Kenneth Faried had 14 points and 21 rebounds to help Morehead State rout Alabama State, 58-43, in the NCAA tournament play-in game last night in Dayton, Ohio.
The Eagles (20-15), making their first tourney appearance since 1984, never trailed and earned a first-round rematch Friday against top-seeded Louisville. The Cardinals pounded Morehead by 38 in November.
Alabama State finished the season 22-10.
In NIT action:
Rhode Island 68, Niagara 62 - Kahiem Seawright scored 20 points in the second half - including 10 in a critical run - and the Rams (23-10) beat the Purple Eagles (26-9) in a first-round game in Lewiston, N.Y.
Jimmy Baron scored 20, including six late free throws, for sixth-seeded URI, which will face Penn State next.
In the College Basketball Invitational:
Northeastern 64, Wyoming 62 - Matt Janning scored 20 points and the Huskies (19-12) surprised the Cowboys (19-14) in a first-round game in Laramie, Wyo.
NU will face either Nevada or UTEP in Monday’s quarterfinals.
In Division 2:
C.W. Post 82, Bentley 76 - Kenny Burkes scored 23 points and the No. 1 Pioneers (30-0) rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit to beat the Falcons (26-7) in Brookville, N.Y., and advance to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament in Springfield.
Jason Westrol was 7-of-8 on 3-pointers and had 28 points for Bentley.
By Herald Wire Services
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Job Fair To Fill 200 Positions
KENTVILLE — A job fair here today will introduce people seeking employment to about 200 positions available in the Kings County area, which has been hard hit by job losses over the past couple of months.
The Kings Community Economic Development Agency is hosting the fair at the Nova Scotia Community College’s Kingstec campus.
The full-day event starts with information sessions for job seekers between 8:30 a.m. and noon. Colby Clarke, a development officer with the agency, said the sessions will include information on employment insurance programs, health plan coverage and other issues facing people dealing with unemployment.
From noon to 7 p.m., more than a dozen employers with job openings will be on hand to let job seekers know about these positions.
"Some have a pretty significant number of jobs," Mr. Clarke said. "There are 200 positions available; that’s a pretty good number for these days."
The jobs include full- and part-time employment and seasonal work. Mr. Clarke said even a six-month job could be enough to give some people the "buffer zone" they need for better EI benefits.
Employers with jobs on offer include Larsens, Frito Lay, call centre Online Support, seniors facilities, and some trades.
He said a group of seniors facilities is also receiving funds to train continuing care assistants.
"We’re doing what we can so people are aware of the options that are out there," Mr. Clarke said.
He said the last time the agency held a job fair like this was two years ago, when Maple Leaf Foods closed its chicken-processing plant in Canard.
More than 700 people turned out for those sessions.
This one was organized in the wake of more job losses in the Valley.
About 300 people lost their jobs last month when ACA Cooperative closed its Eastern Protein chicken plant in Kentville and cut more jobs at its main plant in New Minas. KLJ Field Services, a Windsor call centre, closed at the cost of 90 jobs and Michelin laid off 95 flex workers at its Waterville plant
Reported By: Ian Fairclough
The Kings Community Economic Development Agency is hosting the fair at the Nova Scotia Community College’s Kingstec campus.
The full-day event starts with information sessions for job seekers between 8:30 a.m. and noon. Colby Clarke, a development officer with the agency, said the sessions will include information on employment insurance programs, health plan coverage and other issues facing people dealing with unemployment.
From noon to 7 p.m., more than a dozen employers with job openings will be on hand to let job seekers know about these positions.
"Some have a pretty significant number of jobs," Mr. Clarke said. "There are 200 positions available; that’s a pretty good number for these days."
The jobs include full- and part-time employment and seasonal work. Mr. Clarke said even a six-month job could be enough to give some people the "buffer zone" they need for better EI benefits.
Employers with jobs on offer include Larsens, Frito Lay, call centre Online Support, seniors facilities, and some trades.
He said a group of seniors facilities is also receiving funds to train continuing care assistants.
"We’re doing what we can so people are aware of the options that are out there," Mr. Clarke said.
He said the last time the agency held a job fair like this was two years ago, when Maple Leaf Foods closed its chicken-processing plant in Canard.
More than 700 people turned out for those sessions.
This one was organized in the wake of more job losses in the Valley.
About 300 people lost their jobs last month when ACA Cooperative closed its Eastern Protein chicken plant in Kentville and cut more jobs at its main plant in New Minas. KLJ Field Services, a Windsor call centre, closed at the cost of 90 jobs and Michelin laid off 95 flex workers at its Waterville plant
Reported By: Ian Fairclough
Monday, March 16, 2009
Free Napkin Is Online Trading Without the Trade
I recently wrote about the online bartering trend. Now there's a site getting tons of hits, Free Napkin, that is a similar idea to online bartering sites in terms of creating a profile, leaving feedback, etc, just without the actual trade--you just give some stuff away for free. Here's an example from the site's FAQ:
Registered freenapkin user Bob has a father who owns a farm. His dads farm has a lot of old equipment. Much of the equipment is old and non-functional and takes up a lot of space. Bobs dad is old and he himself does not have enough money to hire movers to come haul away some of the big equipment. He decides its better and more lucrative if he registers a free account on freenapkin so that his father can get rid of his equipment that he needs at will. His 80 yr old father was able to take a photo of his farming equipment and then with no help at all upload the photos onto his freenapkin account. The items were claimed within a few days. See how simple and easy a freenapkin account is. Senior citizens might not be able to help lift heavy objects but they can take a picture.
I haven't been able to find many testimonials from people about how they have liked using this site. But assuming it's legit, the idea is a bit strange. People who want to donate items for humanitarian purposes would probably prefer to do so at a place like Goodwill or Salvation Army where they know their donation is going to support the needy--not just someone who wants free stuff. For people looking to unload unwanted items, Craigslist (or any of the online bartering sites) seem just as easy to use, but with the added bonus of getting something in return.
Courtesy: Mark Bandyk, US News
Registered freenapkin user Bob has a father who owns a farm. His dads farm has a lot of old equipment. Much of the equipment is old and non-functional and takes up a lot of space. Bobs dad is old and he himself does not have enough money to hire movers to come haul away some of the big equipment. He decides its better and more lucrative if he registers a free account on freenapkin so that his father can get rid of his equipment that he needs at will. His 80 yr old father was able to take a photo of his farming equipment and then with no help at all upload the photos onto his freenapkin account. The items were claimed within a few days. See how simple and easy a freenapkin account is. Senior citizens might not be able to help lift heavy objects but they can take a picture.
I haven't been able to find many testimonials from people about how they have liked using this site. But assuming it's legit, the idea is a bit strange. People who want to donate items for humanitarian purposes would probably prefer to do so at a place like Goodwill or Salvation Army where they know their donation is going to support the needy--not just someone who wants free stuff. For people looking to unload unwanted items, Craigslist (or any of the online bartering sites) seem just as easy to use, but with the added bonus of getting something in return.
Courtesy: Mark Bandyk, US News
Saturday, March 14, 2009
DESIREE ROGERS, WHITEHOUSE SOCIAL SECRETARY SETS A NEW STANDARD
WASHINGTON — Desiree Rogers once made millionaires of a lucky few everyday people. Now she plans to give Americans dinner invitations to the White House.
Rogers, a svelte, stylish Chicago business executive and socialite—and a former Illinois lottery director—is turning again to Lady Luck in her new role as social secretary for a White House that hopes to balance glamor, history and an urban sensibility with plenty of populism.
"Something that we've talked about from early on is making it the people's house," said Rogers, sitting at a table in her East Wing office, a view of the Truman Balcony behind her. "How can we salute—encourage the American spirit? That means many different things to many different people."
Her vision includes inviting ordinary citizens chosen by lottery to join in a social life that reflects the eclectic interests of a sophisticated, young First Couple, Barack and Michelle Obama. Along with glittering state events and intimate dinners hosting artists and intellectuals, the calendar she plans includes edgy poetry slams and an egalitarian ball celebrating everyday American heroes.
Obama's FDA leader, food safety plans You can already see changes. The R&B band Earth, Wind and Fire was the entertainment at the Obamas' first formal dinner, hosting the nation's governors, and soul legend Stevie Wonder was honored with a White House concert. The black-tie governors' dinner had a more casual, modern feel with mixed-china place settings.
Among the first events have been a Super Bowl party and a dinner for congressional committee chairmen and their Republican counterparts. It was the first time even many of the GOP members of Congress had been invited to dinner at the White House despite their party's control of the presidency for the past eight years. The Super Bowl party included a children's play area featuring Nintendo Wii.
The traditional White House Easter Egg Roll this year is planned to be the largest ever, with tens of thousands of visitors and tickets distributed to the public online for the first time. The idea is that an assured spot will make it easier for families to come from across the country to join the egg hunt on the South Lawn; in the past, tickets were distributed in Washington the previous Saturday, making it less likely people would travel a long distance.
For many, the Obamas evoke John and Jacqueline Kennedy and Camelot, a presidency surrounded by an enduring mystique and sense of possibility. That image was created in part by an elegant White House social life that included a storied dinner with Nobel Prize winners and a performance by classical cellist Pablo Casals marking his celebrated return to America. Even before the election, Vogue editor at large Andre Leon Talley dubbed the Obama era "Black Camelot."
Whatever epithet ultimately sticks to the Obama White House, Rogers will be its impresario. And she, for one, rejects comparisons with Camelot: "This is not necessarily a presidency that duplicates, or copies. The Obamas have their own style," she said in an interview.
That style is livelier than the Bushes, more hip than the Reagans, more multicultural than the Clintons and more accessible than the Kennedys.
In an office that derives its greatest power from the opportunity to forge a direct relationship with the American people, and amid a celebrity culture that elevates the details of personal life, style can be critical.
"To have a successful presidency, the social life of the White House has to match the times. That's when it becomes such an added benefit to the presidency. It happened in its greatest form with the Kennedys," said Kennedy biographer Laurence Leamer. "There's no book that tells you how to do this. You have to feel your way through what you want to do."
The woman who will be helping the Obamas feel their way is a poised 5-foot, 10-inch Wellesley graduate with fashionable, close-shorn hair and a flair for designer clothing. Long before Rogers was associated with the White House, she was profiled in the September 2004 issue of Vogue, which praised her as "proving that chic and executive can co-exist."
A native of New Orleans and two-time queen of the Zulu Mardi Gras krewe, the 49-year-old Rogers has been a prominent presence on the Chicago social scene since her marriage to (now ex-husband) John Rogers, an Obama confidant and founder of Ariel Investments.
"She's a wonderful person to have in a room. She's fun and witty and lovely to look at," said Linda Johnson Rice, chairwoman and CEO of Johnson Publishing, a longtime friend and frequent guest at Rogers' Art Deco duplex in Chicago's Gold Coast. "When you walk into her home, everything is perfect: the candles are the right scent, the flowers are perfect and she's very welcoming."
Michigan Rep. Dave Camp, the top-ranking Republican on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, who sat next to Rogers at a recent White House dinner, gushes, "She's someone who puts you at ease instantly. You feel like you've known her a long time."
Though Rogers now has an apartment in Washington, she still shuttles back and forth to Chicago, returning three weeks ago for a surprise party for interior designer and Table Fifty-Two co-owner Julie Latsko.
Not only is Rogers the first African-American to be White House social secretary but she is the first with a Harvard MBA. She's spent much of her career at the intersection of politics, business and marketing.
After working as state lottery director, Rogers was a communications executive at People's Energy Corp. and then president of its two regulated utilities, steering them through a political backlash against rapidly rising gas prices. Before coming to the White House, she worked in another highly regulated industry: insurance. At Allstate, she was in charge of creating a social network to connect with customers.
Rogers is bringing some corporate marketing techniques to her new job. As she looks for ways to incorporate more modern touches in the Easter Egg Roll, she plans to test ideas with a focus group of children, said Cynthia Torres, a business school roommate who remains a close friend.
"She's investigating and trying to think through each event," Torres said.
Though Rogers approaches planning events with an eye toward imagery that will reinforce Obama's vision of the presidency and help him build relationships with the capital's other political players, she said her job ultimately is about "creating environments where people can kind of relax a little bit and experience a tiny slice of what America has to offer."
Like the conga line at the governor's ball.
"In the course of the evening, I looked up and they were doing a conga line," said White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett. "That's the perfect example of how comfortable people were able to get very quickly. And, you know, when you've done the conga line with somebody, it's very hard to have a heated dispute with them the next day."
Reported By: Mike Dorning, Chicago Tribune
Rogers, a svelte, stylish Chicago business executive and socialite—and a former Illinois lottery director—is turning again to Lady Luck in her new role as social secretary for a White House that hopes to balance glamor, history and an urban sensibility with plenty of populism.
"Something that we've talked about from early on is making it the people's house," said Rogers, sitting at a table in her East Wing office, a view of the Truman Balcony behind her. "How can we salute—encourage the American spirit? That means many different things to many different people."
Her vision includes inviting ordinary citizens chosen by lottery to join in a social life that reflects the eclectic interests of a sophisticated, young First Couple, Barack and Michelle Obama. Along with glittering state events and intimate dinners hosting artists and intellectuals, the calendar she plans includes edgy poetry slams and an egalitarian ball celebrating everyday American heroes.
Obama's FDA leader, food safety plans You can already see changes. The R&B band Earth, Wind and Fire was the entertainment at the Obamas' first formal dinner, hosting the nation's governors, and soul legend Stevie Wonder was honored with a White House concert. The black-tie governors' dinner had a more casual, modern feel with mixed-china place settings.
Among the first events have been a Super Bowl party and a dinner for congressional committee chairmen and their Republican counterparts. It was the first time even many of the GOP members of Congress had been invited to dinner at the White House despite their party's control of the presidency for the past eight years. The Super Bowl party included a children's play area featuring Nintendo Wii.
The traditional White House Easter Egg Roll this year is planned to be the largest ever, with tens of thousands of visitors and tickets distributed to the public online for the first time. The idea is that an assured spot will make it easier for families to come from across the country to join the egg hunt on the South Lawn; in the past, tickets were distributed in Washington the previous Saturday, making it less likely people would travel a long distance.
For many, the Obamas evoke John and Jacqueline Kennedy and Camelot, a presidency surrounded by an enduring mystique and sense of possibility. That image was created in part by an elegant White House social life that included a storied dinner with Nobel Prize winners and a performance by classical cellist Pablo Casals marking his celebrated return to America. Even before the election, Vogue editor at large Andre Leon Talley dubbed the Obama era "Black Camelot."
Whatever epithet ultimately sticks to the Obama White House, Rogers will be its impresario. And she, for one, rejects comparisons with Camelot: "This is not necessarily a presidency that duplicates, or copies. The Obamas have their own style," she said in an interview.
That style is livelier than the Bushes, more hip than the Reagans, more multicultural than the Clintons and more accessible than the Kennedys.
In an office that derives its greatest power from the opportunity to forge a direct relationship with the American people, and amid a celebrity culture that elevates the details of personal life, style can be critical.
"To have a successful presidency, the social life of the White House has to match the times. That's when it becomes such an added benefit to the presidency. It happened in its greatest form with the Kennedys," said Kennedy biographer Laurence Leamer. "There's no book that tells you how to do this. You have to feel your way through what you want to do."
The woman who will be helping the Obamas feel their way is a poised 5-foot, 10-inch Wellesley graduate with fashionable, close-shorn hair and a flair for designer clothing. Long before Rogers was associated with the White House, she was profiled in the September 2004 issue of Vogue, which praised her as "proving that chic and executive can co-exist."
A native of New Orleans and two-time queen of the Zulu Mardi Gras krewe, the 49-year-old Rogers has been a prominent presence on the Chicago social scene since her marriage to (now ex-husband) John Rogers, an Obama confidant and founder of Ariel Investments.
"She's a wonderful person to have in a room. She's fun and witty and lovely to look at," said Linda Johnson Rice, chairwoman and CEO of Johnson Publishing, a longtime friend and frequent guest at Rogers' Art Deco duplex in Chicago's Gold Coast. "When you walk into her home, everything is perfect: the candles are the right scent, the flowers are perfect and she's very welcoming."
Michigan Rep. Dave Camp, the top-ranking Republican on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, who sat next to Rogers at a recent White House dinner, gushes, "She's someone who puts you at ease instantly. You feel like you've known her a long time."
Though Rogers now has an apartment in Washington, she still shuttles back and forth to Chicago, returning three weeks ago for a surprise party for interior designer and Table Fifty-Two co-owner Julie Latsko.
Not only is Rogers the first African-American to be White House social secretary but she is the first with a Harvard MBA. She's spent much of her career at the intersection of politics, business and marketing.
After working as state lottery director, Rogers was a communications executive at People's Energy Corp. and then president of its two regulated utilities, steering them through a political backlash against rapidly rising gas prices. Before coming to the White House, she worked in another highly regulated industry: insurance. At Allstate, she was in charge of creating a social network to connect with customers.
Rogers is bringing some corporate marketing techniques to her new job. As she looks for ways to incorporate more modern touches in the Easter Egg Roll, she plans to test ideas with a focus group of children, said Cynthia Torres, a business school roommate who remains a close friend.
"She's investigating and trying to think through each event," Torres said.
Though Rogers approaches planning events with an eye toward imagery that will reinforce Obama's vision of the presidency and help him build relationships with the capital's other political players, she said her job ultimately is about "creating environments where people can kind of relax a little bit and experience a tiny slice of what America has to offer."
Like the conga line at the governor's ball.
"In the course of the evening, I looked up and they were doing a conga line," said White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett. "That's the perfect example of how comfortable people were able to get very quickly. And, you know, when you've done the conga line with somebody, it's very hard to have a heated dispute with them the next day."
Reported By: Mike Dorning, Chicago Tribune
Sunday, March 8, 2009
THERE IS NO SLOWING CHEIFTIANS.....
Paddy Moloney, founder of The Chieftains, long has been credited as an ambassador of Irish music.
He could just as easily be described as an ambassador of Galician, Scottish, American country or rock 'n' roll music, to name just a few of the varieties he has explored with The Chieftains.
Moloney digs up Celtic roots in unexpected places. Currently, he is delving into the musical influence of the Irish diaspora in Mexico, focusing on the presence of the "Batallon de San Patricio" during the Mexican-American War of the mid-1840s.
The St. Patrick's Battalion consisted primarily of recent Irish immigrants who deserted the U.S. Army to fight alongside the Mexicans. Many were caught and executed as traitors. Some historians view these soldiers as mercenaries or opportunists, while others think their status as a religious minority, as well as class issues, played a role in their desertion.
"It seems they didn't like the Protestant generals telling them to shoot their fellow Catholics," is how Moloney sees it.
The as-yet-untitled Chieftains album, which features Linda Ronstadt, still is a work in progress.
"We hope to have it finished by the end of April and to have it out by September," Moloney said.
Audiences who see The Chieftains during their jam-packed St. Patrick's season won't have to wait that long, as the band will preview new material. The Chieftains' tour includes concerts Thursday at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, March 15 at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia and March 16 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark.
"The first tune in the set is from the new album, about a Galician musician who went to Mexico," Moloney said. "And in the second half, we go berserk altogether with a full pipe band doing the march I wrote, and a lament for the Irish battalion."
Moloney, who plays uilleann pipes and tin whistle, is joined on this tour by longtime members Kevin Conneff (bodhran and vocals) and Matt Molloy (flute).
Missing this year will be the fiddler Sean Keane, who still is with The Chieftains and recorded with the band for its upcoming album, but who cannot tour right now for "personal family reasons," according to Moloney.
Courtesy: Kelly-Jane Cotter, Music Writer
He could just as easily be described as an ambassador of Galician, Scottish, American country or rock 'n' roll music, to name just a few of the varieties he has explored with The Chieftains.
Moloney digs up Celtic roots in unexpected places. Currently, he is delving into the musical influence of the Irish diaspora in Mexico, focusing on the presence of the "Batallon de San Patricio" during the Mexican-American War of the mid-1840s.
The St. Patrick's Battalion consisted primarily of recent Irish immigrants who deserted the U.S. Army to fight alongside the Mexicans. Many were caught and executed as traitors. Some historians view these soldiers as mercenaries or opportunists, while others think their status as a religious minority, as well as class issues, played a role in their desertion.
"It seems they didn't like the Protestant generals telling them to shoot their fellow Catholics," is how Moloney sees it.
The as-yet-untitled Chieftains album, which features Linda Ronstadt, still is a work in progress.
"We hope to have it finished by the end of April and to have it out by September," Moloney said.
Audiences who see The Chieftains during their jam-packed St. Patrick's season won't have to wait that long, as the band will preview new material. The Chieftains' tour includes concerts Thursday at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, March 15 at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia and March 16 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark.
"The first tune in the set is from the new album, about a Galician musician who went to Mexico," Moloney said. "And in the second half, we go berserk altogether with a full pipe band doing the march I wrote, and a lament for the Irish battalion."
Moloney, who plays uilleann pipes and tin whistle, is joined on this tour by longtime members Kevin Conneff (bodhran and vocals) and Matt Molloy (flute).
Missing this year will be the fiddler Sean Keane, who still is with The Chieftains and recorded with the band for its upcoming album, but who cannot tour right now for "personal family reasons," according to Moloney.
Courtesy: Kelly-Jane Cotter, Music Writer
IT'S LATER THAN YOU THINK; DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME RETURNED THIS MORNING
It's Later Than You Think; Daylight Saving Time Returned This Morning
Christine Bellini
You get an extra hour of daylight starting today so use your time wisely as Spring and its wiles are just around the corner.
Southampton - If you are just waking up this Sunday morning and thinking you have nabbed yourself a little extra time before the bustle begins, chances are my friend you are already an hour behind schedule. Daylight Saving Time arrived at 2 a.m. and snatched a hour of your precious time while you were sleeping.
The good news is, days will seem longer and daylight will advance the late afternoon and evening hours, allowing for more post-work activities.
First proposed by Englishman William Willett in 1907, he continued to unsuccessfully lobby for the time alteration until his death in 1915. Germany was the first to implement the system on April 30, 1916 as it served as a means to conserve fuel during the campaigns of WWI. Britian, the Allies and most of neutral European countries soon followed suit. Russia got on board in 1917 and the United States made it official on March 19, 1918.
Daylight Saving Time (DST) was subsequently repealed in 1919 and it wasn't until Feb. 9, 1942 that President Franklin D. Roosevelt reinstituted the time change for the duration of WWII, running to Sept. 30, 1945.
And for nearly 30 years Americans didn't alter their time clocks until President Richard M. Nixon signed the Emergency Daylight Saving Time Energy Conservation Act in 1973 during the height of the fuel crisis, officially making DST law. The act has been amended several times in the years that followed.
Father Time was readdressed yet once more by an act of congress in 2005 when the Energy Policy Act, which standardized the DST period from 2 a.m. on the second Sunday of March to 2 a.m. on the first Sunday in November, went into effect.
Courtesy: Christine Bellini
Christine Bellini
You get an extra hour of daylight starting today so use your time wisely as Spring and its wiles are just around the corner.
Southampton - If you are just waking up this Sunday morning and thinking you have nabbed yourself a little extra time before the bustle begins, chances are my friend you are already an hour behind schedule. Daylight Saving Time arrived at 2 a.m. and snatched a hour of your precious time while you were sleeping.
The good news is, days will seem longer and daylight will advance the late afternoon and evening hours, allowing for more post-work activities.
First proposed by Englishman William Willett in 1907, he continued to unsuccessfully lobby for the time alteration until his death in 1915. Germany was the first to implement the system on April 30, 1916 as it served as a means to conserve fuel during the campaigns of WWI. Britian, the Allies and most of neutral European countries soon followed suit. Russia got on board in 1917 and the United States made it official on March 19, 1918.
Daylight Saving Time (DST) was subsequently repealed in 1919 and it wasn't until Feb. 9, 1942 that President Franklin D. Roosevelt reinstituted the time change for the duration of WWII, running to Sept. 30, 1945.
And for nearly 30 years Americans didn't alter their time clocks until President Richard M. Nixon signed the Emergency Daylight Saving Time Energy Conservation Act in 1973 during the height of the fuel crisis, officially making DST law. The act has been amended several times in the years that followed.
Father Time was readdressed yet once more by an act of congress in 2005 when the Energy Policy Act, which standardized the DST period from 2 a.m. on the second Sunday of March to 2 a.m. on the first Sunday in November, went into effect.
Courtesy: Christine Bellini
Thursday, March 5, 2009
GAS EXPLOSION AND FIRE DESTROY BUSINESSES
BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) — A natural gas explosion and fire rocked downtown Bozeman Thursday morning, collapsing three buildings and prompting evacuation of a two-block area, officials said.
Crews were allowing the fire to burn because officials hadn't been able to completely shut off a natural gas line.
Assistant City Manager Chuck Winn said there were no reports of casualties, but said the rubble of the collapsed buildings was not yet safe to search.
"There's so much damage there and so much fire still that we cannot get our crews in," to search the rubble, Winn said.
City officials said four businesses were destroyed — a restaurant and bar, two other bars and a gallery.
The blast shook ceiling tiles at Schnee's Boots and Shoes three blocks from the explosion and knocked down shoes that were on display, said Dawn McClelland, who had just reported for work.
"The whole building shook," she said. "I thought somebody had rammed (a car) into the back of the building. The people up front thought the ceiling was falling in."
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Crews were allowing the fire to burn because officials hadn't been able to completely shut off a natural gas line.
Assistant City Manager Chuck Winn said there were no reports of casualties, but said the rubble of the collapsed buildings was not yet safe to search.
"There's so much damage there and so much fire still that we cannot get our crews in," to search the rubble, Winn said.
City officials said four businesses were destroyed — a restaurant and bar, two other bars and a gallery.
The blast shook ceiling tiles at Schnee's Boots and Shoes three blocks from the explosion and knocked down shoes that were on display, said Dawn McClelland, who had just reported for work.
"The whole building shook," she said. "I thought somebody had rammed (a car) into the back of the building. The people up front thought the ceiling was falling in."
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
