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• Couple redecorating home

Cost-wise, renovations begin with defining clearly what you want to accomplish to ensure that you are covering all the important requirements.

The whole household should be involved in the planning process what is really needed and what would be “nice to have”? How will your needs change over the years?

Discuss your ideas in detail with your builder, who can offer sound advice on costs and approaches.

A licensed builder can help you discover the hidden assets of your home. For instance, homeowners sometimes assume that they need extra floor space, when maybe all that is needed is more effectively designed space.

By rearranging interior walls, eliminating separations and installing larger windows, the builder can often create the sense of spaciousness and light that you want.

Look under existing carpeting and sheet flooring old hardwood is often of high quality and can be refurbished.

If your old trim and doors are in good shape, they can be refurbished rather than replaced.

Likewise, you may be able to resurface your kitchen cupboards instead of installing new ones, or perhaps you can “recycle” hardware such as knobs and handles.

Do the work in stages to suit your budget. Phasing the work allows you to achieve the results that you really want without undue financial pressure. Your professional builder can help develop a master plan, with proper sequencing of tasks, timelines and expected costs.

Product substitution can extend your budget. You don’t want to compromise on the overall quality of your renovation. However, where performance is not affected, you can consider using less expensive alternatives. Your builder can advise you on how to get the best value for your money.

Water-conserving fixtures will save a considerable amount of money over time in areas with water metering.

Likewise, energy-efficient lighting, high-efficiency heating systems and electronic thermostats mean long-term savings. Licensed builders are up to date on the latest technologies and can provide you with the information you need to make wise decisions for the long term.

Do some of the work yourself. If you have the skills and the time, you can stretch your renovation dollars by taking on some of the work yourself.

Generally, builders recommend that you leave structural and mechanical renovations to the professionals, but many homeowners can competently do their own painting, landscaping or other finishing jobs.

Talk to your builder about the effect of do-it-yourself work on scheduling and the builders’ warranty, keeping in mind that you should try not to interfere in the way the builder intends to manage the project.

Ask an open-ended question and you’ll likely get a some surprising answers.

That’s what artist Saul Melman and bartender, homeowner and community activist Alex Kapteyn Lattner hoped for when they asked Evansville Arts District residents to finish the sentence: “One change I would make in my neighborhood is ____ .”

The question, posed on cards passed in at “Best of All Possible Worlds, a community event,” generated more than 150 written responses from area residents.

Many asked for more — more neighborliness, more block parties and more lights, trash cans and surveillance cameras. Others called for a grocery, more trees, more landscaping. And others asked for less — less trash, fewer abandoned buildings, potholes, mo-peds, cats, children and “cranky old people.”

Those and lots of other suggestions surfaced at the community event that took its title, its theme and its location from Melman’s acrylic representation of a door, the purchase award winner in last year’s inaugural Sculpt EVV competition.

When vandals destroyed it soon after it went up on the former homesite at 23 Jefferson, Melman responded with “1 Maple,” the Brooklyn, N.Y., artist’s entry in this year’s Sculpt EVV. The piece, a young red maple planted in the concrete outline of a larger tree, grows a dozen yards from where “Best of All Possible Worlds” once stood. The community event took place June 15.

Melman intended for the question, the responses and the community gathering at the site of his destroyed door as part of a continuing work of neighborhood art exploring the past, present and future for the site, the street and the neighborhood, he says.

The artist has returned to Brooklyn, where he works as an emergency room physician, but Lattner has continued with the project, following up with another meeting, last week, at 23 Jefferson.

Her idea is to follow up and push forward with some of the dreams, concerns and concrete suggestions provided by those who filled in the project’s open-ended question.

They were all over the place, but a few themes emerged. Many responses called for more neighborliness, or as one put it, “for more people to be nice to one another. Everyone! Everyday. Always.” “I would know everyone’s name!” wrote one person. Others wanted organized get-togethers, block parties and other community events.

A number wanted perceptions to change about their neighborhood. They called for “a better attitude to the Haynie’s Corner Arts District,” “pride in our city and openness to new ideas” and “to change my neighborhood/community’s perspective on itself.”

Many had concrete requests, for a grocery store with healthy food, neighborhood restaurants, a movie theater, playground equipment, sidewalks and “old fashioned streetlights that provide light but you can still see the stars.”

Lots of respondents called for more art, more art events and one wanted “good graffiti/murals like in Philly, PA.”

Some either misunderstood the question or offered sarcasm, asking for “more hookers and drug dealers” and for “rats, mice, Cats, stray dogs, raccoons, possums.” There was no questioning the concern of one writer with a shaky hand and less-than-perfect grammar, however. “Stop shooting,” read the card. “It bad.”

Lattner assumes the card came from a child who, like many, she said, may perceive the area to be more dangerous than it really is.

She hopes the entire exercise, from writing the notes to discussing them in outdoor forums to encouraging participation in neighborhood associations, can help the community act on their ideas.

“I want people to realize that, to an extent, they can control their own situation. I hope people find something to think about and ways to effect change and become more involved,” she said.

Melman echoed that notion. “I hope that people feel more empowered, as individuals and as a collective, and that people act to be the change they want to see in their community.”

A complete list of the responses is available in the online version of this story, at www.courier press.com.

festival looms

There’s still time to sign up for workshops in the New Harmony Music Festival music camp in New Harmony, Ind.

The festival, which will run from July 7 through 13, offers classes aimed at intermediate and advanced students in Irish and Scandinavian traditional music, musical improvisation and classical chamber music.

The weeklong event also will include free and paid concerts featuring this year’s faculty, who include Natalie Haas on cello, Arnaud Sussmann on classical violin, Patrick Ourceau on Irish fiddle, Martha Waldvogel-Warren on concert and Celtic harp, Eamon O’Leary on guitar and Irish vocals, Mazz Swift on violin and vocals, Paul Woodiel on Scandinavian fiddle and violin and festival founder Christopher Layer on Irish pipes and flutes.

The concert schedule includes free programs July 9 and 10, a community dance in the Rapp-Owen Granary on July 11, and ticketed concerts July 12 and 13.

For details, visit www.newharmonymusicfest.com or call 646-456-7762.

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By Les Harvath

Published: Saturday, June 29, 2013, 9:00 p.m.

Updated 2 hours ago

For several generations, since tanks were introduced on the battlefields of World War I, kids, especially boys, have played with them as they grew up. But Belle Vernon Area High School senior-to-be Jonathan Baker has gone one better, or perhaps 33 tons better.

For Baker’s soon-to-be-completed Eagle Scout project, he has taken on a World War II era Sherman tank that, due to aging, exposure to decades of weather and vandalism, is in dire need of repair.

Situated on a concrete slab in the center of the World War II memorial in Monessen, a long-neglected Sherman tank is undergoing a long-awaited and much-needed facelift.

Exploring several possibilities for his project, “this one stood out,� Baker said, referring to turning the tank into an attraction instead of an eyesore. “I have five great-great uncles who were in World War II and, even though this is not the memorial dedicated to all Monessen residents who were veterans, this is a World War II memorial and I thought it would be a fitting tribute to them and everyone who fought in the war.�

With his plans in hand, Baker, a member of Scout Troop 1543 in Belle Vernon, attended a Monessen city council work session to present his proposal. One day later council gave Baker the go-ahead.

“Jonathan came to council and said he was looking at the tank for his Eagle Scout project,â€� Monessen City Administrator John Harhai said. “That tank has been here 50 years and, even though refurbishing was necessary, was not high on the list of the city’s priorities. We liked what Jonathan had to say and we are working with him. He is repainting the entire tank and redoing the surrounding area, including shrubbery.

“This is the future of the United States,� Harhai added, referring to Baker and Scouts like him. “These are the children you want to work with, and I wish we had more young people who are willing to take on responsibilities such as Jonathan has. This is an excellent project, one which will obviously benefit our community. He came in with a solid plan and knows what he wants to accomplish.�

In presenting his plans, Baker fielded questions regarding the overall project, landscaping, and color he would paint the impressive tank, a decommissioned military vehicle. He located the original serial number through a military data base website and will replace military markings of the tank, including a white star on the front and numbers on the sides of the 19-feet-4-inches long, 8-feet-7-inches wide, 29-feet high, 450 horsepower weapon, armed with a 75 mm gun, two .30 caliber Browning machine guns, and one .50 caliber Browning machine gun and a crew of five.

More than 50,000 Sherman tanks, named in honor of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s subordinate, William Tecumseh Sherman, were produced between 1942 and 1945, and was the most commonly used American tank in World War II They were used in all combat theaters (National WWII Museum in New Orleans website). “Sherman tanks,â€� wrote Stephen E. Ambrose in “D-Day June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II,â€� were “the first vehicles on Omaha Beach (on D- Day).â€�

Baker has been involved with scouting since the second grade, joining with friends and following in the footsteps of his father, Jeff, who is Scoutmaster of Troop 1543.

Dennis Lynn, assistant Scoutmaster of Troop 1543, has known and worked with Baker for five years.

“Jonathan has a high energy level and a positive attitude,� Lynn noted. “He exhibits a lot of scouting spirit and is very motivated. He helps with younger Scouts and tries to keep their excitement levels up and keep them interested in their activities. He helps keep the Scouts focused on tasks at hand.�

Once Baker, who plays the clarinet in the Belle Vernon Area Symphonic Band and will be clarinet section leader in the Belle Vernon Area marching band, decided on his project, he reviewed some of his plans with Lynn.

“Everything went well,� Lynn added. “His ideas were organized; he had back-up plans and a very logical approach to what he is doing.�

To obtain necessary materials for the project, Baker contacted veterans’ organizations in Monessen and surrounding communities, receiving primer and paint, which will cover any paint markings from vandals to restore the tank to its original green color. In addition to restoring the tank, Baker, along with members of his Scout troop, is rebuilding a stone wall and redoing landscaping at the memorial site.

“Everyone I contacted has been very supportive and positive about the project,â€� Baker said, noting that the project will be completed in time for the city’s July 4 celebration.

However, Baker did not merely settle for refurbishing the tank and bringing it back to life.

“I’ve heard a lot about the Sherman tank and I researched it and discovered it obviously has an impressive history,â€� he added. “It’s one thing to work on a project, but if you know something about the subject it adds a personal connection, and is more fun in the long run.â€�

Les Harvath is a contributing writer for Trib Total Media.

1. Valley residents big winners at Senior Games

2. Grebb Summer Basketball League begins its 5th year

3. Historic World War I tank in Belle Vernon gets facelift

4. CalU gets $100K grant from Scaife Foundation

5. Fountain honors hospital officer

6. Long wait ends

7. Monessen shooting victim facing drug charges

8. Two men charged in theft of tires, rims from North Belle Vernon shop

9. Festivities to mark opening of new Charleroi-Monessen bridge

10. Two arrested on drug charges in Monessen

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There was a time when people who lost jobs, at least in the white collar world, were told not to work at anything “lower status” while waiting for the next professional opportunity, lest it hurt their career. The idea seemed to be that if you settled for something too “low,” you’d never be taken seriously again.

I’ve heard so many versions of this idea over the years, my head hurts. Coming from a blue-collar family, I might have missed the memo that one’s career should be more important than one’s mortgage payment.

In any case, I think that most people who held this view have had to let it go during this last recession, which could be one good thing to come out of that economic free fall.

Now the issue isn’t so much whether one should take interim work, but how to manage it without wreaking havoc on the broader job search. Lining up the interim job is another puzzle for most people: The first job search is hard enough; now there should be a second search?

Yes, there probably should be. Even if you’re working, now is a good time to change your mental default setting from, “I probably wouldn’t take interim work if I lost my job” to “I almost certainly would.”

The more we lock our brains into the expectation that we can and will find work under any and all circumstances, the more resiliency we’re likely to build in.

With this world view, you start to see potential sidelines everywhere, just as a good driver is unconsciously scoping the road for potential

problems and escape routes.

Whether or not you’d like to take an interim job while you orchestrate your “real” job search, or you’d like to be ready in case you need one later, you’ll find it easier going if you follow some basic steps.

1. Think about logistics. An interim job usually pays less than your regular work. Hence, it shouldn’t involve a long or difficult commute. Unless you live in a rural setting, consider five miles from your home to be your optimum hunting grounds.

2. Consider your schedule. It doesn’t make sense to pay more money for day care than you’ll make at this job. When assessing potential work hours, look for time that you can give to the job without having it cost you money elsewhere. You’ll also need to allocate 15 to 20 hours a week to finding your main job. For these reasons, optimum interim job schedules often include early mornings or evenings.

3. Assess your marketable skills. Are you physically fit? Good on the telephone? Knowledgeable about tools or certain processes? Familiar with your area roads and neighborhoods? Write it all down. Remember: You’re not going to do this work forever, and you won’t be paid top dollar. So don’t limit your list to the things you’re very good at or enjoy doing. If you can tolerate it and do it well enough to fill the bill for an employer, it goes on the list.

4. Choose your interim job goal. A broad category such as customer service will work. Less helpful is a handful of ideas, such as “landscaping or call center work or night security.” Such disparate ideas make it difficult to build a credible resume, and can sound unfocused in conversations.

5. Make an interim job r
e
sum
e
. This short, to-the-point document highlights what you can do for a particular group of employers, and downplays everything else. So a marketing executive seeking retail work will use the top of the resume to showcase strengths in serving the public and making sales, with only a line or two toward the bottom of the page devoted to the last marketing job. The goal isn’t to “trick” the employer, but to demonstrate you have the skills they need.

6. Talk with employers. This kind of search is best done person-to-person, so start a list of potential employers and the managers to talk with. As a rule, this is more easily done with small companies, or those that are locally managed than with the big-box groups that rely on electronic processes. Once employed, you’ll find smaller employers are also more flexible about schedules.

7. Stay cheerful! Even if an interim job feels like a major detour, you’ll be glad later that you did it. Cash flow, structure, human contact and a sense of self-reliance tend to trump bruised pride related to working “below one’s level.”

Amy Lindgren owns a career consulting firm in St. Paul. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecareerservice.com.