Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

February 9, 2021By: Dwayne Page

While one major highway construction project in DeKalb County is well underway, the Tennessee Department of Transportation is preparing to launch another one.

Barring a delay, the State Route (SR-26/US-70/Nashville Highway (4.1-mile reconstruction project that goes from near SR-53 at Alexandria to near SR96 Liberty) is tentatively scheduled for contract letting (bids opened) sometime in the first quarter of 2021. This project was identified by TDOT as part of the IMPROVE ACT adopted by the state legislature in 2017. Original plans were to extend the construction to the Wilson County line.

TDOTs next scheduled bid letting is March 26th but its not known yet if this project will be included.

In last weeks bid openings (February 5), TDOT announced only one DeKalb County project. The resurfacing (microsurfacing) on State Route 56 north of East Church Street in Smithville to I-40 in Putnam County. There were five bidders and Asphalt Paving Systems, INC had the lowest bid at $830,474. TDOT has not yet awarded the bid.

Meanwhile motorists are urged to use caution while traveling the construction zone of Highway 56 between Smithville and the Warren County line, especially in the City of Smithville where a lot of activity is taking place.

In its weekly update on highway projects, TDOT reports that the contractor, Jones Brothers, is continuing to install concrete box culverts and drainage structures. Grade work, bridge work, paving operations, and utility work on the new roadway alignment are ongoing. Traffic is still using the existing SR-56; however, motorists are advised to use caution and watch for construction equipment adjacent to the roadway. Flaggers may be present to move equipment across roadway, unload equipment, or complete utility work.

The contractor has started grade work inside Smithville City Limits between Dearman Street and East Bryant Street. Traffic shift in this area will remain to allow the contractor to complete work. A diversion remains in place for Williams Road to allow the contractor to construct the new alignment. The speed limit has been reduced to 45 mph in the construction zone. Motorists should use caution in this area and watch for flaggers and construction equipment.

The project was let to contract on June 21, 2019 to Jones Brothers Contractors, LLC at a bid price of $43,691,948. The estimated completion date is May, 2022.

State Route 56DeKalb and Warren CountiesOverviewThe planned improvements for State Route 56, from south of the Warren-DeKalb County line to East Bryant Street in Smithville, consist of realignment and reconstruction of the existing roadway for approximately 8.3 miles.

Purpose and NeedThe existing SR 56 corridor, between the Warren-DeKalb County line and East Bryant Street, is a two- to three-lane rural arterial route. The planned improvements are designed to improve the safety and operation of the roadway by correcting route deficiencies, including sight distance, shoulder widths, and drainage issues.

DesignDue to the size of the project, improvements to SR 56 have been divided into two smaller sections or phases. from south of the Warren-DeKalb County line to near Magness Road 3.33 miles from south of SR 288 near Magness Road to East Bryant Street 4.92 miles

The majority of the project is on new alignment. The new road will be built adjacent to the existing road, with several sections crossing over or tying into the existing the route.

The new roadway will consist of two to three travel lanes, depending on location, with 10-foot paved shoulders. The design will also accommodate left turn movements to access connecting streets.

From south of the Warren County line to College Street in Smithville will be two lanes (one lane in each direction) with left turn lanes at connector roads. From College Street to the New Life Connection Center (750 S Congress Blvd) will be three lanes (one lane in each direction) with a dedicated center turn lane.

From the New Life Connection Center to East Bryant Street will be five lanes (two lanes in each direction) with a dedicated center turn lane.

A new signal will be installed at the East Bryant Street intersection. Other intersections along the corridor will be adjusted to safely connect with the new alignment including Arnold Road (Gene Vaughn Road), Sink Creek Road, Magness Road, SR 288 (Keltonburg Road), County House Road, Jacobs Pillar Road, South Tittsworth Road, and South College Street.

In addition to realignment, the planned design will replace eight box culverts and construct two new bridges over Sink Creek and Pine Creek. Upon completion of the new bridges, the existing Sink Creek Bridge will be demolished, and the existing Pine Creek Bridge will be turned over to DeKalb County.Additional safety improvements include new guardrail, paint, and markers.

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TDOT bid letting tentatively scheduled for Highway 70 construction project between Liberty and Alexandria - wjle.com

(LWI) - "The internet is for learning for the sake of increasing knowledge and skills, yet many have been left without access during the pandemic, said the Lutheran World National Committee in Indonesia (KNLWF) Executive Secretary Rev. Basa Hutabarat when explaining the need for the KNLWF Internet Tower Development Program.

When stay-at-home measures were implemented due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the KNLWF wanted to increase access to the internet and began building satellite towers that receive internet connection from internet providers. The Indonesian committee installed an internet satellite tower on the properties of four Lutheran churches in remote areas to assist online learning.

The strength of internet service in Indonesia depends on location, said Fernando Sihotang, KNLWF Coordinator for Human Rights and Advocacy.

Internet service is provided through a base transceiver station, which is built within the tower. This means mountainous and remote areas without such towers would experience obstacles to quality, fast internet service or no service at all. It is only in the larger cities where 4G and 5G service are easily accessible, he added.

In order to make the internet service available to the residents in these four remote villages, KNLWF will initially pay the monthly subscription for the internet access. The four churches agreed to manage the maintenance of the towers. The KNLWF will pay the cost of the internet fees until December 2021, at which time the churches will take over the internet service subscription.

The national committee also paid for the construction of the towers. The connection will reach approximately 500 meters around the church sites, allowing up to 50 people to use the internet at the same time. This WiFi is open so that anyone can access it, including students from KNLWF congregations, " Hutabarat explained.

The towers are located on church land, but the connection is open and everyone, from all faiths can freely access internet. She added that with the internet access, church workers can share Bible knowledge and the Word of God in a broader sense.

KNLWF believes that with wisdom, proficiency in interaction, and utilization of technology, digital access is a blessing from God.

LWF Regional Secretary for Asia Rev. Dr Philip Lok said, It is encouraging to see LWF member churches finding ways to ensure that certain communities are not left behind during these unprecedented times.

LWF/A. Gray

The LWF National Committee in Indonesia is comprised of 13 member churches.

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Indonesian churches enable online learning in rural areas - The Lutheran World Federation

The lofty minarets of the Hagia Sophia stand over the skyline of Istanbul, Turkey. The magnificent stone basilica has been a fixture of the ancient city for 1,500 yearswith frequent additions and renovations.

The spiritual structure has survived empires and transitioned religions. What began as an early Christian basilica eventually became a mosque, then a museum, and is now once more a mosque.

An architectural wonder, the Hagia Sophia (meaning holy wisdom in Greek) has a fascinating history and is a favorite attraction for tourists and the faithful. The building has seen crusades, world wars, and vast political shifts, but its legacy is central to both the history of Turkey and the world.

It is believed that a Roman pagan temple once stood where the modern building lies. Under the Roman Empire, the important ancient city on the Bosporus was known as Byzantium until the reign of Emperor Constantine I. The first Christian emperor, he moved his capitol from Rome to Byzantium in 324 CE. The city was then renamed Constantinople. This monumental shift in Roman religious policy and the geographic center of power established Constantinople as an important Christian site. The Bishop of Constantinople became second only to that of Rome in power and prestige.

The first Christian church on the site of the Hagia Sophia is thought to have been completed by Constantine's son the Emperor Constantius II in 360 CE, although its construction may have been ordered by Constantine himself upon his establishment in the new capitol. The Roman emperors who followed continued to make additions and repairs to what was called the Great Church. Excavated remains of the ancient church as it stood in the 5th-century shows complex stonework, including vaulted ceilings and friezes depicting early Christian symbolism. The ancient church was destroyed by fire in 532 CE during the Nika Revolta politically motivated violent rampage by upset citizens who took issue with many of the advisors and policies of Emperor Justinian I.

A mosaic depicting Mary, the Christ Child, Emperor Justinian the Great, and Emperor Constantine I. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons [Public domain])

Among his major legacies is the present-day Hagia Sophia. After the Nika Revolt destroyed the Great Church, Justinian almost immediately ordered construction of a new one. Under the architects Anthemius of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletus, a new building was swiftly constructed. The architects were mathematicians, and the church drew upon their knowledge of engineering and geometry. They created an enormous lofty stone dome supported by two flanking smaller semi-domes. The interior features three aisles and a second-floor gallery. The exterior was coated in thin slabs of white marble, while the interior is of polychrome marble in rich green, purple, and gray hues. The many columns which help support the building were imported from other buildings across the empire.

Despite the mathematic prowess of the designers, the new building could not support the weight of its own dome during two earthquakes in the 550s. A new ribbed dome was constructed which was actually taller but better supported by pendentives (corner supports in the square space underneath). The opulent interior of the church was decorated further by Justin IIJustinian's heirwho added gold mosaics. An Imperial Door was reserved for the emperor's personal use.

Over the almost 900 years the building remained in Byzantine hands, the successive emperors added new features to the church. Between the 10th and 12th centuries, many mosaics were added or altered. They depict figures such as the Byzantine Emperors, Constantine the Great (who received sainthood in the Eastern church), the Virgin Mary, and Christ. Other additions had pagan origins.

Jaharis Byzantine Lectionary, an illuminated manuscript in Greek likely created for the Hagia Sophia circa 1100. (Photo: The Metropolitan Museum of Art [Public domain])

After the split, the east was beset by Crusades ordered by the Roman Catholic Church. Although targeting the Muslim-occupied Holy Lands was the initial goal of the crusaders, by the fourth crusade the Catholic forces were targeting their Orthodox brethren. In 1204, the city of Constantinople was sacked, including the Hagia Sophia. The interior was desecrated; the empire would not gain control of the city back until 1261.

Hagia Sophia as a mosque with minarets in 1718. Engraving by Dutch artist and writer Adriaan Reland. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons [Public domain])

Taking its name from the leader Osman I, the Ottoman Empire pushed into the Balkans and steadily gained military might. Sultan Mehmed II captured Constantinople in 1453, effectively taking the last crown jewel of the old Byzantine Empire. During this conquest, the already old building was further damaged and looted. However, its beauty seemed to have struck the Sultan, who decided to convert the church to a mosque.

Religiously, this conversion meant a reading of the shahada (a declaration of faith) and the holding of Friday prayer at the Aya Sofya (Hagia Sophia in Turkish). Architecturally, the change in faiths dictated several new additions. A mihrab facing the direction of Mecca replaced the Christian altar, and a minbar (a pulpit with stairs for sermons) was also added. A minaret was also added, from which the call to prayer sounded.

Interior of the Hagia Sophia in an 1852 engraving by Gaspare Trajano Fossati. Hagia Sophia was a mosque in the Ottoman Empire's capital. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons [Public domain])

Interior of the Hagia Sophia, photographed in 2010 while the building was still a museum. (Photo: Stock Photos from VVOE/Shutterstock)

After World War I, the Ottoman Empire ceased to exist as a political entity, and the Republic of Turkey was officially recognized in 1923. Constantinople became the city of Istanbul. In 1934, under President Kemal Atatrk, the Hagia Sophia was secularized. The next year, the building was turned into a museum and the once-covered mosaics and original ancient floor were unearthed.

Throughout most of the 20th century, frequent repairs were necessary. Falling within the designated UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the Historic Areas of Istanbul, the building has been the object of frequent conservation. Now, over three million people a year visit the famous site.

In July 2020, worshippers attend prayer outside the Hagia Sophia upon its reconversion to use as a mosque. (Photo: Stock Photos from MITREPHOTOGRAPHY/Shutterstock)

As a space held sacred to both Orthodox Christians and Muslims, many believers have a vested interest in the use of the Hagia Sophia as a place of worship. In the past ten years, calls to reconvert the secular building back into a mosque have grown.

In July of 2020, the museum was officially converted back into a mosque under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The move has ignited much tension and controversy. Secular and religious factions within Turkey disagree over the decision, while representatives of the Orthodox faith around the world have expressed dismay. The change was made without consulting UNESCO, although Turkish authorities say the Christian symbols inside will not be altered and the Hagia Sophia will remain open to all.

The Hagia Sophia's return to being a place of worship is one more chapter in the long, captivating history of this sacred site; being at the center of national and geopolitical events is nothing new for this magnificent structure.

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What Is the Hagia Sophia? Learn the History of This Beautiful Building - My Modern Met

Dustin George|The Shelby Star

For years it has been impossible to discuss any school improvement or construction projects without someone asking about new auditoriums for Burns and Crest high schools. Those questions, the district believes, may soon be a thing of the past.

Last week the Department of Public Instruction announced a $15 million grant to Cleveland County Schools to fund construction of new auditoriums at Burns and Crest. The grant comes along with a $5 million commitment from the district to pay for the auditoriums, bringing the total budget for the projects up to $20 million.

Promises kept

News of the state grant has comeas a relief to those who might one day get a chance to perform in the long-promised auditoriums.

"This will be a game changer," said Burns choir director Amy Jones. "The students will get to practice in their performance space and as a musician thats wonderful,that means a lot.

For years fine and performing arts groups at the two high schools have had to either find locations outside of the school to perform or host events in their respective gyms. Jones typically takes her students to Lawndale Baptist Church for their semi-annual concerts. Choir groups at Crest often perform at Gardner-Webb University.

Its very discouraging to give a concert in the gym as a student, especially when we travel and go-to music performance adjudication at other places, and these other schools have this immaculate auditorium and then come back and give a concert in the gym," said Burns band director Hoy Colson. "I feel like we have pretty high interest in band and orchestra, I think (the auditorium) would make it a stronger thing, the want to be in band or orchestra or to stay in band or orchestra.

More than just a place to practice or perform, Colson said new auditoriums would provide a new way for schools to host special productions and meetings of the school body as a whole.

"Currently in the gym whoever is doing a presentation is on a microphone and the sound just bounces off the walls and its a snowball effect of loudness. Its really hard to focus on what is being projected," he said. "During a pep rally thats one thing, you have someone on a microphone yelling and trying to get everyone excited; but when someone is giving a lecture or when someone gives a presentation on school safety or something like that its hard to hear what they are saying. And its a lot harder to monitor students in a gymnasium than in an auditorium.

Bumpy starts

In 2016 the county school board voted to approve work on projects that would ultimately lead to new auditoriums being built. That vote led to a series of community meetings with school staff, board members and community members. That same school year the board also selected Holland & Hamrick Architects to design the auditoriums and land surveys of the schools were completed in the 2018-19 school year.Since then, work on the auditoriums has appeared to stall.

I think funding has been the major factor that has taken the time in the process," said Stephen Fisher, schools superintendent.Really over the last three or four years this has grown, and we are really excited about the funding option now. From our end it makes sense, and we appreciate the partnership from DPI and the General Assembly.

While it is impossible to know the final cost of construction until the project is out for bids, Fisher said he believes $20 million is enough to build a pair of auditoriums.

Even with money from the state, Cleveland County Schools still has a few hurdles to clear before shovels can go in the ground. Among the biggest issues is where to put new buildings.

Burns and Crest have near-identical internal layouts but the land each sits on is different and all of it is in use for parking, sports or other academic programs.

We are taking time to think about how that can really work, what are the intended and unintended consequences of using that land to put down an auditorium," said Fisher. "If we can use this opportunity to improve our existing traffic setup or parking setup we are trying to really take a strategic approach to how we do this.

Next steps

Over the next several weeks, architects toHolland & Hamrick will begin submitting drawings and design documents for the auditoriums to the school board's Facilities Committee. Once the designs are approved by the committee they will be presented to the full board for final approval.

When the board decides it is happy with the submitted plans, the district can begin soliciting bids from contractors interested in building the auditoriums. The board will have final say in what contractor ultimately gets the project.

Hopefully within the next month, we can kind of firm up the timeline of when those next big steps can happen," said Fisher.

Dustin George can be reached at 704-669-3337 or Dustin.George@ShelbyStar.com. Find him on Twitter @DustinLGeorge.

Continue reading here:
About those auditoriums at Burns and Crest - Shelby Star

The former headquarters of The Foreign Mission Board, National Baptist Convention, U.S.A. at 701 South 19th Street in 2019. | Photo: Google Street View

The recent demolition of 701 South 19th Street on the surface seems like a routine gentrification story in Graduate Hospital: an aging, three-story row house and an adjacent address being replaced by upscale, new construction.

The narrative broadens however, when you take in the sign that had hung over the door of the first floor, proclaiming it the home of The Foreign Mission Board, National Baptist Convention, U.S.A., Inc. Still, perhaps, not overly noteworthy in a city chock full of churches and their ancillary buildings and programs. And then theres the dizzying array of Baptist affiliations, splits and spin-offs, that is hard for an outsider to keep track of.

Although cooperative efforts among Black Baptists date back to the Antebellum period, the National Baptist Convention U.S.A., Inc. NBC-USA traces its roots to 1880, when a number of Black Baptist ministers met to create a cooperative organization that extended beyond state lines. The resulting Baptist Foreign Mission Convention is considered the origins of the NBC-USA. Its current structure was created in 1895, when three Black Baptist conventions, the Baptist Foreign Mission Convention, the American National Baptist Convention, and the National Baptist Education Convention agreed to consolidate. In its founding year, the resulting organization boasted a membership of over one million, pastored by more than 10,000 clergy. Within the new organization, each of the founding conventions had a different primary focus of foreign missions, home missions, and education, respectively. Today, NBC-USA is one of four Black Baptist conventions in the United States.

701 South 19th Street in 1959. | Photo courtesy of PhillyHistory.org

The phrase foreign mission conjures up a narrative that holds some historical truth: white Christians seeking to convert people of color on other continents. But the story at 701 South 19th Street tells another, less acknowledged side. Even before emancipation, Black churches in the United States also engaged in missionary work in Africa and the Caribbean.

In the International Bulletin of Missionary Research in 1986, Gayraud S. Wilmore, at the time Dean and Professor of Afro-American Religious Studies at New York Theological Seminary, noted the concerns of Black missionaries extended far beyond the religious and included industrial training and rural development programs. Dr. William J. Harvey III, who headed the Foreign Mission Board (FMB) for over 40 years explained to Wilmore that the Black Baptist missions had a completely different philosophy and motivation than the white churches. The Protestant missions of that time were mainly concerned with the salvation of the souls of Africans. Black Americans were concerned with the material as well as the spiritual welfare of the people. That is why we were the first to introduce industrial missions to Africa.

Behind that low-key facade at 19th and Bainbridge Streets, the FMB of the NBC-USA operated for over 100 years. While the Convention is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, the FMB is paired with one of the member churches, the First African Baptist Church, the oldest Black-founded Baptist church in Pennsylvania. Although in 2015 the church moved into the former St. Callistus Roman Catholic Church in Overbrook Park, its original location was at 1600 Christian Street, six blocks from the FMB building. That same year, the original church building, which had been erected in 1906, was placed on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places. In his nomination, historic preservationist Oscar Beisert noted the building, designed by the Philadelphia firm of Watson & Huckel, was one of the few examples from its period of a purposebuilt, architectdesigned church for an African American congregation.

701 South 19th Street was demolished over the summer in 2020. The Foreign Mission Boards old printing presses can be seen in the foreground. | Photo: Michael Bixler

The FMB had noteworthy leaders during this time. Dr. C. C. Adams served as corresponding secretary from the 1930s into the 1960s, supervising over 60 mission stations in Africa and making three extended trips there. In 1948 he was knighted by the Liberian government for his service to the country. Adams was succeeded by Dr. William J. Harvey III, who was such a prominent figure in the Baptist Missionary world that his tombstone in Eden Cemetery in Collingdale, Delaware County, refers to him as Mr. Foreign Mission.

Publications were a central part of the FMBs activities, both for their mission work and for donors and church members at home. This past summer, the demolition of the FMB building uncovered evidence of that when, in the exposed basement, two antique printing presses were revealed. A 1916 street map of the city that identifies the FMB building notes the presence of a printing room at the rear.

The pair are Chandler & Price New Style letterpresses, dating to around 1914. Tom Familetti, CEO of the sites developer, Zatos Investments, said he reached out to firms knowledgeable about antique printing machinery to try to find a home for them. Unfortunately, they were deemed too old and rusted to salvage, he explained. We felt bad because theyre antiques, but were probably going to have to call a scrap company.

The Southbridge Condos will fill the lot at 19th and Bainbridge Streets. | Rendering: Bright MLS Homes

The FMB missionaries had a quite a bit of local company. In an interview in the 2002 book African American Experience in World Mission: A Call Beyond Community, Elder Donald Canty of Carver Foreign Missions, founded in Philadelphia in the 1950s, referred to the city during this period as the capital of the world for missions as far as African-Americans are concerned. The 1960s saw the establishment of more groups, including the Afro-American Missionary Crusade and Germantowns Have Christ Will Travel Ministries. Canty credited much of this growth to the Philadelphia College of the Bible (now Cairn University), one of the few institutions at the time that admitted Blacks.

Today, the FMB has mission stations in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Malawi, Zambia and Nicaragua. According to their website, they have plans to expand to Guyana, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, and Saint Lucia.

Kimberly Haas is a staff writer for Hidden City Daily. She is a long time radio journalist, both nationally and locally with WHYY and WXPN. In particular, she enjoys covering Philadelphias neighborhoods, culture and history, as well as urban sustainability and public policy, in both print and audio.

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A Building Demolished, but the Mission Continues - The Hidden City Daily

The new pavilion located off South Church Street will feature heating and air conditioning.

LEXINGTON, S.C. The new pavilion in the Town of Lexington should wrap up on construction by the end of this month.

The town announced last year in the State of the Town address they would be working on several projects. Some included road and traffic light improvements, but also adding a new pavilion downtown.

It'll be on South Church Street right next to the Icehouse Amphitheater.

"This will provide an area for vendors to set up. It has fans and heat for the winter time," said Laurin Barnes with the Town of Lexington.

The project will become the new home for the Lexington Farmer's Market and for food trucks in the area. Town officials say the open air covered pavilion will be paid for through general obligation bonds, costing $2 million.

Barnes says they expect to be finished up with construction by the end of this month.

"It's really exciting to add on to Main Street and everything that's going on down here," explained Barnes. "It's just a good place where the community can come and enjoy. The amphitheater being here and now the pavilion being outdoors during the pandemic, it's a lot easier and safer to have events outside. We're just excited for a place for the community to come out and enjoy."

The town says they may have a soft opening for the pavilion soon with events like the chili cookoff.

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New Lexington Pavilion construction to wrap up at the end of February - WLTX.com

published February 9 2021 12:53 PM

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ST. LOUIS Ferguson Roofing has successfully invested $40,000 in funds, time, or services in 57 501(c)(3) organizations after completing their 80 in 80 charitable campaign. The St. Louis-based roofing company kicked off this campaign in 2019 to celebrate their 80th year in business with plans to donate 80 grants to 80 organizations in need.

Ferguson Roofing nominated 36 charitable organizations, while 20 more were nominated by the public, to receive grants. An additional 20 of the 80 grants were originally held for trade scholarships to assist students with tuition or supplies. Ferguson Roofing realized early in their campaign that they did not have the bandwidth to connect with this audience. They decided instead to aggregate the funds, time, and resources for the scholarships and roll them into a support program for one trade school, North County Tech.

Also, due to the amount of time and resources spent for Bikes for Tykes, a volunteer organization that repairs, refurbishes, and rebuilds bicycles for children, they were awarded a total five grants.

Below is a list of award recipients, starting with those nominated by Ferguson Roofing:

Here are the charitable organizations nominated by the public:

ABOUT FERGUSON ROOFING

Family-owned and operated for three generations, Ferguson Roofing opened for business in 1939. Their focus is on providing the same excellent service to customers from beginning to end. Now in their 82nd year, they remain true to the same values they started with: honesty, fairness and community involvement.

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Ferguson Roofing Invests $40,000 in Multiple 501(c)(3) Organizations - RiverBender.com

CALLAWAY Fla. (WMBB) Callaway residents were welcomed back home at their Northstar church campus.

The Callaway campus suffered structural damage and electrical problems. Since then, they have been working to fix it.

We are back here in the Callaway area, said Michelle Cassell, the Callaway Northstar kids ministry director.

Northstar Callaway Church officially re-welcomed community members Sunday at their morning service.

Cassell said residents nearby were struck by Hurricane Michael, as well as their church, but now they all have a fresh start.

The fact that we are able to be here in this community living and working together with families, just you know, being able to be the light of Jesus in this community is just a special privilege to us, said Cassell.

And the campus pastor, Lee Cordell, said he has seen and felt the excitement from those coming back through their doors.

Weve had some families that are brand new, their first time was today, so thats really exciting, said Cordell. Its great to see, like hey, there is an opportunity here. and its just a new life and a new start. You know, those kinds of things coming around so its been great.

Cordell said he is ready to re-immerse himself into the Callaway community, just like they had in the past.

Were excited really that we have a stable base, where we can then be able to work in the community and help other people with things that come up, and so its just great to be able to have a base of operation, said Cordell.

Northstar Callaway held Sunday services from the Panama City campus until now. But residents were able to walk and ride their bikes to the reopening once again.

We had to close down while we did construction, and so we were a little bit disconnected from things that were going on immediately around here, said Cordell.

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Callaway residents are welcomed back home to the Northstar church campus - WMBB - mypanhandle.com

ROSSFORD Building will begin in April on a new 137-acre site in Rossford, to be developed by Scannell Properties, the largest industrial developer in the country.

Between this site and the Crossroads, I can envision 10,000 new jobs for the region in the next five years, Rossford Mayor Neil MacKinnon III said. All this will spur other growth and work its way into the traffic pattern, developing the customer base and attracting new development.

The property is at the Buck Road interchange, the largest span of commercial marketed real estate along Interstate 75 in Northwest Ohio, with 2,000 feet of highway frontage. The property is also bounded by Glenwood Road and Mandell Road, with Lime City Road bisecting it. The southern edge of the property is adjacent to the Cedar Creek Church property.

Terry Coyne, Newmark Knight Frank Real Estate Services, said that the site will be for light industrial, manufacturing and logistics.

Its a great site. We scoured the market north, south, east and west. We love this corridor. Rossford and Wood County have been fantastic to work with, Coyne said.

He said that the site is shovel ready, with basic infrastructure already in place, including sewer, drainage, electrical and gas.

Were very excited. This will increase our tax base and will provide jobs and opportunities, not just for Rossford, but to the entire region.

Architects renderings show as many as eight buildings planned for construction. T

hey will break ground on the first building as soon as the weather breaks, which Coyne expects to be in April, but said that they will start before that if possible.

The first building is going to be a 300,000-square-foot spec warehouse.

Coyne pointed out that the facility will be across the highway from Penta Career Center and also near the new FedEx Ground and FedEx Freight Distribution Facilities. Newmark Knight Frank is working on a leasing application now for a possible manufacturing company.

Excerpt from:
New Rossford construction continues adding jobs in area - Sentinel-Tribune

St. Martins Academy Theotokos Hall. Photo was taken from the schools website.The St. Martins Academy all-school photo taken December 2020. Submitted.

Saint Martins Academy, rural Fort Scott, is a Catholic boarding school for boys that combines classical academics with a practical work program on a sustainable farm, according to its website. http://www.saintmartinsacademy.org

The school is in its third year.

Daniel Kerr is the headmaster of the academy and gave fortscott.biz an email interview.

We have 42 students this year across all four grades: 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th, Kerr said. Our first graduating class of nine will graduate on May 29th. Our graduates plans include college, apprenticing in a trade, and mission work.

One of the new faculty this year is Adam Taylor, who is the assistant headmaster.

Adam spent 20 years in the Marines before entering the private sector as a vice president at Cloudera, a software company, Kerr said. His son, Ian, is a 12th grader.

The school also has a new dean of student life, Bryan Meyers.

Bryan has taught at a variety of private and public schools for over a decade and has a passion for integrating academics with the living laboratory of the farm and fields, Kerr said. He teaches several classes and is also the schools beekeeper with several active hives and more on the way.

The school offers rugby as part of the program.

Practices for the 2021 Rugby season are well underway and we have seven or eight matches slated in the late winter and early spring, mostly with teams from the Kansas City metro area, Kerr said. Team captains Ian Taylor, Henry Hickey (12th grade), and Nate Jones, Danny Harrington (11th grade) will lead the Kingfishers in our first year of playing with a full squad of 15. Rugby is played by all the boys who are able and helps develop a real esprit de corps and sense of camaraderie.

The school is still in the construction phase with the main completed building, Theotokos Hall, the center of activity.

Theotokos Hall serves a multifunctional purpose during our first years, Danielle Bauer, who has development and fundraising duties at the academy, said. Currently the building houses our kitchen, dining hall, common area and hearth, library and classrooms. Most importantly, the top floor of Theotokos Hall serves as our chapel where the boys gather daily for prayer and Holy Mass.

It also served as a temporary dormitory until bunkhouses could be built.

Three of our five bunkhouses scheduled for construction are now occupied by the boys, Kerr said. This has been a game-changer for us by freeing up space within our main building, Theotokos Hall, to be developed for proper classrooms and a library. Enrollment next year should approach 60 and it is likely we will have a waiting list by May.

The students are involved in the community.

Among our work project, the boys are currently re-building several picnic tables for Gunn Park and have done some preparatory cooking for Fort Scotts soup kitchen (Feeding Families In His Name at the First United Methodist Church), Kerr said.

I am sincerely grateful for the hospitality and kindness of Fort Scotts civic leaders and residents in welcoming St. Martins these first few years, Kerr said. We look forward to being increasingly engaged in service and cultural projects that make positive contributions to the community.

St. Martins Academy is located at 1950 Indian Road, Fort Scott.

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St. Martins: Third Year Educating Boys - FortScott.Biz