he said. "You get a good satisfaction, whether you do the entire rebuild or just this part, getting it good and dry. You've got somebody in a better position than they were when you got there."

More rain is expected in the Triad this week.

Original post:
Following downpours, restoration expert weighs in on water damage, cleaning up - WXII12 Winston-Salem

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill that will extend the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative for another five years and increase its funding.

The program gives federal funds to the eight-state Great Lakes region for projects that have removed toxic wastes from industrial harbors, fought invasive species such as Asian carp, restored wildlife habitat and supported efforts to prevent harmful algal blooms.

The current program is set to expire in 2021. The bill that passed the House extends the life of the program until 2026. The bill also increases the current funding level from $300 million to $375 million in 2022 and increases funding by $25 million per year until it reaches $475 million in 2026.

The bill now moves to the U.S. Senate for further consideration.

The bill's passage was applauded by members of the House Great Lakes Task Force, whose co-chairs include Reps. Marcy Kaptur, D-Toledo, and Dave Joyce, R-Bainbridge Township.

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative meets an enormous unmet need for our region and the millions of people who depend on the Great Lakes for their drinking water, work and leisure, Kaptur said in a statement. The Great Lakes are among our planets greatest gifts. They provide our nation with 90% of our fresh surface water, are home to thousands of plants and animals, and generate over $60 billion in wages every year. Put simply, our Great Lakes cannot be replaced they must be protected and deserve robust federal investment. The GLRI has brought to bear resources, expertise, and stakeholders from across the local, state, and federal governments to advance restoration activities.

Joyce thanked those who worked across party lines to ensure its passage this evening so that we can protect the invaluable natural resource and economic powerhouse that is the Great Lakes system.

This legislation is a great example of the progress we can make when we work together to address the issues facing our communities, he said in a statement.

Kaptur added that the increased investment provided in the bills passage offers an opportunity to get the GLRI back to the funding levels originally envisioned when the program was funded in (2010).

U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, who serves on the Senate Great Lakes Taskforce, said the GLRI has been a successful public-private partnership thats helping to address the greatest threats to the lakes.

Despite the programs success, there is more work to be done, Portman said in a statement. Lake Erie supports fishing and tourism industries totaling over $10 billion and is a top tourist destination in Ohio. With more than 10 million people depending on Lake Erie for their drinking water and hundreds of thousands of Ohioans depending upon the lake for jobs, we must continue to protect our Great Lakes for the economic and environmental well-being of our region.

View original post here:
U.S. House bill extends, increases funding for Great Lakes Restoration Initiative - News-Herald.com

*This post is brought to you by Cynch, the new propane home delivery service. They deliver your grill tank right to your doorstep and take away your old tank for just $10 with the Crossing Broad promo code ItsLit5. Just enter your address, leave the tank on your porch/driveway, and Cynch will do the rest.*

Great basketball game.

High-level plays, high-level players, good effort from both sides, and a much-needed, morale-boosting win heading into the All-Star break. The Sixers really needed that one to preserve the sanity of the fans, team, coaching staff, media, and anybody who has anything to do with a franchise thats hit some ridiculously high highs and low lows this season.

Theyll enter the break at 34-21, which isnt super ideal, but they were able to win three in a row after losing four in a row, a streak that had fans ready to trade away the entire team and burn their shirseys in a fire pit. It was pretty rough, the past two weeks, but here the Sixers are, sitting in 5th place, two games back from Miami and four back from Boston, whom they hold a tiebreaker over. After eight days off, theyll reconvene to play a schedule that looks like this:

Theyll be favored in four of those games and have a reasonable chance to get to 38-22 as we head into the west coast road trip that includes the Clippers and Lakers. If they can manage 16-11 over the remainder of the season, theyll hit the 50-win mark for the third straight year. That seems doable, but might not be enough for the three-seed this time around unless the Celtics and Heat both fall out.

Well see. Either way, the Sixers really needed this one, and they got it.

I thought last night was a good Brett Brown game.

Bolstered by the additions of Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson III, he decided to bench Al Horford, start Furkan Korkmaz, and adjust his rotations to play to the strengths of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid.

You saw how much of a difference it made by replacing Horford with another shooter in the starting lineup, which opened up the floor offensively. You do sacrifice a bit of defense by forcing Tobias Harris down to power forward, where he guarded Marcus Morris for most of the night. Some nights hell have tough matchups against bigger fours, while last night he did fine against a team that typically plays a little smaller.

But the spacing was evident on plays like this one, a little spread pick and roll with Embiid and Josh Richardson, where youve got a 39% three point shooter in Korkmaz in the near side corner and a 36% three point shooter in Harris playing above the break on the other side:

Simmons will just skirt the baseline there and float towards the dunker spot, ready to get the dish off from Richardson if necessary or grab an offensive rebound. This isnt dissimilar from how they played with JJ Redick, Robert Covington, and Dario Saric, but youd basically just swap out the pick and roll for a little two-man DHO action instead and Ben would sit on the weak side near the basket as a way to give everybody else room to operate.

It looked like this:

And the nice thing about all of this was that it worked well for Al Horford too, who came out on his first possession playing center and hit a pick and pop three pointer that looked like the Horford we saw with the Celtics. He scored nine points on 3-4 shooting and still played 28 minutes, even coming off the bench. There really wasnt much drop off from the 31 minutes he was playing as a starter, and he got some run with the starting group in the fourth quarter when the Sixers were trying to close the game, before Doc Rivers went small and Brett Brown decided to match.

Heres Brown on that:

It was originated out of the fact that I thought that they were going to go small. I think that, in general, not to use that as the reason, I spoke to Al Horford about it and we are trying to find ways to help him and help the team. I felt, disregarding the lineup defensive adjustment, that the time was appropriate to do it and see if we could get that second unit going with Al. We did it with (Manu) Ginobili a long time ago and Al is obviously a quality player. How I end games, to me, will be the judgement. Tonight, we rode out those big guys for a while. They went small, so did I and the decision to rotate him was driven because of that.

You see the flexibility that comes with having a more robust roster. Embiid only had to play 28 minutes last night. They were able to stagger minutes to match Simmons and Horford and surround those two with shooters. And when it came down to it, they didnt lose a ton defensively, even against a Clippers team that has elite twos and threes. They can score the ball well but lack a bit on the interior, which is why I think the Sixers are a good matchup for them (and for the Lakers, too).

He called the players-only meeting last week, before he had even recovered from his hamstring issue.

Then he goes out last night and scores 17 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter.

Its an underrated storyline, the maturity weve seen some Richardson this season. Its hard to come into a new team as a third or fourth wheel and assert yourself, and while his per-36 numbers are down just slightly from a year ago, his two-way play really fits very nicely on this team.

Look at some of the clutch shots he was hitting last night:

In the fourth quarter, I kind of started attacking a little bit more, Richardson said. I was kind of just reading the defense. Coach put the ball in my hands and gave me the freedom to read it and attack and take what I saw.

Big threes, smart off-ball cuts, and strong drives to the rack. Hes just a very steady player and the Sixers are better when hes on the floor.

26 points and nine rebounds, 13 trips to the foul line.

I laughed after his very first bucket, the tough offensive rebound and putback, because he immediately went to the crowd and threw his hands in the air as if to say, I hear you, look at me in the paint, playing bully ball.

After the game, he confirmed what we already knew, that he was just clapping back and doing a bit of trolling, playing to the crowd and getting back to being the good asshole of years past.

Said Embiid:

Its all love. I understand where theyre coming from, but I do know that they got my back. Through the injuries and what weve been through, Im still here. This is still my city, this is still our city, so were just going to keep pushing and try to win that championship.

Its all good. Were just riding the emotional rollercoaster that is Joel Embiid.

26 points + 12 rebounds + 10 assists = a $48 free bet if you took the Ben Simmons Draftkings Scoring Special promo last night.

He was stellar. Absolutely fantastic, driving to the rack, playing ferocious defense on Kawhi Leonard, and just finding that locked in mentality that hes spoken about so many times this season.

One thing I noticed was that he didnt get jack shit in the way of calls last night. There were at least 3-4 sequences where I was sitting there and thinking, surely thats a whistle.

Nah. No call from the refs.

I also noticed they used a couple of those interior pick and rolls with Embiid, the plays that look a bit like a short brush cut closer to the rim. Ben got that ridiculous turnaround no-look shot to go on that kind of sequence, and there was one earlier in the game where the floor spacing looked like this:

These actions are interesting, because Embiid is big enough to basically seal guys off entirely, so Simmons gets a run at a guy like Zubac instead. Hes oftentimes quick enough to just turn that corner and attack, or try the floater, but with three shooters fanned out on the weak side, he also has multiple drive and kick options if those defenders try to collapse on him.

Enjoy the All Star break everybody. We all need it.

Originally posted here:
A Restoration of Sanity Observations from Sixers 110, Clippers 103 - Crossing Broad

WASHINGTON President Trump released his proposed fiscal 2021 budget earlier this week, and it offered what his earlier budgets suggested, only more so.

It proposes slashing or ending programs that are hugely important to Western New York from Medicare and Medicaid to home heating assistance and urban development programs.

And while Trump has reversed course and vowed to fully fund the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, plenty of other environmental programs would suffer deep cuts.

Trump's $4.8 trillion spending plan is just that: a plan. Again and again, Congress has rejected Trump's spending proposals out of hand.

"My hope is that this will occur again this year," said Rep. Brian Higgins, a Buffalo Democrat who serves on the House Budget Committee. Dismissing the Trump spending plan as "a wish list," Higgins added: "This is a budget that lacks the big ideas critical to advancing the economy for everyone while increasing the debt."

But Rep. Tom Reed, a Corning Republican, indicated the budget, while flawed, is a useful document.

"I think the president has demonstrated that he'll put a marker down, and he forces us as legislators to defend what we believe are appropriate investments of the taxpayer dollars and the prioritization of those dollars," Reed said. "To me, that's not a bad outcome of this type of approach because we now have to go and defend these programs and services."

Here's an item-by-item look at what Trump proposes for programs that are important to Western New Yorkers:

One of the few new items in Trump's proposed 2021 budget is the first round of cuts in Medicare's expected growth that would total $756 billion. Most of that money would come out of the reimbursements that the government pays to doctors and other Medicare providers.

Over time, the federal government wants to pay less money to the doctors and hospitals who serve the nearly 200,000 Medicare recipients in Erie County and millions more nationwide.

Would that force doctors to stop taking Medicare patients or force hospitals to make changes that affect patients? Advocates of the Medicare program fear that it would.

One would hope that in an election year when politicians like to put forward their most popular ideas, the president would understand the benefits of protecting our most cherished income and health security programs," said Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.

The president appears to think he's doing just that. Two days before releasing his budget, Trump tweeted: We will not be touching your Social Security and Medicare in Fiscal 2021 Budget.

Trump is also looking for big cuts in Medicaid, the federal/state health plan for lower-income Americans. His spending plan calls for $920 billion less in federal Medicaid spending over the next 10 years.

The proposal revives a block-grant proposal that would shift more of Medicaid's cost to the states. In addition, the spending plan ends federal funding for the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, and forces those enrolled in the program to requalify more often.

Advocates for low-income Americans worry that the cuts would have a dramatic impact on people enrolled in Medicaid, which total about 280,000 people in Erie County.

Nationwide, "the proposed cuts would cause millions of people to lose coverage," Aviva Aron-Dine, vice president for health policy at the left-leaning Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, said in a blog post.

But Trump administration officials contend the cuts in future Medicaid spending merely aim to cut waste rather than patient services.

"Reducing the cost of health care is not a cut," said Russ Vought, acting director of the Office of Management and Budget. "Medicaid will grow more than 3% on average, which is much higher than the rate of inflation."

The Trump budget once again proposes eliminating the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which serves about 70,000 Erie County families.

In addition, his spending plan would cut funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program Child Health Plus in New York by about 10%, while reducing the cost of the Social Security disability program by tightening eligibility and work requirements. Trump also recycles his proposal to tighten food stamp eligibility requirements, a move that could trim 700,000 people from the rolls nationwide.

Those items are likely non-starters in the Democratic House, and the Democratic minority in the Senate will be sure to fight them, too.

"'Theyre poor, take it away.' Is that what this country stands for?" Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, a New York Democrat, said earlier this week. "Is that what our Judeo-Christian tradition stands for? Absolutely not."

But in the budget proposal, the Trump administration said there was a good reason for all of those cuts.

"The president has laid out a vision to drive down deficits and debt through spending restraint in every budget he has submitted to the Congress," said Trump's spending plan, which nonetheless includes a deficit of nearly $1 trillion.

Once again, the president suggested eliminating the Community Development Block Grant program, Buffalo's single largest source of direct federal aid, bringing about $14 million to the city annually.

The HOME Investment Partnerships program, which brought more than $5 million to the Buffalo area last year for housing development, would be eliminated, too. So would the Heritage Partnership Program, which funds the Niagara Falls National Heritage Area.

Meantime, agencies important to the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute would suffer budget cuts of 7% and 9%, respectively.

For the first time in the Trump era, his annual budget proposes no cut in funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the program responsible for the cleanup of the Buffalo River and other onetime environmental wastelands. What's more, the budget increases funding for the West Valley Demonstration Project, the Cattaraugus County nuclear waste site, to $88 million a 17% increase.

But the spending plan cuts funding for the Army Corps of Engineers which maintains Buffalo's waterways by nearly half. The Trump budget also cuts federal funding for improvements to local sewage and drinking water systems, and trims back environmental enforcement through a 27% budget cut at the Environmental Protection Agency.

Adding it all up, Laura Rubin, director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, said: This budget is one step forward and three steps backward.

Unveiling the cuts, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler took a much different view.

Under President Trumps leadership, I am certain that we will inspire the next generation of environmental leaders to continue building on our progress for the next 50 years," he said.

Read the original:
Trump budget recycles suggested cuts that failed before - Buffalo News

The Anderson Arts Center, one of the hubs for art in southeastern Wisconsin, will begin a new chapter on Sunday, February 23, when it re-opens to the public after a $4.3 million preservation and modernization project.

The revamped arts center will offer a new geothermal heating and cooling system, new ADA compliant bathrooms, repaired roof and exterior walls, new landscaping, and updated gallery spaces and hanging systems.

"We are very excited to be able to reopen the new and improved Anderson Arts Center. You can feel how special the building is as soon as you enter," said Edward Kubicki, Executive Director of the Kemper Center. "The updates will allow us to show even more artwork from more diverse artists from all over the region."

The year-long renovation, funded jointly by the city and county of Kenosha, began in January 2019 because of external repairs needed on the 90-year old building. Madison-based InSite Consulting Architects and Kenosha-based Camosy Construction handled the project.

"This project really shows how the city and county can work together for the good of the community," said Kubicki.

Kenosha County Executive Jim Kreuser said he was pleased to partner with the city and the nonprofit Kemper Center Inc. to help preserve a community jewel.

"This work ensures that the Anderson Arts Center will grace our lakefront for generations to come," Kreuser said. "I thank the mayor for his support, and the great project team that orchestrated a first-class restoration of this historic building."

Kenosha County Public Works Director Ray Arbet said the project team did an excellent job of designing and managing the project. The team was led by the county's engineering project manager, Frank Martinelli, and included staff from InSite Architects and Camosy Construction.

"This was a complex project requiring a balance between the restoration of the building's historical integrity while simultaneously installing a high-tech, energy-efficient building environment control system," Arbet said. "All of this was accomplished under the project's budget."

The 9,000 square foot 30-room Anderson Arts Center was built between 1929 and 1931 as a home for the Anderson family. In 1977, Janet Lance Anderson deeded her house to Kenosha County to be part of the Kemper Center park grounds. She continued to live in the house until her death in 1989, at the age of 96, and the home officially became a part of the Kemper Center in 1990.

The Anderson Arts Center opened in April 1992. Since that date, the Arts Center has welcomed hundreds of thousands of visitors to view more than 25 art exhibitions each year, participate in art and music programs, and attend events.

"The Anderson Arts Center has been a gem in the community for many years," said Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian. "The City is pleased to support the efforts to update the building and ensure it remains a showcase for art in Kenosha."

OPENING EXHIBITIONS

MAIN, EAST, AND UPPER GALLERIES: JURIED SHOW

"Artistic Expression from a Diverse Collection"

By the League of Milwaukee Artists (LMA)

AREA ARTISTS GROUP GALLERIES

"Renewal"

By members of the Area Artists Group

The public is invited to attend opening day at the Anderson Arts Center, 6603 Third Avenue, on Sunday, February 23 from 1:00-4:00pm. Refreshments will be served. Following opening day, the Arts Center will be open Tuesdays-Sundays from 1:00-4:00pm. The current exhibitions will be open through Saturday, May 2, 2020.

The Center is funded through the generosity of donors and sponsors, grants, and artwork and gift shop sales. No tax dollars are used to fund the Center.

For more information, visit http://www.andersonartscenter.com or call (262) 653-0481.

Here is the original post:
Anderson Arts Center will re-open following a $4.3 million renovation - Chicago Daily Herald

Benjamin + Beauchamp Architects has renovated CFA Voysey's Winsford Cottage Hospital in Devon, England, and turned it into a holiday home for the Landmark Trust charity.

The cottage hospital, which was designed by prominent British Arts and Crafts architect and designer Voysey, has been converted into self-catering accommodation for six peopleand a space for community use.

Opened in 1900, the heritage-listed hospital was created by philanthropistMaria Medley to offer affordable health care for the local community before the existence of the National Health Service (NHS). It was taken over and run by the NHS from 1948 until its closure in 1998.

Somerset-based Benjamin + Beauchamp Architects aimed to restore the property, retaining as many original elements as possible, while turning it into a comfortable rental property for theLandmark Trust charity.

The architecture studio removed two extensions from the building to return it to its original form, with two ward wings connected by a corridor and sun veranda.

"Removing the sun room added by the NHS in the 1960s, allowing the reinstatement of Voysey's south veranda, this also reinstated the purpose of Voysey's long corridor window," explained Sophie Ledgard, conservation surveyor at Benjamin + Beauchamp Architects.

"We also removed an external corridor at the east end which had been added in the 1930s. These two interventions allowed us to return the building to Voysey's form, and really lifted the building," she told Dezeen.

The hospital is now divided in two with the accommodation in the east wing and corridor, and a community space containing rooms for freelance health and wellbeing practitioners in the west wing.

Throughout the renovation Benjamin + Beauchamp Architects aimed to emphasise the original character while adding modern amenities.

"Retaining the character was relatively easy with Voysey's strong clean lines, and his trademark detailing such as the ironmongery, bird vents and 'heart' fireplaces," said Ledgard.

"It was important to retain and enhance these, and that these principles were used to inform any interventions made.

"Comfort was added to make it into holiday accommodation in the form of heating, additional bathrooms and a kitchen, but also and very importantly in the form of the Landmark Trust's very beautiful Arts and Crafts fittings and furnishings," she continued.

Although the building was used as a hospital for almost 100 years, much of the original details designed by Voysey remained intact. Fixtures including the fireplaces and mosaic floors were revealed and restored.

"Most of the original fabric was retained although much was hidden under years and layers of NHS alterations and decorations," Ledgard explained.

"Restoring Voysey's mosaic floor has transformed the building. Carpets on a self-leveling screed had been laid over the mosaic floor. The carpets were lifted and the screed was removed by volunteers over many 'working weekends' organised by the Landmark Trust," she continued.

"The mosaic was then finally cleaned and consolidated by conservators, who laid some small new areas where the original was missing."

Several fireplaces in the entrance hall and wards that had been lost were remade based on Voysey's design for the fireplaces at a house he designed called the Orchards. Other fixtures including the windows were stripped back and repainted.

"Lost fixtures and fittings were reinstated and expert paint analysis informed an exact redecoration scheme of a striking white and dark green," saidLedgard.

"The window masonry was covered by layers of paint internally, and this was removed to re-expose the original tooled masonry, a real transformation."

The holiday home has been furnished with wooden furniture from the early 20th century that matches Voysey's aesthetic as well as additional pieces hand made by the Landmark Trust.

Three fabric patterns found in the original pattern book, which Voysey created specifically for Winsford Cottage Hospital, have been reproduced for the holiday home's curtains.

The other major restoration element was the hospital's roof, which was completely removed and rebuilt using the original slate.

"The roof is very special, it is Delabole slate laid to random width and diminishing courses, with some exceptionally long slates," saidLedgard.

"It was stripped as the nails were failing, but all the slates were reused, and put back in the same place as they had come from, and great care was taken with the lead work to follow Voysey's detailing.

Winsford Cottage Hospital is the 202nd building that theLandmark Trust charity has restored and turned into a self catering holiday home since it was established in 1965.

The charity previously commissioned Witherford Watson Mann to create acontemporary house within the walls of a ruined twelfth-century castle in Warwickshire, which won the Stirling Prize in 2013.

Photography is byJohn Miller.

Project credits:

Restoration architect: Benjamin & BeauchampQuantity surveyor & project manager: Adrian StenningRestoration contractors: JE Stacey & CoConservation consultant (floor): Humphries & JonesPaint analysis: Lisa Oestreicher Architectural Paint Research

Read more from the original source:
Arts and Crafts hospital converted into holiday home by Benjamin + Beauchamp Architects - Dezeen

PAMPA The panoramic horizon was broken by a red Robinson R44 helicopter. Below it, precious cargo. Two of the Chisum Ranchs many pronghorn dangled under the chopper like wind chimes.

The pronghorn came in for a soft landing, and a group of wildlife professionals quickly huddled around them.

Both animals were picked up and ushered to nearby tables. There, wildlife specialists and veterinarians went to work.

The workers toiled in hushed tones as to not spook an animal that is highly sensitive even when it hasnt just taken a wild ride in the sky.

Age and sex were documented, blood samples taken. Each pronghorn was given an ear tag and fitted with GPS collars. The animals were given water along with a spate of immunizations. Antibiotics, a long-term dewormer and a mix of vitamins were administered to give the pronghorn a boost while heading to their new home.

The two pronghorn were loaded onto modified trailers, where they would await more of their own.

This process was repeated over the course of three days in late January. Texas Parks and Wildlife officials, biologists, veterinarians, researchers and students from the Borderlands Research Institute, private landowners and other professionals assisted with the capture and relocation of 110 pronghorn from the Panhandle to the Rocker b Ranch near Barnhart, just southwest of San Angelo.

Pronghorn relocation projects have been going on for nearly a decade in the West Texas Trans-Pecos region, but this was the first restoration operation made to the Rocker b, a 180,000-acre cattle ranch on the western Edwards Plateau. Pronghorn restoration efforts have been highly successful in West Texas, and the hope is to continue that trend at the Rocker b.

Pronghorn are probably one of the best examples we currently have for restoration, said Lalo Gonzalez, the Nau Endowed Professor of Habitat Research and Management at Borderlands Research Institute.

An isolated herd, the Rocker b population represents the easternmost extent of pronghorn distribution. That herd has seen tough times lately.

The Rocker b historically had pronghorn, and lots of them. The ranch, owned by the Scottish Rite Hospital for Children in Dallas, once had over 2,000 and was a source for pronghorn relocation projects in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. It is the Rocker bs turn to receive pronghorn now, with its population down to about 200.

Brush encroachment is to blame for the challenges pronghorn have faced on the Rocker b. An intrusion of thick mesquite has diminished the open habitat that pronghorn require.

Habitat is top priority. Without habitat improvement, populations are simply not going to increase. Pronghorn are very, very picky on the type of habitat they utilize, Gonzalez said.

Each area of the pronghorns domain in Texas the Panhandle, Trans-Pecos and Rocker b is different from the others, but they all look like scenes out of John Wayne movies. The vast, treeless blanket of open range is the habitat on which pronghorn thrive.

Bulging eyes, the biggest of any of North Americas hoofed animals, are the greatest asset for pronghorn on the open plains. Pronghorn can see the slightest of movements from predators for miles, sending them flying from danger with the incredible speed of the fastest mammals on the continent. It is why pronghorn are perhaps the most challenging pursuit of all big-game species.

Brush undermines all of this. Pronghorn cant see around it, which takes away the animals biological advantage.

First the habitat shrinks, then the forage, then the population.

Fences, too, can cause problems for pronghorn. The animals are not adept jumpers, so fences fragment their habitat. Travelers in West Texas sometimes can see them standing along the highway fence line and gazing at the unattainable beyond.

The Rocker b has worked diligently over the past several years to remedy these issues.

Thousands of dollars have been poured into brush management. Thousands of acres of mesquite have been sprayed with herbicide and removed by tractors. Fences have been modified to allow for easier pronghorn passage by lifting the bottom strand of wire about 18 inches so the animals can pass under.

A group of 20 resident pronghorn were collared with GPS trackers at the Rocker b last year to better understand these issues. Of the 110 brought in from the Panhandle, 45 also were wearing GPS collars.

The Rocker b has made long-term investments into protecting this remnant pronghorn herd for future generations. Meanwhile, future generations of wildlife managers assisted with the Rocker b restoration efforts and made strides in their blossoming careers.

For Sul Ross State graduate student Jacob Locke, the Rocker b project was his first hands-on experience relocating pronghorn.

Its just awesome. The fact that we are able to move pronghorn, said Locke, whose masters studies focus on the species.

Locke grew up near Nacogdoches, far away from any pronghorn. But his fascination with the west and the distinctive landscapes and wildlife it holds led him to his involvement with pronghorn-toting helicopters on a chilly winter morning in the Panhandle.

His research with Gonzalez, his adviser, involves identifying carrying capacity in restoration areas of the Trans-Pecos region and a comparative study of cattle grazing techniques and how they impact pronghorn forage production.

Locke was in awe of the magnitude of working with the animals up close, and his time in Pampa was a professional milestone.

Theyre just cool animals. Theyre the most unique land mammal in North America.

Locke might be a little biased, but he has plenty of evidence to back that up.

Not quite a deer. Not quite an antelope. Not quite a goat.

In fact, the only remaining member of the Antilocapridae family is more closely related to the giraffe than any of the latter.

The image of pronghorn on the open plains is mesmerizing. Theyre a blur of sandy fur splotched with white bellies, sides, throats and rumps. Adult males are regal with short, black horns mirroring dark faces and cheeks.

The namesake horns are truly one of a kind. When looking directly at you, the outline of the bucks horns can take the shape of a heart. Their composition, too, is unorthodox. The horns are made of sheaths of keratin, like true horns, but shed every year like a true antler.

One of Mother Natures countless anomalies, pronghorn are still as baffling to look at today as when Lewis and Clark stumbled upon them over 200 years ago.

Pronghorn provide a visual conduit to the past; another important reason why preserving Texas herds today is so important.

The current Rocker b project is an extension of the pronghorn restoration efforts that have taken place in the Trans-Pecos region since 2011.

While there were about 17,000 pronghorn in the Trans-Pecos during the late 1980s, the population hit rock bottom in 2012 at about 2,800.

Texas Parks and Wildlife, the Borderlands Research Institute, the Trans-Pecos Pronghorn Working Group and other groups are committed to reversing this trend. The collaborators have moved about 750 pronghorn from the Panhandle to grasslands near Marfa and Marathon over six separate relocations from 2011 to 2018.

Conservationists have worked to combat numerous issues that have contributed to population decline in the Trans-Pecos. Some of the issues were similar to those at the Rocker b, such as habitat loss, fragmentation and accessibility issues because of fencing.

Other issues were more localized, such as predation and disease. Problems with the Barbers pole worm, an internal parasite, were exacerbated by drought and restrictive fencing that kept pronghorn from freely moving about the range.

The work over the past several years in the Trans-Pecos has pronghorn numbers back on the rise. Gray said the population is now 5,000-6,000, roughly halfway to the departments goal of 10,000.

Weve still got a ways to go, but theyre bouncing back, said Shawn Gray, Texas Parks and Wildlifes pronghorn program leader.

Were doing something right, Gonzalez said. For the past 20 or 30 years, youve seen those populations do nothing but decline until we initiated pronghorn restoration efforts. Then you started seeing the populations shift to an upward trend.

The project is a testament to what can be accomplished with the bridges built between private landowners and state agencies, both committed to preserving an emblem of the West.

Were making gains. I cant say enough about the cooperation of the local landowners and local communities, Gray said. Everybodys all in.

Relocations were not attempted in the Trans-Pecos the past two years because of dry range conditions. The Trans-Pecos project is set to resume with a relocation to the Van Horn area next year if weather conditions allow.

In the meantime, those invested in Texas pronghorn hope the restoration success seen in the Trans-Pecos will replicate at the Rocker b.

matt.wyatt@chron.com

twitter.com/mattdwyatt

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Airlifts have Texas pronghorn on the rise - Houston Chronicle

As a result of the dam removal project, approximately 1,000 feet of previously-impounded aquatic habitat will be restored!

The removal of the two ScotlandPond dams on Conococheague Creek is one of many major infrastructural upgrades GreeneTownship, Franklin County, PA, is adding to improve their township for localsand visitors alike.

In Fall 2019, two dams functioning as one on ConococheagueCreek were removed by Greene Township in Pennsylvania in collaboration with AmericanRivers, the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission (PFBC), Scotland Campus,Inc. (SCI), ECS Mid-Atlantic (lead engineer) and RiverLogic (construction firm).

Prior to the 18-day long deconstruction, the two damssat adjacent to one another on either side of a small river island on ConococheagueCreek. Approximately 1,000 feet of the creek has now been restored and supportsmore biodiverse habitats, aquatic wildlife and natural transport of richsediments downstream for the breeding grounds of native aquatic organisms.

Like many other dams, the Scotland Pond dams had faroutlived their original purpose. They had become deteriorated and posed a riskto public safety in addition to their negative ecological impacts and thefinancial burden of maintenance.

Greene Township (the Township), Franklin County, hometo more than 16,000 residents and located within the Chambersburg designatedMicropolitan Area, is currently experiencing a municipal renaissance. Overthe last several years, the Township has worked diligently to promote, develop,and plan for infrastructure and recreational improvements in the community projects that will ultimately have a significant impact on how residents andvisitors spend their leisure and travel time in the area. Upon completion ofthe improvements, a significant revitalization in the targeted Scotlandcommunity will be realized. Scotland is home to the Greene Township MunicipalPark, Corker Hill Barn and Homestead, Scotland Campus, Inc. (SCI) and willeventually contain a portion of the proposed Conococheague Trail. In addition, theConococheague Creek runs through several Franklin County municipalities,including the Village of Scotland.

So far, four other dams (Birch Run Reservoir, SiloamDam, Wilson College Dam and Wolf Lake Dam) have been removed from theConococheague Creek, leaving just one more remaining dam that is known of. Ifthat final dam is removed, the 57 miles of its 80 mile stretch in Pennsylvaniawould flow completely freely and uninterrupted.

The decision to remove the Scotland Pond dams allowed GreeneTownship to move forward with projects to add impactful recreationalopportunities, such as the creation of a water trail along the creek and akayak/canoe launch. Greene Township now benefits from beautiful, healthy waterwaysthe local people and visitors can enjoy and will hopefully inspire others totake the same initiatives in their communities. This is a notable model projectfor any municipalities considering removing an outdated dam.

This project received financial support from AmericanRivers through a subgrant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, aswell as the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development,Commonwealth Financing Authority Watershed Restoration and Protection Program Grant.

Special thank you to American Rivers intern, HannahPiatak, for her contributions to this blog and her help compiling our annuallist of 2019 dam removals. Check out our updated map and database of damremovals here.Additional gratitude to Greene Township for their contribution to this blog.

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Cheers to Greene Township on Scotland Pond Dam Removal - American Rivers

Comerica Park -- home of the Detroit Tigers -- has a carousel featuring two chariots and 30 hand-painted tigers behind the first-base area. Kansas Citys Kauffman Stadium has a carousel, too. Its become a ballpark thing, probably because families seem to love them both.

So forgive me for taking more than a passing interest in the news conference scheduled at noon today in Southeast Portland where Mayor Ted Wheeler, a restoration nonprofit, philanthropists and the Portland Diamond Project are expected to reveal the details of a new carousel partnership.

The famous C.W. Parker Four-Row Park Carousel has been in storage for some time. Maybe you know it better as The Jantzen Beach Carousel and you might have even ridden the thing as a kid. My wife remembers climbing on one of the horses as a 9-year-old during Rose Festival, looking up at Parkers handmade work and thinking, this is big, amazing and beautiful.

Im hoping your children will one day get to ride it in front of a Major League Baseball stadium in Portland. But thats getting way ahead. Because this column and this day is mostly about the spinning journey of this 116-year-old carousel.

Its been on some ride, hasnt it?

12

Portland Diamond Project and Restore Oregon team up for Jantzen Beach Carousel restoration project

Built for the 1904 St. Louis Worlds Fair, moved to Venice Beach where it operated in the 1920s, and later, sold to the Jantzen Beach Amusement Park, which later became a shopping center. Then, thrown in storage. Then, missing for a while, until it was revealed that the mall owner sold the thing to a real estate company. Then, it landed in the hands of Restore Oregon, a nonprofit that aims to restore the carousel to its magnificent glory.

That project took money, though.

Also, because of its massive size, it needed a location a building.

Thats when the Portland Diamond Project surfaced with financial support. One of the groups charter investors, husband and wife Harvey and Sandy Platt, also made a significant philanthropic contribution. Platt, the former CEO of Platt Electric, is a Portland-born kid. He knows and loves that carousel and rode it as a kid alongside his grandmother.

Platts childhood recollection?

Ice cream," he said, "and no worries.

Its not a surprise that the Platt family, the city, a restoration nonprofit and the MLB to PDX effort have found common ground. Im just hoping this all goes where I think the carousel would work the best out front of a new ballpark on the waterfront someday.

In a larger statement, the Platt family said: As parents and grandparents, over the years we have watched families come together and enjoy two great bonding experiences: A day at the amusement park featuring a vintage carousel, and a day at the ballpark watching our favorite team. Unlike a lot of other popular activities, both offer the time to enjoy, carry on a conversation, and create a lasting memory. We are now very fortunate to have the opportunity to support both of these great family activities.

The Portland Diamond Projects interest in this is a fascinating element. Given the scope of their development plan, their mission to either to bring an MLB team to Portland via expansion or relocation, and $1.5 billion in financial commitments, weve all taken them seriously.

But like that carousel and us all, time marches against it.

The diamond project needs momentum, including traction in the MLB world. Oaklands stadium conundrum is part of this. So are plans from baseball commissioner Rob Manfred to expand his league. The MLB to PDX effort needs to be able to outlast those stalls while retaining its valuable financial commitments.

The Portland Diamond Project has secured land rights and commissioned studies and stadium renderings. Theyve met with Manfreds team. Theyve printed T-shirts and bumper stickers and gathered nearly 50,000 signatures on their MLB to PDX petition. And now, it looks like the project just might have a world-famous carousel for its proposed ballpark.

Every horse on the carousel needs to be restored by hand. And that will take time. Also, the restored carousel will need a new building to house it and land to sit on. But I cant wait to see kids ride it again.

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Canzano: The spinning journey of the Jantzen Beach Carousel takes on an MLB to PDX twist - OregonLive