Ocean Springs aldermen will hear plans Wednesday night for repairing and reinforcing the city’s damaged Front Beach sidewalk.File Photo/Gulflive.com 

OCEAN SPRINGS, Mississippi — Engineers and contractors will pitch their ideas to Ocean Springs aldermen Wednesday night as the city works to come up with a plan to repair and provide a permanent solution for its Front Beach sidewalk problem.

A section of the sidewalk collapsed roughly two weeks ago after beach erosion in an area of Front Beach left the sidewalk with no support. Jackson County supervisors spent some $30,000 to haul in 2,500 cubic yards of sand to replenish that area of the beach, but officials say that’s only a temporary fix.

Last Friday, Ocean Springs Mayor Connie Moran and alderman John Gill met Dax Alexander of Brown, Mitchell Alexander engineering firm, as well as county Road Manager Joe O’Neal and a concrete specialist brought in by Alexander to view the damaged sidewalk and begin the process of developing a plan to fix it.

The first step in the process is to determine how much of the sidewalk has been compromised by erosion due to wave action and stormwater runoff from the properties north of Front Beach Drive.

“The recommendation was to do a radar scan of the areas (of the sidewalk) which appear to be compromised to determine where there are cavities,” Moran said.

The seat wall which runs along the sidewalk only extends four feet into the sand and is not designed to withstand “waves pounding against it,” Moran said, noting erosion in that section of Front Beach has long been a problem.

The long-term solution which will be presented to aldermen Wednesday night calls for a urethane resin to be injected into a cavity beneath the sidewalk and extending eight feet from the seat wall to provide extra protection from erosion. The remainder of any cavities found would be filled with a special concrete.

Moran said the county has agreed to assist with pulling up the sidewalk panels where cavities are found.

Jackson County Supervisor John McKay and alderman Matt McDonnell have both suggested moving the sidewalk north so that it can tie into the toe of the seawall, but both Alexander and his concrete specialist told Moran there would be no real benefit to making that change and moving the sidewalk would likely be far more costly than repairing it.

The $1.8 million sidewalk was built in 2010-11 and paid for through a Community Development Block Grant.

Moran has asked for cost estimates to repair and reinforce the sidewalk and said the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources officials have visited the site and indicated they may be willing to help pay for the work.

“I’m just trying to get everybody on the same page,” Moran said. “The county, engineers, aldermen — and come to an agreement on how to proceed.

“I want to put the info in front of (the aldermen) and let them make a decision. But it’s a pretty quick fix and a permanent one.”

Another ongoing issue affecting Front Beach is the condition of the landscaping around the sidewalk, much of which has fallen into a state of disrepair.

“We haven’t had the manpower to maintain it,” Moran admitted. “But the Summer Youth Corps is here working with Public Works. They’ve been out trimming the crepe myrtles on the highway and I expect they’ll start working on Front Beach soon.”

Moran said the Youth Corps workers will assist city landscaper Josh Dudte in “thinning out and weeding” areas of the beach landscaping which are in need.

“Once they get it thinned out, it will be easier to maintain,” Moran said, adding that pulling some of the healthy vegetation would simply create another problem by adding to beach erosion. The vegetation helps keep stormwater runoff from eroding the beach.

A very small brown dog guards the entrance to Malcolm Norton and Shelley Hamilton’s house at the top of the hill above Waipu Cove.

If he weren’t so tiny and so outrageously cute, the big, Mediterranean-style house might feel rather imposing, and that would be the last thing Shelley would want.

When she and Malcolm planned the house she was determined it would be warm, rustic, homely and “not precious”. Whatever formula they applied to the design was successful, because this is immediately recognisable as a “shoes-on” house that works as a family home and a focal point for the farmland and native bush that surrounds it.

The recycled jarrah, fresco-style paint-washed walls, lichen-covered roof tiles and classic furnishings give it a timeless look inside and out. It could be 100 years old but, in fact, it was built in 2000/2001.

Malcolm bought the whole farm sight unseen in 1992. He actually wanted a lifestyle block as opposed to 240 unseen acres of derelict dairy farm, but a friend who had seen the property encouraged him to go ahead, and he did.

In order to realise their dreams here, Malcolm and Shelley introduced three sets of friends to the mix, creating separate titles for each family and arranging for the remainder to be held in partnership. “We call it a marriage,” Shelley laughs, adding that the four families are all still talking, all still friends, and gearing up to celebrate their 25th “wedding anniversary” in three years.

By that time Shelley and Malcolm may have moved on, but not very far – the plan is to build again on another part of the land, downsizing a little to suit their “age and stag”.

“I can’t wait to do it all again,” Shelley says, explaining how much she enjoyed the process of designing, building and landscaping this property.

It was a slow process. It took a year to get the plans drawn up and then a year to build. But considering the size and complexity of the house, it all came together with few hitches. materials like the recycled jarrah used throughout had been collected over time, and Shelley had put together clippings, samples and fabrics, and had sorted out all her ideas about colours.

The brief was for a Mediterranean-style farmhouse that would look old and weathered, with a kitchen and family area at its heart, a private, almost cave-like lounge, and all the other rooms wide open to the view.

Shelley’s favourite place is the kitchen. “I like to cook when I have time and I love cooking with other people. There’s plenty of space to do that.”

There’s also plenty of space in the bedroom. It has its own sitting area, which is an inviting retreat, and an en suite of which the centrepiece is a very large, listello-tiled bath. Shelley, a horsewoman, likes to soak in the tub after riding the 7km of track on the property, or working in the garden.

Gallery

Mediterranean-style home in Waipu Cove

There’s about a hectare of garden around the house, a lush mix of subtropicals and natives, including a superb collection of hibiscus, and a pool as the centrepiece.

A little further away are the orchard, vegetable garden and berry garden, all organic and all very productive.

About half of the remaining farm acreage is in regenerating native bush, which provides an outlook that almost competes with Bream Bay.

When Shelley and Malcolm build again, their house may be smaller; however, the views will still be huge.

– NZ Herald

New London — Two projects that could change the way people get around downtown received City Council approval last week.

A plan to redesign the Eugene O’Neill Drive parking lots would give the back sides of large commercial buildings on Bank Street a second front door, which could be used for new businesses.

A long-discussed pedestrian link from downtown could get closer to neighborhoods to the south with a proposed walkers’ and cyclists’ pathway from Waterfront Park almost to the Shaw’s Cove rail crossing.

The Office of Development and Planning (ODP) has applied for a $500,000 state Main Street Investment Fund grant that would be used to make the municipal parking lots on Eugene O’Neill Drive more appealing and accessible and to transform the portion of the street between State and Tilley streets from “a high speed thoroughfare” to a more pedestrian-friendly road.

It would decrease the number of off-street parking spaces, but officials think it would make it easier for visitors and residents to find parking in convenient locations.

The project, if approved by the state Department of Housing, would include better signage, traffic-calming measures, decorative lighting, enhanced pedestrian connections, landscaping and fencing.

“One of the overarching ideas behind the grant program is to fund public infrastructure that will leverage economic development,” City Planner Harry Smith said.

Revitalized municipal lots with upgraded pedestrian connections to the surrounding commercial areas could prompt new businesses to open in buildings with back entrances on the lots, Smith said.

“We’re really hoping this project, and we’ve seen this in other communities, will provide some of these buildings on Bank Street that back up to the lots essentially two frontages,” he said.

The City Council on Monday unanimously authorized the grant application. ODP applied for, but did not receive, the same grant in 2012.

By redesigning the municipal lots and making it easier for drivers to get to them, city officials hope to “capture new visitors who may be unfamiliar with downtown’s parking locations and traffic pattern.”

“One common complaint is that there isn’t any parking,” ODP wrote in its grant application. “But the real issue is that there aren’t any signs directing visitors to parking and from their cars once they are parked.”

The project would include the installation of “way finding” signs to direct visitors to downtown businesses, restaurants and landmarks.

“The project will provide better signage in appropriate locations on cross streets, making parking easier to find, enabling visitors to spend more time and money in New London’s restaurants, shops, art galleries and performance venues,” ODP wrote in the application, “which will be key in sustaining, revitalizing and growing the city’s economy.”

The reconfiguration would result in a net loss of about 70 parking spaces, Smith said. Currently, there are about 240 spaces between the two lots.

The plan also calls for an artists’ walkway, which would link the parking lots with Bank Street and include public artwork, to be established in the alley between the Bulkeley House Saloon and New London Ink.

The second project, which is still in its infancy, calls for a multiuse path to connect Waterfront Park and an existing path that runs along Shaw’s Cove, bringing the city one step closer to connecting its northern neighborhoods and its downtown to Fort Trumbull.

The Economic Development Commission hopes to fully fund the design phase of the project through grants from National Recreational Trails Program and the PeopleForBikes Community Grant Program. The City Council on Monday voted unanimously to support the grant applications.

The path “will allow the public a non-motorized link that would provide opportunities in our urban center to enjoy water views, pursue fitness goals, showcase Connecticut waterfront, and provide venues for … events that New London holds each year,” Abel A. Donka, a member of the city’s Economic Development Commission, wrote in a supplement to the grant application.

In 2003, the Connecticut Greenways Council made the 3.5-mile stretch of sidewalk between Connecticut College and City Pier an official state greenway. Waterfront Park stretches another half-mile from City Pier to Bank Street Connector.

The proposed multiuse path would be built on top of the existing hurricane barrier that runs along the Thames River between Bank Street Connector and Sparyard Street.

At Sparyard Street, the path would join the Shaw’s Landing Condominium River Walk, a walking path developed in conjunction with the 2004 construction of the condominiums.

If the city is awarded the grant funding, the first phase of the project would begin next spring. Then, the city would apply for additional grant funding in 2017 to pay for the construction of the path. Construction could be completed in 2018, to coincide with the opening of the national U.S. Coast Guard Museum.

c.young@theday.com

FREDERICK, Md. (AP) — A spherical decanter made of stone was the first thing Frederick visitors saw more than 200 years ago as they drove their horses and buggies across the Jug Bridge and over the Monocacy River.

Now, more than 70 years after the bridge’s collapse, and after a few moves from its original location, the jug-shaped monument sits in a small city park on Maryland 144 near Interstate 70 and off the beaten path.

Local and state historical organizations and interested residents want that to change. They want the monument placed in a more prominent location to honor its standing as one of the last remaining landmarks from the old Maryland Historic National Road.

So far, though, no one has offered the city a solid plan for how to pay to secure and move the potentially unsound structure and where to move it to, said Roelkey Myers, the city’s deputy director of parks and recreation.

The city won’t move it unless it finds a partner with a plan, Myers said.

The limestone and brownstone structure was constructed on top of the bridge when it was built in 1809, as part of a state road that made up a piece of a national road constructed from Cumberland to the Ohio River to facilitate America’s westward expansion, said Tiffany Ahalt, byway manager for the Maryland National Road Association.

The Jug Bridge was where Marquis de Lafayette met Frederick residents in 1824 during his final tour of the United States. Forty years later, Union troops were stationed at the bridge.

“It used to be everybody’s Main Street,” said Janet Davis, a board member of the Maryland National Road Association.

While the monument is a significant part of Frederick’s history, it is being preserved in an insignificant location, said Bob Robey, of the Frederick Men’s Garden Club.

“Not many residents are aware that it’s there or what it stands for,” he said.

The discussion for where the monument could be moved to started in earnest earlier this year, when the Federal Aviation Administration thought it was in the flight path of one of the new runways of Frederick Municipal Airport, Myers said.

It has since been determined that it is not in the way, Myers said.

Five organizations have been discussing the best place for the monument, all with different ideas for where it should go.

The Men’s Garden Club thinks that, because it was originally part of Frederick’s main gateway, it should be moved to the traffic circle on East Street, which has become one of Frederick’s newest major gateways, Robey said.

The garden club told the city it would landscape around the monument if it was placed in the circle, he said.

“We wanted to do something to make a really first-rate impression on our citizens and visitors,” he said.

The Maryland National Road Association and the Frederick County Landmarks Association want the monument as close to its original location as possible. The best spot, Ahalt said, is where Maryland 144 crosses the Monocacy River, across the river from the monument’s original location.

There is a Park and Ride nearby, and, eventually, the land will be a city park, Ahalt said.

Keeping the monument close to where it was keeps its historical context, said Alan Imhoff, president of the landmarks foundation.

“It’s the preservation of a landmark, and that’s what you generally try to do,” he said.

The Public Arts Commission, as well as city staff, think the monument would be a great feature on Carroll Creek Linear Park, near East Patrick Street, when the final phase of the park is completed, Myers said.

But the groups all debate the ability to move the structure, without securing it first. The mortar is starting to fail.

The Maryland National Road Association is assessing structural damage and identifying which repairs are most immediate for preservation.

The association may start a grass-roots movement to raise money for the project, Ahalt said.

Until the city sees a proposal, it will work on bringing the landscaping in the small park where it sits back to life, Myers said.

“We are so lucky just to have it still there,” he said.

___

Information from: The Frederick (Md.) News-Post, http://www.fredericknewspost.com

 

Sea Pines Real Estate welcomes new agents

Two agents recently joined Sea Pines Real Estate at The Cottage Group in Harbour Town. Paul Bombige joins the company as a sales executive. Bombige previously worked in real estate sales, lending and investing in New York City and in California. He can be reached at 843-295-7476. Jeff Morford has more than 20 years of real estate sales experience and previously worked in international investment banking as managing director with G.E. Capital and as owner/broker for Prudential Real Estate. He can be reached at 843-290-2305.

Weichert welcomes Sharon Bridges to team

Realtor Sharon Bridges recently joined the Weichert, Realtors-Coastal Properties sales team. Bridges is a member of the Hilton Head MLS and the Hilton Head Area Association of Realtors. She will work in the agency’s Sun City Hilton Head office and can be reached at 843-304-7148. Weichert, Realtors-Coastal Properties has offices on Hilton Head Island and in Bluffton, Beaufort and Sun City. Company headquarters located at 1038 William Hilton Parkway, Hilton Head. 843-341-3700.

• The Greenery Garden Center, located at 960 William Hilton Parkway, will offer free gardening seminars in June. Reservations are encouraged. To RSVP, contact Jamie Harrison at 843-785-3848 or amymetzger@thegreeneryinc.com. A special discount will be offered in The Greenery Garden Center to those in attendance who make a same-day purchase.

Landscape ideas for your yard: 10:30 a.m. June 4 and June 7. The Greenery staff will share creative ways to think about landscaping ideas for your yard.

Disease and pest control: 10:30 a.m. June 11 and June 14. Horticulture Professor Bill Leonard will discuss disease and pest control including prevention to maintain your healthy plants and treatments to use when needed.

Ask the expert: 10:30 a.m. June 18 and June 21. Gary Moews, The Greenery’s small garden design consultant, will take questions and share ideas for a successful yard. 

Heat-tolerant summer containers: 10:30 a.m. June 25, June 28. Wendy Porterfield, The Greenery’s landscape and floral designer, will share secrets to creating summer gardening containers for your entrance way or yard that are both visually fabulous and heat tolerant.

• According to a RE/MAX National Housing Report, April home sales rose higher than sales in the previous month for the second month in a row. While April sales were 10.9 percent higher than March, they remained below the same period last year by 7.8 percent. Only two of the 52 metro areas included in the April report experienced lower sales than the previous month. Year-over-year home prices continued to push higher in April, with a 5.8 increase, which is lower than the 10.7 percent increase seen in April 2013. April became the 13th consecutive month with fewer inventory losses than the previous month. At the rate of home sales in April, the Months Supply of inventory fell to 3.9, where a supply of 6.0 indicates a market balanced equally between buyers and sellers.

 

RAISE YOUR VOICE: Share your own opinion online at dallasnews.com/sendletters. Sign up for Sounding Off or submit a guest column (and include your full name and contact information) by visiting dallasnews.com/voices.

What should be done to redevelop/revitalize the Main Street/Central Expressway Corridor? Are there other areas that should be updated?

Dormand Long, Lake Highlands: Almost every time we drive south on Central Expressway to LBJ Freeway, I comment to my wife about the extreme underutilization of the real estate on the west side of this prime area.

I am as consciously incompetent at real estate as I am at art, but I do know what I like and don’t like in both.

The highest and best use of the west side of the 75 Corridor is not in half-century-old, single-story-mom-and-pop stores.

I suggest that if some shuttles to extend mobility from the DART light rail stations to various sites, including Texas Instruments were implemented, this area would be a hotbed of favored living, dining, as well as office siting.

Jack Orr, Far North Dallas: Let’s face it. The “old” part of Richardson is indeed old [and] looks it and feels it. In fact, other than dining at one of the excellent Chinese restaurants nearby, there is zero reason to go there.

The best comparison I can think of is downtown Plano. It has been revitalized with purpose and is full of diverse dining and stores. So, the same could certainly be accomplished in Richardson.

But, I am not a friend to these complicated planning documents. They seem to be a product of current politics and liberal ideas more than actually coming up with workable ideas.

I would suggest that a master-planning firm be hired to come up with plans and drawings. Then, discuss, raise money and proceed.

One thing I would like to see is the uncovering of the old brick road which lies underneath Greenville Avenue. (It once went from Dallas to McKinney)

Downtown is not the only problem area in Richardson. Unfortunately, the whole city has gotten grey hair, but, it is the appropriate place to start revitalization.

Bill Mercer, Richardson: I was amused looking at the future image drawing of Main Street/Central Expressway corridor. That is a nice idea, but what a huge task. I hope the old motel on the west side of Central could be demolished (and may have been already?) The “famous” Como could be landscaped better. Unfortunately large trees probably won’t grow on either side of Central. A lot of landscaping on both sides of Central, up and beyond Main Street, north of there is simply a jumble of small businesses who deserve the right to be there.

The old downtown area really has little to encourage visits. Most people zoom in and out of the Central/Main Street area to their residences near their preferred shopping center. Would upscale restaurants, watering holes, much beautiful landscaping draw after 5 p.m. returning folks from their jobs? Richardson is so conservative even having beer/wine in the grocery stores seems a huge step forward. Maybe as the city becomes younger, “radical” ideas will work. Driving in from the north on Central is fairly attractive — from the south, not so much. Let’s give it a huge try [with] tax breaks to forward looking business folks [to] change the face of the area. Good luck.

Gay Sinz, Richardson: My husband and I attended the meeting and the things that concerned me was talk about tall buildings. Also Chinatown becoming a tourist destination. The city needs to think twice about growth. Issues such as traffic and water usage are very important to all of us.

Mike Lysell, Richardson: I read the consultants’ report on plans for Main Street/Central Expressway Corridor. The plan doesn’t have many details, but offers some broad goals for the area with supporting data. Since the city has done a good job with other development areas, I’m confident they’ll listen to the citizens in the area before they finalize any plans.

I do hope that future plans address the infrastructure needs for the city. Many of the city’s streets are in bad shape. The pot-holes on Custer between Campbell and Renner roads for example seem to out number the sections of the street that are in good repair. I know the city has funds from past bond issues set aside for street improvements, but the deterioration of the roads seem to be progressing faster than the city can keep up with.

Tom Naylor, Crowley Park in Richardson: Clearly, the city of Richardson should redevelop its Main Street/Central Expressway Corridor because today that area is fairly decrepit and unsightly. There is very little reason to visit the old Richardson downtown area because there isn’t much there and the traffic density is high.

One of the biggest improvements that could be made to the area is to provide a DART light rail station to serve the old downtown area and the Chinatown area just north of Main Street. The inclusion of DART light rail station in several of the surrounding cities, specifically in Plano, have encouraged them to improve their downtown areas to provide a more appealing area to visit with more modern shops and restaurants. Richardson should consider the same option. But, even if there is no DART light rail station in downtown, it still needs to be spruced up and modernized. This is a project that the city should encourage rather than developing some of the pristine prairie areas within the city boundaries.

LaRuth Morrow, The Reservation in Richardson: The Main Street/Central Expressway redevelopment has been on Richardson’s revitalization agenda for a long time. There is now personnel on staff to help with progress. For the city to continue to revisit this area and attempt to finalize a plan means that all the redevelopment components are not in place. One paramount partner is DART. Main Street would benefit from a DART station at Main Street for this area to be a destination spot. Presently, there is a long waiting time for the DART stations funding.

The second concern is the location of Richardson’s main police station and fire station at Main Street and Greenville Avenue. These public servants need access to feeding streets to protect us around the clock. If the current blue prints for Main Street between Central and Greenville remain and are implemented, our emergency vehicles main paths to rescue could be impacted.

sounding off

ASHEVILLE – Randy Siegel isn’t exactly a fan of wake-up calls — the call part, anyway.

But he does champion the wake-up.

“You hate wake-up calls, especially as you are going through them,” said Siegel, a professional development specialist. “But when you wake up, it sure does make a difference.”

Mountain BizWorks, a nonprofit that helps local small businesses start, grow and create jobs through loans, classes and coaching, had a big wake-up call in November, said Siegel, who is on the agency’s board of directors.

The 25-year-old nonprofit suffered a severe liquidity crunch after a drop-off in revenues. Around that time, CEO Shaw Canale resigned, and the nonprofit had to restructure and refocus, which included laying off eight staff members.

“We got to the point where we were never in crisis mode, but we were not sure that we had enough cash in hand to sustain” all the programming and other offerings in the immediate future, he said.

But in the six months since, the once cash-strapped organization has had the “best six months,” Siegel said.

The organization provided 36 loans to the tune of more than $714,000. It provided more than 650 training hours benefiting more than 185 entrepreneurs and produced more than 150 jobs in the region, not including the number of jobs that have been maintained by resources and programming.

And it’s about to create one more job in the region: The group recently announced it is seeking a new executive director.

“I think it’s a good situation to put a new executive director in,” said Eileen McMinn, board chair. “We are not looking for an executive director to pull us out of a crisis; we want someone who will marshal the assets that we have and will move us forward in a positive way.”

So how did the nonprofit benefiting startups restart itself? With the help of an outside consultant.

With consulting from Marc Hunt, the organization learned how to be more streamlined, strategic and sustainable, Siegel said.

“We really drilled down,” he said. “We needed to do what we did best, and avoid duplications of services (with other organizations).

“We needed to realize that resources are limited,” Siegel said. “We needed to focus on what was the greatest need.”

That great need for entrepreneurs? Funding, he said.

In a way, it’s a return to the nonprofit’s roots. It started in 1989 as the Mountain Microenterprise Fund, which initially focused on small loans for startups and providing basics for would-be entrepreneurs.

This spring, the loaning refocus received a big boost: The federal Small Business Administration recently approved $1 million in loan capital, which in turn will be used for microloans for small businesses.

Asheville’s Jonathan Scales has received two loans from Mountain BizWorks in the last year.

He considers his jazz band, Jonathan Scales Fourchestra, to be a small business, he says, noting that the employees are the band members.

He attempted to go to a bank for a loan, but was denied.

“It’s like a human relationship, you get to sit face-to-face (and explain your situation),” Scales said of his experience of Mountain BizWorks. “It’s not just a computer algorithm.”

Scales’ loan also benefited people outside the band, he noted.

In the creation of the album and supporting concert tour, he hired visual artists, photographers, other musicians, T-shirt makers and mixing engineers.

“While we were recording the album, I was meeting with Mountain BizWorks,” he said. “If they had said no, I don’t know where we would be today.”

The latest album, “Mixtape Symphony,” was released last week, and it reached No. 6 on the iTunes jazz charts.

“There are a lot of people with great ideas with hopes and dreams that need funding,” Scales said. “And you won’t be able to get it from a normal bank for one reason or another.”

Mountain BizWorks staff and board hasn’t just added money to the nonprofit’s loan reserves in the past six months; the group also had to cut expenses. Some expenses were easier to eliminate, such as subletting half of the office space and cutting back on equipment use.

The Mountain BizWorks restructuring did come with some tough choices, Siegel noted.

“Trimming the staff was very painful,” he said. “ … We streamlined programs; this was difficult.”

That streamlining included cutting the popular Foundations courses, which taught entrepreneurs basic business skills. These cuts totaled savings of around $50,000 a month.

“Every nonprofit, and certainly when you feel like you have a mission-driven organization, you want to do everything for everybody,” said McMinn. “You want to do everything for everybody. It’s hard to admit you can’t do everything for everybody.”

Ajani Eagledove, who owns and operates Eagledove Greenhouse and Garden Center with his wife, Mayo, was one of the last graduates of Mountain BizWorks’ Foundations courses.

“Every day we come down and we are amazed that we got this much done so fast,” he said. “Every day, we are blessed. … At first, we were really overwhelmed and nervous about doing it … I don’t think I would have tried this without taking this course.”

The Eagledoves have run an organic farm feed business on Swannanoa River Road for three years, but wanted to expand and make their business a larger part of their life. Mainly, they say, because the couple wanted to be able to spend more time with each other.

After clearing the bamboo forest on the property about a year ago, the duo have been steadily adding new services and products.

They offer landscaping services and sell farm feed. They have chickens and ducks, and sell eggs in the barn, along with lawn art. They offer you-pick flowers, and will soon offer hydroponic pond-raised tilapia.

Building a business on diverse products and services is one of the lessons from Mountain BizWorks, the Eagledoves said.

“There is no one big money maker with farming, there just isn’t,” Mayo Eagledove said. “We had to learn the business part of making it work. It’s not one thing.”

Mountain BizWorks experts continue to be a resource for the duo. Ajani Eagledove says he continues to ask for help with issues, and the nonprofit staff helps connect him with experts and solutions.

Another important resource: Encouragement.

“They have encouraged us; they say you can do this,” he added. “With a game plan, they say you can do this.”

Mountain BizWorks preliminary financial figures for 2013

• $5.3 million in total assets.

• $4.2 million in total liabilities.

• $1.2 million in revenues and contributed support.

This information is preliminary, said Jamie Beasley, who handles development, marketing and operations for the nonprofit. “Our 2013 audited financial statements will be ready in a couple of weeks and available on our website,” he said.

In November, the nonprofit laid off eight employees. In March, the group hired one back. The nonprofit is also seeking a new executive director. Eight staff are now listed on the website.

Since 1989, Mountain BizWorks has provided $9 million in loans to 715 small business owners who otherwise would not be able to get the financing to start or expand, creating 3,500 jobs in Western North Carolina.

Mountain BizWorks raises both loan (investments) and operating capital from a variety of sources including banks, foundations, businesses, religious institutions, government entities and individuals.

Investors can invest as little as $1,000 and choose terms as short as one year or as long as 10 years. Investors receive a fixed-rate annual simple interest return of 0 percent to 3 percent. More than 40 individuals have provided more than $400,000 in investment in the loan fund, Siegel said.

Mission and more

“Mountain BizWorks’ mission is to generate jobs and stimulate economic opportunity in Western North Carolina by helping small businesses start, thrive, and grow. We do this by providing loans and peer-to-peer business coaching to those businesses that are unable to secure funding from banks and other traditional sources,” according to the website.

Mountain BizWorks is a U.S. Treasury-certified nonprofit community development financial institution (CDFI). For 25 years, Mountain BizWorks has been making business loans ranging from $1,000 to $150,000 to small businesses in WNC who are unable to secure funding from banks and other traditional sources.

All loan decisions and relationships are managed locally, and the nonprofit offers highly customized, peer-to-peer business coaching.

Mountain BizWorks provides business loans and coaching to emerging and established small businesses in WNC.

“We have a particular focus on working with businesses unable to access financing from banks and other traditional sources, as well as low-income, minority, women, and immigrant entrepreneurs, and businesses that operate within the local food system,” according to the website.

For more, visit www.mountainbizworks.org.

 

AVON, Ohio –The weather was great, and so was the turnout at the 14th Annual Eagle Run held at Avon High on Saturday.

While the Bard was relegated to observer/cheerleader/ correspondent/photographer due to some minor medical issues requiring medication, which in turn would have severely hampered his ability to run — that’s his story and he’s sticking to it — it was still a very good time.

Overall winner of the 2014 Eagle Run: Andy Riggins of Cuyahoga Falls Jeff Bing 

There were an estimated 1,500 participants between the 5k and 5-mile races. Andy Riggins, 26, of Cuyahoga Falls, took the honors for the top finisher of the 5-miler. He told me it was his first time participating in the Eagle Run, but he certainly plans to be back next year (no-doubt to the chagrin of those who finished close behind him).

There didn’t appear to be any major injuries to speak of, and everyone appeared to have quite a bit of fun. Kudos to all who contributed to making the 14th Annual Eagle Run a rousing success; the fruits of your efforts were obvious.

We’re reaching that time of year when it seems like there’s something going on almost every weekend around town. Oh yeah … I think it’s called “summer.” Anyway, make sure you set aside plenty of time to hit the 11th Annual Avon Heritage Duck Tape Festival at Veterans Memorial Park between June 13th and 15th. This looks to be quite a bit of fun this year, with a ton of musical entertainment as well as other events.

Plenty of youth in the competition just after the bell rings for the 5k Eagle Run, May 24, 2014 Jeff Bing 

Which reminds me, how would you like to be a part of history? Maybe not to the extent of, say, Washington chopping down the cherry tree and then fessin’ up, but fairly memorable stuff nonetheless. Come to think of it, if George had been able to get his hands on some cherry tree-colored Duck Tape after the deed with the axe was done, he might have been able to – keeping with the spirit of American politics — “cover-up” rather than “fess up.”

Here’s what I’m rambling on about: Duck Tape is on a mission to set a record with a Guinness World Records attempt during this year’s Avon Heritage Duck Tape Festival…and they need your help! So, break out your Duck Tape best – from shirts and skirts to accessories and more – as we try to establish the record for “The Most People Modeling in a Duck Tape Fashion Show.”

To qualify, each entrant is required to create and wear an outfit consisting of at least two articles of clothing made from Duck Tape. Time’s a-wastin’, so get started now to make sure you’re ready to show the world what you’re made of. Each contestant who helps with the record attempt will receive an official Guinness World Records medallion and will be entered in a drawing to win a $500 gift card.

The details: 1) Entrants must be 8 years old or older to participate – and a minimum of 250 participants are required to set the record. An official Guinness  adjudicator will be on-site to oversee the record attempt. 2) The record attempt for “The Most People Modeling in a Duck Tape Fashion Show” is scheduled for June 14, at 1:30 p.m. 3) Veterans Memorial Park – Main Stage, 3701 Veterans Memorial Parkway.

Photo-ops and more: Outfits created from Duck Tape, entrants taking the runway and much more. In other words, you’ll feel like a star – albeit a sticky one.

You mean to tell me you’re ‘stuck’ on one or more of the details? For more information about the Avon Heritage Duck Tape Festival and to pre-register for the Fashion Show, visit DuckTapeFestival.com.

Finally, if that Duck Tape hula skirt idea of yours didn’t work out quite the way you’d hoped, and you find yourself in need of new inspiration, not to worry. You can go get inspired with ideas for your Duck Tape duds, simply by visiting DuckBrand.com.

Speaking of Duck Tape — as if I haven’t enough already – keep in mind that the Friends of the Avon Library have a special meeting scheduled on Thursday, June 5 at 7 p.m. at Lorain Public Library System’s Avon Branch. Friends, come together to plan for the Duck Tape parade.

The parade will be marching down Detroit Road on June 14. New members are welcome to join the Friends in planning this fun event. For more information, call the Avon Branch at 440-934-4743. The Avon Branch is located at 37485 Harvest Drive, Avon.

After you’re done with all of your Duck Tape shenanigans, don’t forget the upcoming annual visit from Aunt Teak and Uncle Junque the following weekend. As I mentioned several weeks ago, you’ll have the opportunity to travel throughout the city, as many residents will be part of the city-wide garage sale.

The epicenter of the event will be the French Creek District, where you can continue your treasure hunt at local shops offering in-store and Sidewalk Sales. Regional antique dealers set up their wares in tents along Detroit Road of Avon’s charming French Creek District.

Avon residents are encouraged to participate from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. on Saturday, June 21, and 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. on Sunday, June 22. Garage Sale Registration Forms can be found at local merchants or by visiting the merchant’s website at frenchcreekdistrict.com. Note that the registration deadline of June 13th now lurks right around the corner!

One thing that the great weather allows us to do is get out and work in the yard or garden, or simply just get our homes in order, as it were. As part of the Avon Bicentennial Celebration, the Avon Garden Club is planning to have a “Gardens of the Year” awards program in October. If you have a beautiful or spectacular garden, patio garden, shade garden, water garden, vegetable garden or window boxes, this competition is for you.

Century homes, residential landscaping and complex entrances, whose green spaces are enhancing Avon with a show of pride and color, are encouraged to enter the competition also. Even though October is still a ways off, the committee would like the contact person’s name and phone number by Saturday, July 19, which is not so far off. Should you require more information, please call (440) 937-4240.

Remember to keep the Bard abreast of local events which might be worthy of note for your neighbors. Email me at jeffdbing@sbcglobal.net to get the ball rolling. Have a wonderful week, Avon, and don’t forget the SPF-30.

You might call Robert Salmon a late bloomer.

His gardening bug didn’t hit until he and his girlfriend Catherine Fuller built a new home in Penfield nine years ago. As with many new-builds, the land surrounding their house was barren.

The couple viewed landscaping and developing the garden as a challenge.

Now, the Salmon/Fuller garden on Legacy Circle in east Penfield is a showstopper. The yard now draws garden enthusiasists who love viewing bursts of color in early spring as 7,000 daffodils and tulips begin to bloom. Because of the late spring weather this year, people can still see the blooms.

Salmon, who heads the corporate communications department at Carestream, is now fully engaged in the garden, having taught himself the intricacies of growing flowers and plants through reading and taking classes at Rochester Civic Garden Center.

“I’m not the type of person to sit around and watch TV,” he says, so gardening keeps him active and outdoors.

Gardening, in fact, has become Salmon’s retreat of sorts. He’s an early riser and enjoys the morning sun, and has found feeding and watering the garden to be therapeutic.

“It’s very peaceful and relaxing,” he says.

Salmon particularly enjoys the red Triumph tulips, whose deep red color blends well against the green landscape. He sources his bulbs and plants from several local nurseries, including Grossman’s Garden Home near his house and Wayside Garden Center in Macedon. Catalogs also are a good source for bulbs, he says.

Salmon and Fuller designed the garden so they can enjoy it in other seasons after the tulips and daffodils have faded. The couple mulches the ground instead of deadheading the bulbs, and hostas are in view.

The front garden features a border made of rocks. Salmon found the rocks at construction sites in the new-build community, filled his wheelbarrow with them and pushed them home. Then the couple enlisted Christine Froehlich of Rochester Civic Garden Center for help with landscape design ideas.

Froehlich had to think creatively to design a garden that would be manageable for two busy professionals.

“It was a huge space and I didn’t want to create a maintenance nightmare,” she says.

Froehlich chose to plant masses of shrubs and perennials to fill in the space. As the couple wanted privacy, planting deciduous flowering shrubs that grew quickly, such as viburnum and red twig dogwood, gave the house some cover.

A major issue: “The soil on the site was impossible, rooty and poor quality,” Froehlich says. “Plus, the stone wall Robert had built around it made it impossible to see any of the perennials.”

The wall was over three feet tall, so Froehlich suggested raising the garden with good soil to solve both problems.

Salmon and Fuller decided on a “controlled wild look” for their plantings, and included grasses and plum and apple trees among the shrubs. The couple purchased an additional three acres behind their home to keep it undeveloped.

Fuller is now building a shade garden on the side of the home, and Salmon has beehives and a vegetable garden in the back.

When they do have time to relax, Salmon enjoys sitting at the bistro set in front of the home, watching their Welsh corgi pups Lilyrose and Morgan William play in the yard.

“This helps me recharge from everyday activities,” Salmon says.

MCHAO@DemocratandChronicle.com

Twitter.com/MaryChaoStyle

Great Gardens

Each month during the warm-weather season, staff writer Mary Chao will feature one of the region’s great gardens and profile the people behind the artistic creations. To suggest a garden or gardeners, email Chao at MCHAO@DemocratandChronicle.com.

Pest control

Keeping masses of bulbs away from deer and moles isn’t easy in Penfield. Salmon developed his organic method of keeping deer at bay, tying sachets of moth balls around his garden. Still, the moles do get to the tulip bulbs, as he points to a bald area where about a thousand tulips have disappeared. “We have the best-fed moles anywhere,” Salmon jokes.

More online

• Click on this story at DemocratandChronicle.com to hear an interview with Robert Salmon.

• Read about local gardening at gardens.DemocratandChronicle.com.

Gather premium plants and inspiration on how to arrange them at Bethlehem’s Garden Walk at Cressman’s.

The nursery, garden center and gift shop at 2349 Linden St. (former Moose Bug Florist) features two greenhouses (one to open next year) and an outdoor space that showcases some of the business’ landscaping and hardscaping work.

“We didn’t want to just put plants in a row and not give people ideas,” said manager Barbara Hare. “We wanted to educate our customers — help them to understand which plants go well together, which plants grow very large, etc.”

• Retail Watch

• 

• Bio |
  E-mail |

  Recent columns

• Related

• 

  RETAIL WATCH: Bethlehem’s Garden Walk at Cressman’s

• 

  PICTURES: Bethlehem’s Garden Walk at Cressman’s

• Topics
• 
  
  Dining and Drinking
  
• 
  
  Restaurant and Catering Industry
  
• 
  
  Restaurants
  
• See more topics »

The Garden Walk, which opened May 5, is an extension of Cressman’s Lawn Tree Care, a 40-year-old business that was previously based in Hellertown. All of the company’s vehicles, mowers and other equipment are now stored at the Bethlehem facility.

CEO Paul Cressman had been looking to expand his business for several years. He wanted not only to offer inspiration for customers, but also unique plants.

“Paul and I didn’t want to sell exactly what you can get down the street,” Hare said. “Instead, we chose to offer plants like lace leaf Japanese maples, weeping white spruces and dragon’s eye pines. We also offer unique colors of more common plants such as lime green lilacs, peach rhododendrons and orange azaleas.”

The displays of plants around ponds, benches and fire pits will change every few months, Hare said. In addition, the business offers landscaping consultation and a “sold” section where items can be held for future planting.

The greenhouse features a variety of herbs, vegetables, annuals, perennials and tropical plants such as mandevilla, hibiscus and pineapple trees. The facility’s second greenhouse will be overhauled to house additional plants, as well as live and artificial Christmas trees and wreaths around the holidays.

The gift shop sells seeds, books, teas and gourmet foods such as sauces, spreads and stuffed peppers. Inventory will expand to include items such as flags, Yankee candles, garden accents and local art.

The Garden Walk at Cressman’s, which hopes to add florist services starting in the fall, will hold a grand opening with door prizes and children’s crafts 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 14. Info: 610-419-8033.

For Retail Watchers looking for a new set of wheels this Memorial Day, I have some automotive news to report.

First, Rothrock held a grand opening of its new Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram dealership May 17 at 1648 Plaza Lane in South Whitehall Township. A new Nissan store under construction is set to debut in August or September.

The company, with more than 50 years’ experience, offers new and preowned vehicles, as well as maintenance, repairs, detailing, parts and accessories. Info: 866-213-1831 or rothrock.com.

Second, Kelly Automotive Group announced Kelly Mitsubishi’s new home at 536-40 State Road in Emmaus, the former Kelly Ford dealership. The move brings more inventory and parking.

Kelly has two other dealerships on State Road, as well as a location on Easton-Nazareth Highway in Lower Nazareth Township. Info: kellycar.com.

As freelance writer Kevin Duffy reported Thursday, a Mediterranean restaurant chain is coming to the former site of Mangos Coastal Cuisine at 3750 Hamilton Blvd. in South Whitehall Township.

The township’s Board of Commissioners on Wednesday approved the transfer of a liquor license to Allentown Carmel Cafe Wine Bar.

Owner John Ross of Macungie plans to use 5,700 square feet of the 8,000-square-foot structure while leasing out the rest of the space. He expects to open his 180-seat restaurant in the fall after completing extensive renovations.

According to the company’s website, the chain offers a wide selection of wine, as well as small and large plates, ranging from vegetarian and seafood platters to pastas and signature meat dishes. Info: carmelcafe.com.

South Whitehall isn’t the only area where restaurant spaces are being revived.