For those who work in Albany New York and yet like the real county life style, there are several small towns, all a short easy drive away that give you the opportunity to have the best of both worlds, living in the county and still being able to go to a large city when you want a taste of city life. If you have never visited one of the small county towns in the Albany area, give yourself a treat and pay them a visit. And if you feel like you are home in the country, then include the homes in your home search. Look at both homes in the city life and the country. You will know which one feels right.
Take a look at some of the homes available in the towns of Albany County today. Compare the homes one town has with the others. You will find a lot the same and a lot different. Focus on what is in your price range, of course if you spot a bargain, it won’t hurt to just take a look.
Rensselaerville A three bedroom double wide mobile home for $158,500 An eleven room six bedroom colonial on five acres of land for $235,000 A seven room four bedroom log cabin for $259,000 A two hundred year old eleven room five bedroom eyebrow colonial for $335,000 A two hundred year old 10 room five bedroom Georgian country colonial for $419,000 A three bedroom pre Revolutionary War country farm house on 15 acres of land for $559,000
Berne An eleven room four bedroom colonial for $194,900 A three room mobile home on almost 20 acres of wooded land for $198,500 An eight room three bedroom ranch house with almost 24 acres of land for $699,000
Bethlehem An eight room four bedroom colonial for $190,000 A five room three bedroom ranch for $209,000 A seven room three bedroom split level for $216,900 A five room two bedroom cape cod for $219,000 A seven room three bedroom hi ranch for $235,000 A seven room three bedroom colonial for $269,900 An eight room four bedroom colonial for $282,500 An eight room four bedroom colonial for $339,000 A thirteen room six bedroom colonial on over an acre of land for $379,900 A brand new nine room four bedroom colonial for $698,000
Coeymans A four room two bedroom mobile home for $24,500 An eight room four bedroom colonial for $85,500 A seven room three bedroom Victorian for $164,900 A four bedroom Victorian on 3/4 of an acre for $269,900
Knox A nice room three bedroom colonial for $149,000 A brand new ten room four bedroom colonial for $359,900
New Scotland/Voorheesville An eight room three bedroom ranch for $129,900 An eight room four bedroom ranch for $199,900 An eight room three bedroom ranch for $224,900 An eleven room four bedroom colonial for $399,900 An eleven room four bedroom colonial for $550,000 A brand new 10 room four bedroom colonial for $695,000 A nine room four bedroom colonial on 75 acres of land for $795,000
Westerlo A nine room three bedroom Victorian for $174,000 A nine room three bedroom ranch for $225,000 A three bedroom farm house on 2 acres of land for $258,000 A seven room two bedroom log cabin on 17 acres of land for $285,000 A three bedroom cape cod on twelve acres of land for $299,900 An eight room three bedroom colonial on 19 acres of land for $599,500
Jeffrey Harrison made $400 a month in the late 1980s by being a frequent sperm donor at California Cryobank. Nearly two decades later he has come forward to confirm his identity after he discovered his biological children wanted to meet him.
Two teenage girls launched a public appeal in the New York Times to find their biological father who they only knew as ‘Donor 150′. Mr. Harrison discovered the article but initially hesitated to come forward.
Mr. Harrison, who is now 50-years-old, lives a simple life near Venice, California, in a mobile home with four dogs. His low-key life is funded by odd jobs.
At first, he wasn’t sure what the teenagers would think of his lifestyle.
He decided to confirm his identity through the Donor Sibling Registry where he found four more children trying to contact ‘Donor 150′.
He told the BBC, “it’s a short life and these children need to have some kind of resolution.”
He has since met three of his daughters and has been in contact with his other children via email.
The reception by Mr. Harrison’s offspring has been very good. The excited teens have described their father as a free spirit.
One of the girls, Danielle Pagano, has spent several hours on the phone with her biological father in the few days since she discovered his identity. She told the media “He’s sort of a free spirit, and I don’t care what career he has. I got to talk to his dogs.”
California Cryobank’s ‘Donor 150′ was described as a tall, blue-eyed art lover and was much sought after.
The fertility institution is a world wide leader in sperm banking.
Donor selection at California Cryobank is a stringent screening process that accepts only 1-2% of men who apply. Height, weight, age and educational background are initial factors in the selection process. Applicants are also asked about their family’s adoption history, whether they or their parents were adopted.
Sperm donors must be between 19 and 39 years old to provide superior quality of sperm. Men over 40 are less likely to produce sperm that remains viable during freezing and thawing.
It is also a requirement that sperm donors have attended at least two years of college. Many of the sperm bank’s specimens are from graduates of University of California LA (UCLA), University of Southern California (USC), University of California Berkeley (UCB), Stanford, Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
After passing the initial screening process, sperm donors must pass in-depths medical interviews and tests which identify family history of diseases like diabetes and cancer. S complete three-generation medical and genetic history extends to siblings, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Potential donors have sperm samples tested for STDs including Chlamydia, gonorrhea, Syphilis and HIV.
The Donor Sibling Registry through which Jeffrey Harrison and his biological offspring were connected, was founded by Wendy Kramer and her biological son, Ryan.
The service offers resources for individuals to locate half-siblings, genetic parents and genetic offspring.
Sources
“Six US girls find sperm donor dad” BBC News, February 15, 2007 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6363765.stm
This is the year that you need to explore the great outdoors near Bremerton, Washington. All you need is a few pieces of camping equipment and a plan. Save money on your air conditioning bill this summer by spending your weekends having a wild time.
Step 1: Learn About Bremerton, Washington
Bremerton is a medium sized town in Washington. It has a population of about 45,000. The best summer month to plan outdoor adventures is July. During this month there is less than an inch of rain expected, and the temperatures are warm. The rainiest month in this town is May. During this month you can expect 2 inches of rain. If you plan an outdoor adventure in May make sure that you bring good rain gear with you. In addition to exploring the wild areas around Bremerton you may also want to visit the Bremerton Raceway, the Bremerton Naval Museum, and the USS Turner Joy.
Step 2: Cheap Outdoor Accommodations
Now that you know what type of weather to expect during the summer in Bremerton, your next step for planning a summer outdoor weekend adventure is to decide where you will being staying. If you are a true outdoorsman or woman then you will want to map out where you can set up your campsite during your weekend holiday. The closest campground is Gig Harbor Camping Harbor. It is located about 13 miles away. Other nearby campgrounds include: Park Place On Hood Canal, Point No Point Resort, Dosewallips State Park Campground, and Seal Rock Campground.
If you are an RV enthusiast then you have several nearby RV parks that you can choose from. One of the closest RV parks is the Carrington Mobile Home and RV Park. It is located about 3 miles away from Bremerton. Other nearby RV parks include: We and U Mobile Home and RV Park, Allyn View RV and Mobile Home Park, and Snooze Junction RV Park.
Step 3: Plan Day Trips to Hike, Bike, Raft, or Swim
Hiking is a great way to burn calories, get some fresh air, and to experience nature. If you want to add a hiking trip to your weekend adventure then you have 7 trail systems to choose from that are within 40 miles of Bremerton. The closest trail system is the Mount Jupiter Trail System. It is located 25 miles away, it offers 12 miles of hiking trails, and it has an elevation change of 3830 feet. Other nearby trail systems that you may want to try out include: the Deadfall Trail, the Mount Zion Trail, the Bear Mountain Trail, Clink Trail, Royal Creek Trail, and Tubal Cain Mine Trail.
If you are an adrenaline junky then whitewater is what you need. The closest whitewater route near Bremerton is on the Big Quilcene River. Access to this run is located 20 miles from Bremerton. It offers a 3.2 mile class IV+ run between Rainbow Campground and the fish hatchery. If you are looking for a family friendly run then you will want to travel 25 miles to the Duwamish River. At the King County Park you will find the river access point for this class I-II run. This is a very short run.
If you are planning a family vacation then you may also want to consider visiting one of the nearby lakes. The closest lakes are the Berry Lakes and the Carter Pond. Both of these bodies of water are located about 4 miles from Bremerton, Washington. Other nearby lakes include Glad Ponds, Heins Lake, Honey Lake, Island Lake, Jarstad Lake, Kitsap Lake, Reservoir Number Three, and Reservoir Number Four.
Diners, Bowling Alleys, and Trailer Parks: Chasing the American Dream in Postwar Consumer Culture By Andrew Hurley 391 pages, $11.56
Andrew Hurley’s aims are large. His book Diners, Bowling Alleys, and Trailer Parks: Chasing the American Dream in Postwar Consumer Culture attempts to draw a dotted line between the reconstruction of these three establishments and the rise of consumer culture. The rise of consumer culture, Hurley argues, served as the impetus for the working class’s sudden desire to seek the good life, reaching, if not for the top of the social strata, then at least to the solid, stable middle class.
Diners, Bowling Alleys, and Trailer Parks seeks to dispel two common but contradictory myths – that the 1950s were perpetual happy days, a “time when consumer abundance underwrote social harmony and familial bliss,” and that the era should serve as the cultural benchmark marking the decline of American Civilization.
According to Hurley, an environmental and urban historian at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, “something as prosaic as eating lunch has rarely been considered important by historians.” Prior to the Second World War, diners were horse-drawn lunch wagons, making their way from factory to factory, selling hearty meals to wage-laborers; bowling alleys were social gathering places adjacent to taverns in immigrant neighborhoods; and trailer parks were used by itinerants who constantly traveled the country looking for jobs. But as consumer culture and discretionary income allowed blue-collar families to take part in mainstream America, as women and children gained greater purchasing power, and as immigrants trained their heritage for mainstream, mass-identifying consumer products, these three quintessential American intuitions were transferred.
Bowling alleys and diners connoted the domestic purview of middle-class status while trailer parks offered low-income families the ability to own their own home. And as times changed, the words used to describe these establishments became mellifluous – dining cars became “diner restaurants,” bowling alleys became “bowling centers,” and trailer courts became “mobile home parks.”
Prior to this transformation diners and bowling alleys were known for their all-masculine, often shiftless, fouled-mouth, blue-collar environments; trailer parks too were viewed as slatternly, one step away from tenement living, its residents known as “Trailer trash.” Yet as Hurley posits these establishments allowed the working class to ride the wave of new American consumer culture, each avenue alloweing lower-income families the small pleasures of upper-middle class society.
Hurley traces the transformation of these institutions from prewar years to current times quite well. Once an all male eatery, diners evolved first into a stationary establishment, then to a middle-income, stream-lined family restaurant, eventually enlarging their menus to include lighter fare for women and booths for families. Unlike diners, which faced changes both in atmosphere and cuisines, the bowling alley’s most important renovation came in a technical innovation – the automatic pinsetter. And then there is the trailer park, which while it did not fit the prevailing domestic model of the aspiring middle lass consumer, it was seen as an improvement over an inner city apartment or a house shared with intrusive parents or in-laws.
It is almost impossible to eloquently and lucidly connect the reinvention of diners, bowling alleys and trailer parks to the rise of consumer culture, to contribute the remodeling of these establishments to the lower classes new found fervor but achieving middle class status, but Hurley does it and for that he must be applauded.
At the beginning of this year, my girlfriend and I were kidding around when she mentioned that she would love to live in a log cabin near the mountains. I had never really thought about it until she mentioned it. A real log cabin with all the fixings like a wood stove and front porch sounded kind of neat. So I decided to do a little prospecting just for the fun of it. I started searching for log cabin and log home web sites. I promptly found dozens of sites to explore featuring hundreds of homes constructed from logs. After about a week of casually viewing a few sites, I was completely hooked on the idea. Previously, I had never considered this type of home. I hardly knew they existed. Now I am convinced beyond a doubt that a log built home is in my future.
About 30 years ago I had built a small cabin in the woods in northern Michigan. It wasn’t made of logs, but the setting was sure rustic. It was mainly used for weekend getaways. At the time I was living in an apartment in southeast Michigan. Since then I have lived in houses, condos, and a mobile home. Over the years I had thought about several type of homes such as dome homes and even RVs. Since I am pondering how and where I will live for the rest of my life, the simple answer is a log home. It is a natural dwelling that will fit into just about any setting. By a mountain, in the woods, on a lake or river, it will blend in perfectly with any surroundings. These types of home are marvelously practical. Not to mention, they are as environmentally friendly as they are charming and elegant.
These homes come in a wide variety of styles and packages. From a simple one room log cabin to a 6000 square foot mansion, there is something for the most discriminating buyer. Many companies offer a pre-made kit home. This is where all the logs for the walls and roof are cut to fit an exact design. Then there are the companies that offer custom designed log and timber homes. You can choose from a variety of ready-to-build plans or use their architects to design a custom home according to your personal tastes. Nowadays, you can totally customize your dream home and have it manufactured to fit precisely together piece by piece. The materials are pre-treated and kiln dried to protect against rotting, insects, cracking or splitting. These homes fit together so well that there is little settling or warpage. When properly assembled and then cared for, a log home will last more than a few lifetimes.
The variety of woods available include: Douglas Fir, Southern White Pine, Red Cedar, Hemlock, and Spruce. These can be milled in a number of ways such as flat surfaced or rounded. Logs can even be hand crafted for an extremely rustic look. Construction styles start with the typical post and beam and can be expanded to timber frame or heavy beam. The overall result is a stylish wooded structure that is more than a home. It is a warm and inviting atmosphere that is energy efficient. It provides a healthy living environment because of the natural construction materials which are renewable and recyclable. There is virtually no end to the variations of designs and construction. Log homes can include stone foundations and shake shingles or even metal roofs. You can order an entire kit and construct it yourself to save money. Or, have it built by an experienced builder who works with the company you purchase your home from.
The interiors can be made even more striking than the exteriors. Exposed log walls, posts, and heavy beams make for a rustic look unmatched in any other type of home. Whether combined with drywall or stone, the interior of a log timber house is warm and pleasant all year round. High expansive wood ceilings, help create an open feeling that can be accented with wood floors, stairways, and wall systems. These home are beautiful inside and out. That is easily accomplished by their simplistic designs and use of natural materials. Depending on the type of home you build, costs vary widely from company to company. I plan to build a custom home using the highest grade materials I can afford. I have been researching log homes for several months and am impressed by the construction methods and variation of designs offered. An all wood home inside and out is a practical choice from just about any standpoint.
I have discovered several companies I would consider purchasing a home from. Many companies I rejected because of he type of homes they offered or the designs were not to my liking. Since this is a multi-year project for me, I have time to do research and check into options and costs. There are log home shows across the country nearly all year long. Some dealers are located in only one place; while others have several representatives around the country. Many log home owners are willing to allow prospective buyers to tour their homes. Using the Internet as a starting point will allow you to gather mountains of information before actually making any decisions. If this type of home is appealing to you, take the time to find out them. Look at the pictures, compare materials and construction methods. You will likely be astonished at some of the homes presented on various web sites. Even with a modest budget, you can build a log home that will have your friends and neighbors admiring with envy.
More resources
These are a few of the sites that most impressed me: Tennessee Log Homes: www.tnloghomes.com Precisioncraft Homes: www.precisioncraft.com Koski Log Homes: www.koskiloghomes.com Log Home Council: www.loghomes.org
I think I must have been a Depression-era housewife in a past life, because she is my ideal of someone who lives frugally, is largely self-sufficient from the kitchen garden and barnyard chickens, and is clever with what basics she has available.
Now that I live on a homestead in the mountains, I’m taking that archetype to heart and finding ways to embody it in my own frugal lifestyle. I’ve purchased vintage cookbooks from the Depression and World War II eras, I have a few laying hens, and we have a very large kitchen garden with enough to make some great home-cooked meals plus extra for canning. Over the past few months especially, I’ve been moving away from convenience foods and find myself in the kitchen more and more, baking bread and making large pots of soup that we work on for several days and share with my mother-in-law who lives next door to us on the same land.
This is how our ancestors lived, even as recently as the 1940s – how quickly we forget! For all of human existence, up until the last 60 years, we have always cooked our own food, known how to mend and sew garments, done our own basic repairs, and so on. It is only recently that these basic skills have been abandoned for the helpless state of people today, unable to cook a simple meal or sew on a missing button. I attribute this, in part, to the loss of Home Economics classes in high school and the gain of modern conveniences that do many things for us.
With this new era of incapability has come expense. If you don’t know how to cook or sew a button, you must pay someone else to do it for you. A loaf of bread in a plastic bag from the grocery store costs about $3.50 – all the ingredients to make a loaf of bread yourself costs less than 50 cents. And don’t even get me started on clothes that require dry-cleaning!
Doing for ourselves is one way to save a lot of money on the rural farmstead. When you live as far away from any stores or services as we do (12 miles to the nearest town with a post office), you learn how to fix your own sink, cook your own food and get creative with what you have on hand. Is the local hardware store closed on Sunday, but you need some heavy wire to fix a fence? That’s what wire coat hangers are for!
Another way to save lots of money is to grow your own food. During World War II there was a huge push for what were known as “Victory Gardens,” wherein lots of people planted vegetables to supplement their rationed grocery budgets and share with others so that more food could be sent to the troops fighting the war. It’s really not very hard to grow a few basic vegetables, especially if you have halfway decent soil and a source of water. Studies have shown that the biggest source of waste in the household food budget is produce that’s gone bad, and fresh produce is one of the most expensive parts of the budget too.
Cluster tomatoes on the vine are generally between $2.50 and $3.50 a pound here in California depending on the season, and that’s not organic ones. Tomatoes practically grow themselves, and there were several wild ones growing next to a building where I used to work, presumably castoff seeds from someone’s lunchtime sandwich. Corn is another easy-to-grow crop – it’s a native American grass that, as long as you plant enough for it to pollinate properly, will give you sweet corn for the table, popcorn for gift-giving or hard corn for grinding into flour depending on which variety you grow. There are many vegetable varieties that any home gardener can grow with very little effort, yet you will gain rich rewards, especially if you preserve them in jars for the winter. Contact your local Agricultural Cooperative Extension office for more information about basic gardening techniques, which varieties do best in your area, and how to preserve your harvest.
Because we’re so far away from town, you would expect that we do a lot of driving, right? Well, we used to before the price of gas doubled… now we do a lot less driving than ever before. It’s easy and cheap for a suburban-dweller to hop in the car and zip to the store for a gallon of milk (if not very energy efficient). Since it’s so time-consuming and expensive for us to do the same, I stock up when things are on sale, do without, and make things myself. Nowadays, we may go to town once a week instead of every day, especially now that my son goes to a closer school that’s only four miles away instead of 12. And when we do go, we stack up all our necessities into one trip – go grocery shopping, visit the library, drop off some homespun yarn at the consignment shop and mail some packages at the post office.
The most difficult thing about all of this is changing the way you think. If you have lived on a farm or homestead all your life, this won’t take much at all. If you’re a city slicker who has moved out to live “the good life,” you’ll need to do a whole lot of thinkin’ about how you do things on a daily basis to work towards a frugal lifestyle.
Food: Cook it yourself, grow it yourself, preserve it yourself. And here’s an extra frugal tip – some foods come in re-useable containers, like canning jars, fabric sacks (just like grandma used on her 1930s quilts) and drinking glasses.
Shelter: We live in a 1960s mobile home that we got for free (a trailer park owner wanted to get rid of it quickly), we heat exclusively with wood, and we have a swamp cooler for the hot months. McMansions may make you feel like royalty, but the price in overextended mortgage credit and heating/cooling expenses becomes the price of not seeing your family much, daycare costs, and having almost no free time for doing your own money-saving tasks like repairs, gardening or cooking. It’s a stress-filled, counterproductive treadmill.
Clothing: The vast majority of our family’s clothing is from thrift stores and yard sales. A few things I buy new, like undergarments (the reasoning behind this should be obvious), shoes and work pants, because these last two need to survive as long as possible. I try to buy the most well-made shoes and pants that I can afford so that they last and can be repaired or patched for longer wear.
Entertainment: When we can afford it, we go to cheaper matinee movies instead of evening shows, rent DVDs, and get used video games for half what new ones cost. For the kids, there are many good internet websites where they can play games and look at fun things for free. We also enjoy playing board games, cards and dice games, and we also do outside activities together like berry picking in summer or sledding in winter. Often, after our son has gone to bed, my husband will read aloud to me while I do some needlework or spin yarn.
Hobbies: If you’re looking for a hobby, take up something that will be useful to the household. Collecting things may be fun, but does all that stuff contribute anything other than more clutter? Sewing, fiber arts, woodworking, welding, gardening, car repair, beekeeping, gourmet cooking… all these activities are fun hobbies, yet they all contribute directly to a successful frugal household, and in some cases can bring in extra income or be used to barter with your neighbors.
Doing things for yourself not only saves you a lot of money, it helps you feel much more capable and is really fulfilling. Instead of wasting time watching other people do things on TV, turn the box off and do them yourself. It’s really not all that hard, especially if you’re a little bit patient. I always tell myself, “If that person can do it, then so can I.” Well, within limits of course - I’m not going to be an Olympic athlete any time soon, but I can make a quilt, build a shed, raise chickens, split firewood, milk a goat, cut my son’s hair, needlepoint a pillow, grow and preserve food, go from sheep to crocheted shawl and cook a delicious and inexpensive meal for my family. I can even sew on that missing button, assuming the kitten doesn’t bat it under the bed so I can’t find it.
As a child, I was terrified of the threat of tornadoes. My parents taught us to look for funnels in the sky, and to head to the basement if the sirens start to wail.
Tornadoes are powerful, dangerous storms. Two summers ago, a tornado hit in a town located thirty miles from ours. Debris (papers and bills) were found floating down in our own city an hour after the tornado had destroyed several homes.
I’m deeply saddened watching the news videos after a tornado strikes. Wanting to learn more about my own family’s safety, I researched FEMA’s (Federal Emergency Management Agency) suggestions on how to prepare and survive a tornado.
FEMA emphasizes the importance of preparation. Watch the skies and listen to news and radio reports. Tornadoes often appear when the sky is dark, and often has a greenish hue. Large hail might be present. If you see a rotating, low-lying cloud, its time to take immediate cover. (Some people who have witnessed tornadoes often describe a train-like, thundering sound accompanying the tornado.)
If you believe a tornado is coming and you’re in a building, head directly to the basement. If you don’t have a basement, go to the storm cellar, safe room, or lowest level of the building (interior rooms such as closets or interior hallways). FEMA emphasizes to put as many walls between you and the outdoors as possible. Don’t open the windows, and cover your face and neck with your arms.
If you are in a trailer home, a vehicle, or mobile home, get out immediately. Go to a storm shelter or nearby sturdy building.
If you are outside with no protection, lie flat in a ditch or depression and cover your head with your hands. Watch for flooding. FEMA suggests that you don’t take shelter under and overpass or bridge. They also suggest not trying to outrun a tornado, but head directly for safe shelter. Be aware of flying debris, as the debris causes most injuries.
Fortunately, my family has a basement in our home. At the first wail of the tornado siren, we grab our three pets and head for the basement. We always take a portable radio, a few flashlights, snacks, water, and comfort items (special blankets and stuffed animals for the kids). We’ve never had a tornado hit close to our home, but you never know when (or where) one will strike.
Check out FEMA’s website for great tips and ideas on how to prepare for tornadoes.
The weather today is making headlines and storms sweep across North America. As severe weather systems sweep across the United States there is sever weather across the country. There are tornadoes from the central states down to the Florida panhandle. Roads are closed in the central plains states. The north and eastern states are experiencing hail, rain and snow.
Tornado Hits Alabama Alabama officials say that at least thirteen people are dead after a tornado struck an Alabama community, making a direct hit on a high school.
The speaker of the Alabama House also said that five people have died at Miller’s Ferry, where another apparent tornade tore into mbily homes, cutting a 2 milw swath through the park., per NBC News reports.
Enterprise, Alabama has been hit by a tornado that has torn the roof off of the High School. According to CNN reports, a reporters from the Enterprise Ledger Newspaper was on the scene. The unconfirmed reports were that the high school suffered about 25% damage. There were no deaths known. There were some minor injuries. Police have reported, per NBC News, that there are still students inside the devastated school. Three students have been airlifted out for medical care. There are reports of injuries..
Parts of several Midwestern states were under tornado watches or warnings. The tornado warnings and watches extended as far south as the Gulf Coast in the Florida panhandle.
A spokesman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Chris Vaccaro, said that the storm will bring dangerous blizzards to the north and probable tornado’s to the south. “We’ve just begun what could be a long afternoon of severe weather” he said, as quoted by AFP, , “We’re facing an ongoing severe weather outbreak with a high potential for tornadoes encompassing the center and lower portions of the Mississippi Valley into the southeast, so we’re talking about a good chunk of the central and southeastern US”.
Chris Vaccaro, spokesman for the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration, said that the storm was likely to bring a high number of tornadoes,
Severe weather is pounding the the lower Ohio Valley and Mid Mississippi Valley. This storm is particularly dangerous. The areas most affected by this storm system are Alabama, Central and Southern Georgia and Eastern Mississippi. Surrounding the high risk area, there is a moderate risk of severe thunderstorms across much of the lower half of the Mississippi Valley and Gulf/South Coastal States.
Weather headlines nationally include:
Blizzards, Snow Hit Midwest Plains States A winter storm hit the Plains and Mideast with heavy, wet snow and blizzard conditions Thursday. Some areas anticipate as much as two feet of snow by Friday.
7 Year Old Killed in Missouri Tornado Caufield, Missouri Tornado’s swept through southern Missouri at Dawn on Thursday. The tornado’s damaged homes and businesses. A child was killed in the tornado in Howell County. Here mother, father and two brothers were injured when a tornado hit their mobile home in a rural wooded area near West Plains, according to Howell Country Sheriff Robbie Crites, according to Associated Press. Sheriff Crites identified the victim as Elizabeth Croney.
Blizzards Close Roads in Plains States The second big winter storm to hit the central United States in less than a week has slammed parts of Nebraska and Iowa with blizzard like conditions. on Thursday. Blinding snow has closed highways in the Midwest. Snow piled up at a rate of 2 inches an hour, closing Interstate 80, a major transcontinental highway in southeast Nebraska, west of Omaha.
More than 50 counties were under blizzard warning in neighboring western Iowa. Interstate 29 was closed in Iowa from near Omaha north to Sioux City at the South Dakota line.
Schools were closed across southern Minnesota as snow piled up.
O’Hare Cancels Flights due to Weather Damaging hailstorms struck several states. According to Reuter’s New reports, “Foul weather in other cities snarled air traffic in Chicago, where 250 flights were canceled at O’Hare International Airport.
Heavy Snow Predicted in the Northeast on Friday The Weather Channel reported that heavy snow is predicted to hit parts of northern New England on Friday and Friday night, where 1 foot or snow may fall as the storm moves east. The bigger cities to the south, Boston and New York, should escape with only rain.
Maria Chavez, mother of the missing 8-year-old Sandra Cantu, told Meredith Vieira of “The Today Show” Monday that she believed that he daughter was abducted. She said that her daughter would not leave the mobile home park where they live in Tracy, California, without her - or at least without calling her.
Maria Chavez could be right. The trailer park where Sandra Cantu was last seen is less than a half-mile from Interstate 580. A kidnapping could occur and the little girl could have been in an escaping vehicle miles from the trailer park within minutes. It is a scenario that Maria Chavez has undoubtedly considered many times since her daughter, Sandra Cantu, disappeared Friday afternoon.
Sandra Cantu was last seen after she told her mother she was going to a neighbor’s to play. The neighbor’s say she left to go home at roughly 4:00 p.m. A video surveillance camera shows her at that time as well. She has not been seen since.
Besides questioning all the neighbors, all registered sex offenders (approximately 80 within a five-mile radius) in the area have been interviewed. Four homes within the trailer park and two outside it have also been searched, according to Tracy Sgt. Tony Sheneman. According to CNN, all of those places searched were connected to the two “persons of interest” that became of interest to the police Monday evening. No arrests have been made. Over 200 volunteers joined the FBI and local authorities in the investigation over the weekend.
Sheneman told “The Today Show” that they were still treating the case as a missing person case because they still had found no evidence that Sandra Cantu had been abducted. While Chavez fought back tears, a friend, Lisa Encarnacion, said, “We don’t believe that she would go on her own accord with a stranger.”
Candlelight vigils were held for Sandra on Saturday and Sunday nights. Daniel Cantu, Sandra’s father, pleaded Sunday night “Please, bring her home. I love you, honey. Please come home soon.”
The mobile home park has only one road in and out, a road that the FBI cordoned off over the weekend, stopping every vehicle coming and going, searching the trunks.
And as the hours grow into days, the Sandra Cantu case grows older with no arrests. On the other side of the country, another missing child case, that of 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings, continues but in an atmosphere of frustration. After seven weeks, Putnam County Sheriff Jeff Hardy has become frustrated. After thousands of man-hours of investigative work, they are down to “no traces” of the missing and believed to be abducted Florida girl.
Meredith Vieira, who also interviewed Ronald Cummings on “The Today Show” about his missing daughter, Haleigh, asked Maria Chavez if the surveillance camera that had caught the last image of her daughter had been installed because of safety concerns in the neighborhood. Chavez said safety was not the issue, adding, “It’s been pretty safe over there.” She paused. “I thought.”
CNN reported Wednesday that police say they have received almost 500 leads thus far in the investigation.
Many of us when looking up and down the streets in our respective neighborhoods are facing the reality of the “housing slump.” For most who have either been forced to sell a home or have had it foreclosed on, it doesn’t have to be the end of all luck. And it’s becoming more common for homes in suburban or residential neighborhoods to have an added member of the family or guest, particularly someone who has recently lost his or her home.
This doesn’t mean that the person, persons or family at a loss has failed or did something to let the process of losing a home happen. And no, it doesn’t mean these despairing people are incompetent in any way, can’t finance, or have no chance of ever owning a home again. It also doesn’t permit an excuse with regard to anybody who has owned a very large home and has been prosperous that he, she, or family has a second home to go to. What’s important is what you can do until the slump subsides. One alternative is home sharing or living in closed quarters while savings or work opportunities build.
Many military families, students and mobile workers are plagued with nomad living constantly. Other considerations include a modular or fabricated home, a mobile home, or staying in a recreational vehicle or trailer park. Also, mobile homes are available for rent at the same rate as small in-town rents, but with more space and room for pets when allowed. By the time some of us survive the slump perhaps there will be some rethinking done and a mobile home can be eventually moved to an ocean site, set up near a national park or wildlife refuge, or kept in walking or short driving distance of a casino, sports, theater or shopping town utopia.
Instead of the “housing slump” getting anybody down perhaps it’s a chance to touch base with long-missed friends or family, an opportunity to visit an old home town or a chance to spend some time with Spot or Rover, maybe Muffin if you have a favored feline. Considering the crunch is not practical for a family with children in school, perhaps if the bills are spinning out of control and mom, dad, wife or husband is out of work, you may have little choice other than selling your home in the spring, camping at a quality site over the summer before school starts and give yourself a chance to save for a rent or smaller place in the meantime. Another solution is to rent your home while you stay at a less expensive location. Also, remember some area Social Service agencies are holding some reserves for the housing crunch with regard to food and medical as well as non-profit organizations and local church groups.
It’s necessary to keep your head up and thoughts positive, to use the local libraries, business centers and employment resources for computers and letter writing. Be aware that in most neighborhoods at this point of the slump, somebody has either lost a home or has someone staying with them who is in the predicament. It could happen to any of us for many reasons, catastrophes are not on purpose. In fact, after talking in depth with most people, all too many have “been there” at some time of their lives. And for those of us who have a warm roof over our heads this can be a reminder to be exceedingly grateful.
