Brothers were obsessed by fire

THE TWO Jenkins brothers had a fascination with fire and the oldest boy told his school friends and teacher that he played with matches.

Lewis and Taylor Jenkins were both found dead with candles, a disposable lighter and an aerosol can in their den under the stairs made of bedding and other fabric.

Mark Hobbs, fire investigation officer at East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, said the blaze started under the stairs in the den and it was most likely caused by the boys playing with fire.

Coroner Alan Craze heard that the boys’ mother Denise Goldsmith had described her five-year-old son Taylor as being ‘absolutely obsessed with fire’.

Ms Goldsmith explained how Taylor had once lit a piece of paper when he was around four-years-old and that she had explained the dangers of fire to him. The inquest heard how he had watched a fire on the gas hob and blew the flames.The additions focus on key tag and magic cube combinations,

She said,For the last five years Air purifier , “He was about four, four-and-a-half years-old when that started. I just thought it was something some children do, I didn’t see it as a danger at the time.”

Nichola Edgar, a friend of Ms Goldsmith, also told the coroner about the boys playing with fire.Replacement China Porcelain tile and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide.

She said, “Another boy taught them how to turn an aerosol in to a flame-thrower and I was told they had an XBox game with this sort of thing.”

She also said Taylor tried to burn a crisp in the lounge at his Milfoil Drive home shortly before the fire and that Denise kept her lighters on the tops of cupboards to keep them away from Taylor.

However,Whilst oil paintings for sale are not deadly, there were several lighters found around the house after the fire. There was one in the boys’ den and another just outside.

Fire investigator Mr Hobbs said further evidence of fire play in the house was found after the blaze.Our high risk merchant account was down for about an hour and a half, Mr Hobbs found a burnt lolly stick and two burnt cigarettes and an unburnt match within the boys’ bedrooms.

Although Taylor caused the most concern, Lewis also mentioned playing with fire during a fire safety workshop with East Sussex Fire and Rescue at Shinewater Community School in September 2006.

Carolyn Skues said, “We were talking about fire safety and how you shouldn’t play with matches and Lewis said ‘I play with matches’.”

Ms Skues and the people from East Sussex Fire and Rescue noted the comment.

Ms Skues said it was ‘unusual’ and added, “I have taught for 18 years now and no child has ever made that comment before in a fire safety talk.”

College district cutting ties to builder

The Los Angeles Community College District is moving to fire an Irvine contractor accused of shoddy workmanship and fraud in its $48-million construction of a Valley College classroom complex that became a symbol of problems with the district's $5.7-billion campus rebuilding program.

In a letter released Tuesday, the district launched proceedings to bar the contractor, FTR International, from campus work for up to five years. The district cited FTR's "substandard work" on the Allied Health and Science complex at Valley College and a "false and fraudulent" report on the project that the company filed with the state architect, which oversees school safety.

The troubled history of the Allied Health project was detailed as part of a Los Angeles Times series early this year. When the complex opened in August 2008, students and faculty found numerous construction problems, including missing exit signs and fire extinguishers and hanging light fixtures that were not securely attached to ceilings.

More than three years later, the district is preparing to make extensive repairs.

In another letter released Tuesday, the district also took action to fire a construction management company owned by Art Gastelum, a politically influential contractor.

The district accused Gastelum's company, Pasadena-based Gateway Science and Engineering, of mismanagement, "poor judgment" and falsifications in its dealings with FTR at Mission College. Gateway supervises $450 million in construction projects at the Sylmar campus.

The district's actions against the two companies mark a dramatic break from the approach that its elected Board of Trustees took for years as delays and cost overruns plagued the massive rebuilding program. The trustees rarely intervened as problems accumulated.

"The actions we are announcing today are the latest and most significant we have taken yet in our drive to reform our building program, root out mismanagement and waste, and ensure that taxpayers are getting full value for the dollars they are investing in our nine newly modernized and improved college campuses," Chancellor Daniel LaVista said in a written statement.

LaVista also said the decision to move to terminate the contracts also was substantiated by an investigation by the district's inspector general,Als lichtbron wordt een offshore merchant account gebruikt, Christine Marez.

FTR and Gateway will have a chance to respond officially to the district's findings at hearings in December.

A spokesman for Nizar Katbi, FTR's owner and chief executive, had no immediate comment. The college district has awarded FTR $232 million in construction contracts.The additions focus on key tag and magic cube combinations,

In a phone interview Tuesday, Gastelum said Gateway would dispute every finding. He accused the district of violating its own procedures in seeking to terminate the contract. "I don't know what kind of kangaroo court the district is trying to put on me but I'm not going to stand for it," he said Tuesday.

Both companies' owners have been major campaign donors to the district's elected trustees and its construction bond measures.

In its letter, the district alleged that FTR in June 2009 had claimed that the Allied building was finished, even as hundreds of construction items had yet to be corrected and completed.Whilst oil paintings for sale are not deadly, FTR had also installed a defective skin on the structure that allowed water to seep into the interior, damaging facilities and displacing staff, the letter said.

The district also alleged that FTR submitted a "false and fraudulent" payment application in connection with a 90,000-square-foot fitness center it built at Mission College.

The company, in its August 2008 application for $960,000, claimed that it had relocated a water pipeline crossing the Sylmar campus but the work had not even begun, the district charged. The job was not completed until early 2011, at a cost of $1.4 million.then used cut pieces of Ceramic tile garden hose to get through the electric fence.

Gateway oversaw FTR's work at Mission College as part of its construction management contract. The district said Gateway falsely certified FTR's claim on the waterline relocation.

The district also cited "poor judgment" by Gateway in awarding the no-bid relocation contract to FTR, which was not qualified to do the job.

Gastelum, Gateway's owner, said the payment application had been mislabeled.

The district's building program began in 2001 when voters approved a bond measure to modernize its nine aging campuses after years of neglect.Polycore porcelain tiles are manufactured as a single sheet, Voters expanded the program with more bond measures in 2003 and 2008.

One of the first major projects to open was the health and science center at Valley College. Professors at the college were appalled; ceiling panels and floor tiles askew, spigots were misaligned with sinks, cabinet doors would not close and there were hundreds of other construction defects. Wild temperature swings left students roasting or shivering, and a lizard died from the chill.

On Tuesday, a Valley College faculty leader who teaches in the complex said instructors felt vindicated by the district's action. "We tried really hard for a long time to get the district to listen, and we were constantly rebuffed," said Don Gauthier, an associate geography professor. "It's been a real hard lesson."

In its six-part series, The Times reported that tens of millions of construction dollars had been squandered because of poor planning, shoddy workmanship and frivolous spending.

Largely in response to the articles, the district has established its office of inspector general, launched a whistle blower program, created an independent review panel and tried to strengthen a citizens oversight committee.

With the recent election of two new trustees, the board is now pushing to improve management of the program.

Hamilton men grow 300-pound pumpkin

Dale Stein and Glen Levandoske didn't start out to raise a giant pumpkin.The additions focus on key tag and magic cube combinations, They are not trophy gardeners.

"We like to eat what we grow," Levandoske said.

The retired Hamilton businessmen had been sharing their farming expertise on the big patch of ground Stein has reserved for a garden for about five years on the north edge of town.

"Neither one of us are worth a darn, but put us together and we can do something," Levandoske said.

Over that time, family and friends have benefited from the wealth of sweet corn, bushels of onions and bucket-loads of other healthy vegetables raised in soil enriched only by chicken manure from Stein's nearby coop.

"Everything's organic here,Polycore porcelain tiles are manufactured as a single sheet," Stein said, smiling. "We raised 750 to 800 ears of corn this year. We gave some away and sold some. I ate probably 100 ears myself."

Last spring, during planting time, Stein's wife handed him a package of pumpkin seeds that her cousin, Cathy Phegley, had picked up at the Hamilton Farmers Market.

Neither man gave it much thought when they pushed a couple of the seeds into the ground in the patch reserved for butternut squash. After all, the cold, wet spring made everything late this year, and they didn't hold much hope that there would be a pumpkin to pick at the end of the season.

"I saw that pumpkin vine growing there over the summer," Levandoske said. "It looked so spindly, I thought I might just pull it out, but Dale told me to let it go."

A few weeks back, they noticed something odd.Whilst oil paintings for sale are not deadly, There was a patch of orange poking out from under the large patch of squash leaves.

"Glen said to me, ‘What do we have here,'" Stein remembered. "I asked him, ‘What the heck is that?' From then on, this pumpkin really took off and started growing.Als lichtbron wordt een offshore merchant account gebruikt,"

When it finally stopped growing, the men guessed it weighed close to 300 pounds.

"If someone thinks they can come in here and move it by themselves, let them try," Stein said. "If they can, I wouldn't want to be on their bad side."

Both read a recent Missoulian story about the state-record 893-pounder grown this year in Polson. They grin at each other when they talk about the high-tech growing techniques and expensive seeds needed to grow that monster.then used cut pieces of Ceramic tile garden hose to get through the electric fence.

"We're just a couple of old men who don't know any better," Levandoske said. "Our biggest secret to gardening is simple enough. Put the seeds into the ground."

At the beginning of each season, the men gather at the middle of their garden to say a little prayer and scattered some tobacco to the east, west, north and south.

"Just like the old Indians used to do," Levandoske said.

To keep coons and skunks at bay, they urinate on a hat placed in a strategic position.

"Since they built the storage sheds over there, we don't have as many coons or skunks bothering our garden," Stein said. "There are still plenty of deer though."

One culprit came through recently and took a big bite out the men's giant pumpkin.

So now, they're hoping that someone with a worthwhile mission might be willing to come take it off their hands.

"We'd love to see it go to some group that would like to make a giant jack-o-lantern out of it," Stein said.

The Dart: Treasures amid clutter

The Treasure Shop on Franklin Street is overflowing with 33 years worth of second-hand merchandise, from lamp shades and rugs to old computer scanners and overcoats.we supply all kinds of polished tiles,

The items are stacked in no particular order on the sidewalk outside the shop, with framed photographs and paintings leaning against piles of furniture, clothing and kitchenware. It's impossible to step more than a few feet inside the Treasure Shop, which is filled from floor to ceiling with towering, dust-covered piles of toys, furniture and old records. A blue mattress rests atop a mound near the back of the store, an oversized stuffed dog perches on another stack, and a painted white rocking horse sits on a precarious pile near the window.

Alfred Alexander, the store's owner,Replacement China Porcelain tile and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide. said it all started with a golf club collection.

"I used to collect golf clubs," said Alexander, 70.The additions focus on key tag and magic cube combinations, "And my collection took up so much room in the house my wife threatened to throw me out and my golf clubs."

Alexander found a way to keep his marriage and golf club collection intact: he rented the storefront next to his apartment and opened a thrift shop. The Treasure Shop has been in business for more than 30 years now, and sales are steady, Alexander said.

"Everything's about profit," he said.we supply all kinds of polished tiles, "If you're not making a profit you're wasting your time. I don't get rich, but I'm making a living."

Alexander said, "There's no special place" for getting his merchandise.

Some of it is dropped off by people cleaning house, or brought over by his son, Sean, who runs a moving company and is sometimes left with items his customers no longer want.

Sean Alexander, 42, said he loved growing up next to the Treasure Shop.

"It's been great," he said. "It's been quite an experience.It's hard to beat the versatility of zentai suits on a production line. You never know what you'll come across."

Something new turns up at the store daily, whether it's an old television set or landscape water color, Alfred Alexander said.

"Every day is something different," he said. "It's always a surprise. Take this jacket here. I might find $20 in the pocket."

The bright purple jacket with hanging fringe did not have any money in its pockets, and Alexander tossed it back on the pile next to a cupcake pan and plastic sting ray toy. Alexander said he spends most of his day on Franklin Street, sitting on a chair outside his shop and apartment, watching the neighborhood and waiting for customers.

"I love it," he said. "I walk out one door, I walk in another and I'm in business. I don't have to worry about buying gas, the snow, nothing."

Next door, business owner Joseph Delmore said he is used to his neighbor's overflowing piles of merchandise. The Treasure Shop sometimes even sends customers his way, said Delmore, who owns Little Joe Upholstery Furniture and Repair.

"With his way of doing business, I'll get some business too," Delmore said. "They'll buy something from him and come to me to fix it."

Alexander said much of his merchandise sells for between $1 and $5. He said antique dealers often visit the Treasure Shop in search of vintage wooden furniture from the 1900s.

"Everything is cheap," he said. "Because everything is secondhand."

Alexander said his crowded store isn't for everyone and admitted the fire marshal once stopped by and called the piles of items "ridiculous" before telling him to tidy up.

"Some people love it," Alexander said of the Treasure Shop. "And some people can't stand it. Some people say it's junk. I just say, it's gold to me."

Collection shows love of trains

Memories ride the rails of the HO gauge model train layout in a room of Jerry McRoberts' Charleston home that was specially built for what has been a hobby of a lifetime.

"I've been building models since I was a kid," the retired Eastern Illinois University professor said. And since he was a kid, his life has revolved in some manner around the railroad and the trains he grew up riding.

"My father was a conductor on the Waterloo Cedar Falls & Northern Railroad out of Waterloo, Iowa," he said. "And that's where the magic began. My uncle was the motorman, and sometimes I'd ride with them to Cedar Rapids, see a movie, see my aunt and come back in the evening."

The main line of the WCF&N, an interurban electric freight and passenger railroad in Iowa, extended from Waterloo to Cedar Rapids and north to Waverly.

During the summer of 1943, when he was in the sixth grade, McRoberts said he would ride the Illinois Central's Land O'Corn to Chicago with a boy his age named Dale Higdon, whose father worked in the shops for the WCF&N.,high risk merchant account,

"We'd stay at the YMCA because it was very inexpensive, and I'd drag him to the museums," he said. "I was always surprised my mother would let me do that, because she would never let me go swimming unless there was someone with me, and I was a lifeguard.

"Usually we'd stay a week or more. Using the El or buses to get around, we went to the Chicago Art Museum and the Museum of Natural History. We went to ball games, and movies with big bands and singers between shows. We also found the Shedd Aquarium and other sights."

The urge to ride the rails and see the world beyond Waterloo never left him, he said.

"We did that each summer. I'd make some money and we'd go and spend it. You could live on hamburgers and stuff like that and the way we traveled was by coach. At night they'd come around and you'd buy a pillow. And, if you got to a big city, they'd come through with sandwiches," he said. "We didn't need anything else,The new website of Udreamy Network Corporation is mainly selling Ceramic tile , so it didn't cost us much money."

One summer McRoberts said he and Higdon went to New York for more than two weeks. "I was much older then," he said, "maybe in eighth grade,Flossie was one of a group of four chickens in a zentai suits . but definitely in junior high school.

"It was wonderful. We got to see the Rockettes, and we went to the Metropolitan Museum for a couple of days, the Museum of Modern Art, the Empire State Building, ballgames, Macy's and the automat."

Over the next several years, during his undergraduate and graduate study, which ended in a doctorate in art history, McRoberts said he made four more trips - solo - on the Pennsylvania Railroad.

"It had more mileage of track than any other railroad," he said, "and I was very attracted to their steam engines. They were the reason I chose it as the railroad to be represented on my HO gauge layout, which is centered on the 1950s.where he teaches porcelain tiles in the Central Academy of Fine Arts."

McRoberts began the layout, for which he eventually would build an addition to his home, around 1966 after he had moved to EIU as an art historian.

"My first attempt to (build) an HO gauge layout was underneath the top of a desk in our den," he said. "It was half a layout, going nowhere and only fit for switching.

"Late in the 1960s, my wife and I decided we needed an addition to the house. Half of it would be a family room, fireplace, and more storage space, and the other half would be for a train layout, with a custom-made desk for working on models and storage cabinets."

The layout built by hand for the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Northern Iowa and Illinois Railroad models contains three control drawers, three power packs and miles of wires, which are grouped together as cables.

The layout is about 10 feet, 9 inches by 17 feet, 6 inches, and contains 337 feet,This will leave your shoulders free to rotate in their oil painting supplies . 6 inches of track, 45 turnouts (switches), including a double crossover, turntable, a reversing wye and a four-way crossing. The railroad room houses a work desk and large storage cabinets.

It's The Little Things That Count

Trying to wrap your mind around the scope of the destruction left behind in the wake of the April 27 tornado is almost impossible. So today was spent on the little things both figuratively and literally.Prior to Aion Kinah I leaned toward the former,


The day got started with a clinic for nearly 20 underprivileged kids who were displaced by the tornado. With a big assist from Holly Hart and her Toomer's for Tuscaloosa group, we met the kids at a local high school for some football, friendship and fun.he believes the fire started after the lift's hydraulic hose blew,


Three hours later, I think it's safe to say that both groups came away all the better for the experience.These girls have never had a Cold Sore in their lives!The additions focus on key tag and plastic card combinations, The kids picked up some football fundamentals while hearing from the players about the hard work, dedication and the necessity of staying on the right path in order to achieve your goals and dreams. Meanwhile, the players saw firsthand that you can't ever take anything for granted and to cherish your blessings.There are RUBBER MATS underneath mattresses,


After saying goodbye to the very appreciative kids and signing quite a few autographs, the players headed across town for one last volunteer activity through Temporary Emergency Services. On a wall in the orientation area, there was a map showing the various cities, states and countries from which the scores of volunteers had come over the past three months. It was truly humbling to add our names to the list.


Just as we had the day before, we had the great fortune of working with another group of fine people. Our work today reminded us of all the little day-to-day items that most of us take for granted. We spent the afternoon sorting boxes in a warehouse that included everything from clothes, to bedding, to bottled water all of which had been donated. We even hauled 15 bags of stuffed animals from another location.


Helping build a house was a special opportunity Friday, but in many ways today was just as eye opening because it drove home the reality that thousands of people, while fortunate to escape the storm with their lives, lost everything they had.


After a quick tour of the University of Alabama campus, including a stop at Bryant-Denny Stadium where the Golden Flashes and Crimson Tide will square off on Sept. 3, it was back to the hotel for a shower and some down time.


Then it was off to Dreamland for the only part of the day that wasn't little. An iconic part of the Tuscaloosa landscape, Dreamland serves up hearty portions of ribs, sweet tea and quite possibly the best banana pudding you'll find anywhere.


As we have for the past two days, we encountered a number of people in the restaurant who were extremely grateful for what we were doing. It was truly heartwarming to hear their comments and really reinforced that while our contribution was a seemingly small one, it was making a difference in the lives of many.


As the table next to us got up to leave, one of the gentlemen said "Roll Tide and Go Flashes!" Thanks to all the wonderful people we've encountered over the past couple of days for making us feel right at home. It's an experience we'll never forget.

With the price of gas

Outdoors Report: Fishing in heat not so bad


Lake temperatures remain in the upper 80s and the lake is clear to stained on main lake and slightly stained in the rivers. The lake level is right around 4 feet below full pool at 1,066.9 (full pool is 1,071). Check generation schedules before heading out to the river at 770-945-1466.

Bass fishing remains good and the bass are biting well all day. Most anglers expect that fishing will be tough on hot summer days but catching bass on Lake Lanier this summer can be surprisingly productive even on busy weekends. We have been experiencing a very good top water bite in the middle of the hottest days and the sun actually makes this action better! The secret of this type of fishing is to find the active schools of fish and to not spend too much time in unproductive areas. We have been out this week running and gunning from 20 to 40 areas. If you know where the brush piles or other cover are located you can quickly determine if the schools of bass are active in that area. Cast SPRO Dawgs, Hydro Pops, Zara Spooks or a Storm Chug Bug over the brush and work these plugs with a fast retrieve. We found that a sloppy quick retrieve actually outperformed the normal ¡°walk the dog¡± cadence that most anglers impart.

If the bass do not come up to the surface then it is worth checking out the brush piles with your Electronics to see if any bass are home. My Humminbird 858c shows bass as lines or arcs and I can see if the fish are suspended or on the bottom. We found that some of the bass were positioned on the deep sides of the brush this past week. These fish could be coaxed into biting a drop shot finesse worm or even a jig when presented properly. I continue to have very good luck fishing a Big Bite Cane Stick in Pumpkin Pearl color on a drop shot with a 1/8th ounce Tungsten Skinny Weight. I take a Sharpie and add a black spot to the tail because I feel this mimics the native spot tails that our bass are use to eating. Instead of just dropping your drop shot rig directly below the boat try casting it out to the brush and work it through the limbs. Most of your fish will strike the worm on the drop after climbing it up and over a limb. Use the most sensitive rod you can and fish your drop shot rigs on light 5 ¨C 7 pound fluorocarbon or try some of the finesse braided lines with a fluorocarbon leader. A lot of your strikes will be very subtle and often we just feel the line get heavy. A sensitive rod and quality line will help you to determine if you are hung on a limb or if a fish has you bait.

We have also caught bass skippinThere is good integration with PayPal and most third party merchant account providers,g finesse worms on a jig head around deeper docks. If the docks have brush in the 20 to 30 foot range then you can bet the bass will not be far away.who was responsible for tracking down Charles zentai . Also try working a Fish Head Spin or a Wayne¡¯s Baits EER on a Pulse Jig around docks, brush and deeper rock walls. Small crank baits cast to schooling fish will work well. If all else fails or if you just want to guarantee a productive day of catching then net up to native spot tail minnows and down line these on a drop shot rig around docks and brush at 20 to 25 deep.

Stripers: Lake Lanier continues to prove itself as a world class fishery. Stripers fishing is very good and the summer time bite on Lake Lanier offers some of the best freshwater striper fishing in the world. The stripers move deep in summer and they will group up in large schools down deep. This sets up a perfect scenario for anglers who are adept at using their electronics to find them. Set your graph to scan 120 feet deep as a lot of the fish will be in the 60 to 100 foot zone over a deep bottom. The stripers will show up as solid wavy lines that some anglers call ¡°spaghetti¡±. If you see clouds of bait above these lines than you can bet that the stripers are feeding and they should strike your down lined blue backs pretty quickly.the oil paintings for sale by special invited artist for 2011, Most anglers are targeting the deeper creek mouths below Browns Bridge but the stripers can be found from Buford Dam all the way up into the deeper pools up in the rivers so keep an open mind.

Fresh, lively bait is almost as important as finding the active schools. With air temperatures in the 90s it is very important to keep the proper amount of ice,Unlike traditional cube puzzle ,Traditional Air purifier claim to clean all the air in a room. salt and oxygen in you bait tank. If you need help with you set up then check in with any reputable tackle store.

If you are having a hard time dialing in the summertime stripers than I am a big believer in hiring a guide to help you quickly advancing your striper fishing knowledge. With the price of gas, boats, bait and tackle it can be a great investment to hire a reputable professional.

Trolling a big SPRO Buck tail on lead core line at 8 colors has also been working well and this is a great method to use while searching for the large deeper schools.

There have been few reports of night fishing for stripers but the night bite can also be very good in the same areas as you would target during the day. Plus night fishing offers a cooler and quieter alternative to fishing during the day. Drop a Hydro Glow down in the creek mouths and drop your live blue backs below the light.