Latest news with #DianeSmith
CTV News
4 hours ago
- CTV News
‘They took everything': Volunteers devastated after major theft at N.S. cemetery
A community centre in East Stewiacke, N.S., has had thousands of dollars worth of equipment stolen. Volunteers at Pine Grove Cemetery in East Stewiacke, N.S., say they feel heartbroken and violated after discovering nearly all of their maintenance equipment was stolen in an overnight break-in. The cemetery's main equipment shed was targeted sometime at night on June 18. The thieves forced their way past a door lock and a steel gate to get inside. 'They pried this first lock off, and then the steel gate,' said Diane Smith, the cemetery's secretary and treasurer. 'They tried to pry it open but couldn't. The lock is hidden, so it looks like they used a battery grinder to cut it. They left shavings at the bottom of the steel door.' Once inside, Smith said, the thieves made off with nearly everything. 'They just removed a two-year-old John Deere tractor with a mulching deck, another John Deere with a mulching deck, but it was older, two Stihl whippers, a pole saw that cleaned out parts of our headstone jack system,' she said. 'There was 520 litres of gas and two 10s, and I had just filled them—$130 for the lot.' The only items left behind were a plank—likely used to load the tractors—and tire marks on the ground. 'They left the plank lying there… plain as day. It's like they left an invitation saying, 'We robbed you,'' said Danny Lake, a long-time volunteer. 'When we saw the lock and swung the doors open, I'd done a lot of cursing and swearing. It wasn't nice.' Lake, who helps maintain the cemetery grounds weekly, said the theft was more than just financial—it felt personal. 'Anybody that would come into a cemetery and take what they took…has no feelings,' he said. 'If your parents are in this graveyard, or someone you love rests in this graveyard, you have no feelings for them.' Pine Grove Cemetery is home to 3,215 graves and is maintained entirely by volunteers. It runs solely on donations and does not carry insurance, something Smith says they simply can't afford. 'We don't get a lot,' she said. 'I've spent since 2007 trying to make this a beautiful place: painting the doors, putting siding on, making sure our headstones are straight and clean.' The stolen equipment was essential for upkeep. Grass mowing typically takes two full days every week, with trimming done twice a month. 'When it comes to being used here, it's very important,' Smith said. 'The grass has to be cut. It's not just about how it looks. It's about honouring the people who are here.' 'I do this and volunteer because I have feelings,' Lake said. 'One day, I'll be in one of these. And I'm hoping someone will volunteer to take care of my grave. Make it look nice for me.' This is the third break-in the cemetery has experienced in recent years, but Smith said this one is by far the worst. 'In the one before, they broke into the other building and stole pry bars, a shovel, gas, and then spun one of the headstones around on its base,' she said. The RCMP is investigating, and volunteers are now offering a $1,500 reward for any information that could lead to an arrest or the return of the stolen gear. Smith says the emotional toll has been overwhelming. 'I can't sleep,' she said. 'I keep thinking of how we can find the stuff.' 'The only thing I could say to anybody that broke in here: just bring the stuff back,' Lake said. 'Leave it in the middle of the night so we don't see. We don't care. Just bring it back to us. 'No questions. You bring the stuff back to us—no questions. We'll be glad to get it back.' Cemetery volunteers have launched an online fundraiser to buy new equipment. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
Forbes
10 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
How Fred Smith Built FedEx Into A Giant
Corbis via Getty Images Frederick Wallace Smith, the billionaire founder of FedEx, passed away at age 80 on Saturday. Smith was a visionary who was early to spot the need for an all-freight airline to ship packages around the world—smartly betting that passenger jets could never handle all of the world's shipments. But his success was far from certain. When Forbes profiled Smith in March 1977, he was a 32-year-old entrepreneur still using small jets to ferry packages around the nation. He was hoping to win government approval to upgrade to large planes, and his private equity backers were seeming to grow impatient. 'Will [FedEx] go on to become a $1-billion company?' we asked. Smith ended up taking FedEx public a year after our story, and grew it into a true giant over five decades at the helm. By the time Smith stepped down as CEO in 2022, at age 77, FedEx's market capitalization had surpassed $50 billion. operates in more than 220 countries and generated $87.7 billion in revenue in 2024. Smith remained executive chairman until his death. He's survived by his wife, Diane Smith, and ten children. He was worth an estimated $5.3 billion . F REDERICK WALLACE SMITH has a favorite story. It goes like this: Three men are shipwrecked on a desert island. Suddenly an authoritative voice echoes from the sky: "In ten minutes a tidal wave will obliterate this island." Pandemonium ensues. One man falls on his knees and prays. The second falls on a native girl and a bottle of booze. The third fellow runs like crazy. "What do you think you're doing?" the terrible voice demands. Still running, the runner gasps: "I'm going to jump in the ocean and figure out how to breathe under water." Surviving against impossible odds, breathing under water as it were, is a habit with 32-year-old Fred Smith, the son of a wealthy Tennessee entrepreneur who died when Fred was four years old. As a young boy in Memphis, Fred was crippled by a bone disease, learned to defend himself against bullies by swinging his crutch. Cured at age ten, he became an excellent football player, learned to fly at 15. In Vietnam, where he served two terms totaling 27 months, Smith won five medals. As a Marine infantry company commander, he almost miraculously survived a Vietcong ambush that cut down the men on either side of him. With his helmet, grenade and pistol gone, Smith retrieved the pistol to bring down his Vietcong attacker. "I was so frightened that I aimed at his head and hit his knee," he said. "To this day I don't understand how he missed me because they always aim for the company commander." On his second Vietnam tour, Smith served as a pilot of forward control planes, surviving over 200 ground-support missions. All this was just a warmup for the brazenly bold adventure that Smith was about to pull off in the business world. Back from Vietnam, he was soon embarked on what has turned out to be the biggest venture-capital startup deal ever tried in the U.S. — Federal Express Corp. "I got so sick of destruction and blowing things up — on people I had nothing against — that I came back determined to do something constructive," Smith recalls. At this point, he went back to an idea that had fascinated him while a student at Yale in the mid-Sixties. Bettmann Archive In an economics class, the professor agreed with the prevailing theory that air freight was the wave of the future and would be the primary source of revenue for the airlines. Smith wrote a paper disagreeing. No way, he said, because the passenger route patterns were wrong for freight and because costs would not come down with volume. The only way air freight would work, Smith wrote, was through a whole new system that would reach out to smaller cities as well as big ones and be designed for packages, not people. His point was simple: Air freight would only work in a system designed specifically for it, not as a simple add-on to passenger service. The professor gave Smith's paper a low grade. Looking back, Smith quips: "I was a crummy student — like Winston Churchill." Smith's idea, now reborn, was to start an all-freight airline that would fly primarily at night when the airports weren't congested. It would carry small, high-priority packages when speed of delivery was more important than cost. It would bring all the freight to a central point (Memphis), then disperse it to the ultimate destinations. That way his organization could free a full planeload for a smaller city, say Cedar Rapids, Iowa, because it would consolidate all Cedar Rapids shipments at the central depot. This was not your ordinary $1-million or $2-million venture-capital startup. What Smith was proposing was the creation in one swoop of an entire nationwide system. "I was naïve," Smith says. "I believed a good concept would attract all the money. By the time I found it wasn't true, I had gone so far that I couldn't stop." In the end, Smith raised an astounding $91 million to finance his untested idea. (To anyone who understands the venture-capital game, this is roughly equivalent to learning how to breathe under water.) First, he put in some $8 million of his own family's money. Then he got the enthusiastic backing of Manhattan-based, Rothschild-backed New Court Securities; New Court investments came to $5 million. With New Court behind him, Smith was able to put together a virtual Who's Who of venture capital, including General Dynamics, Heizer, Allstate Insurance, Prudential Insurance and Citicorp Venture Capital Ltd. However, Smith's problems were only beginning. The passenger airlines with a sideline in freight and the freight-only lines did not relish the prospect of additional competition. Long and haggling hearings before the Civil Aeronautics Board were in prospect. Luckily there was a loophole: Planes with a payload under 7,500 pounds did not need CAB permission to operate. Smith went ahead and assembled a fleet of small, 550-mile-per-hour French-built Falcons, constructed a main base at Memphis and began servicing 75 airports. Nightly Federal's Falcons would pick up packages at each of the airports, fly them to Memphis, then sort them out for immediate reshipment to other cities. At the other end, Federal trucks sped them to their destinations. With luck a shipment made by afternoon got delivered by the next noon. Operations started in April 1973. Forbes named Fred Smith one of America's 100 greatest living business minds in 2017. Martin Schoeller for Forbes In the beginning the losses were horrendous; in Federal's first 26 months they mounted to $29 million. The investors were getting antsy. Federal was falling far short of Smith's projections. There was talk of kicking him out. Smith's own sisters were suing him for misinvesting the family fortune. But Arthur Bass, Federal's operating man, stood by Smith. Bass, 44, a pilot and airline consultant, gradually improved the delivery schedules, and Federal began to come out of its tailspin. By last fiscal year, Federal's revenues hit $75 million, and the company was $3.6 million in the black. Seldom in history had a company gone from nothing to that size so swiftly. In this fiscal year, ending May 31, Federal should make $8 million on $110 million revenues. Federal now counts 31,000 regular customers. The biggest is the U.S. Air Force, which uses Federal to ship the spare parts needed to keep its planes flying. Another major customer: International Business Machines Corp. Others include shippers of film, blood, organ transplants and drugs. On heavily traveled passenger routes, such as New York to Chicago, Federal has plenty of competition from the major airlines. But it has virtually none in moving packages from smaller cities — from El Paso, Tex. to Rochester, N.Y., for example; or Jacksonville, Fla. to Cedar Rapids. Emery Air Freight, which ships via regular airlines, has been meeting some of Federal's competition by chartering its own planes in areas where airlines like Delta and Eastern have cut back less-traveled routes or night service, both crucial to air freight. But Emery cannot match Federal's nationwide air-delivery service. As a freight forwarder Emery is not permitted to operate its own planes and cannot reach the Cedar Rapids of America as quickly as Federal. To meet the competition, Federal has evolved a two-tier pricing system. On routes where there is serious competition, Federal tries to undercut Emery by as much as 10%. It recoups on exclusive routes by charging higher rates — arguing that higher-priced service is better than poor service for these towns. Are Smith's troubles over? Alas, no. At the moment, Federal is up against a serious ceiling on its capacity. The small Falcons can't always handle the available business on some routes, and, as a result, some packages must be held over. As a consequence, Federal's on-time delivery record has slipped from 96% to about 90%; now some couriers not only deliver packages but wait to see they get on the plane. The solution: bigger aircraft. One day soon Federal will file with the CAB a request for permission to fly bigger planes, such as Boeing 727s, and extend service from the present 75 airports and 130 cities to 170 airports and 300 cities — virtually the entire country. On the busier routes, 727s would take over; a single one could replace five Falcons flying nightly wingtip to wingtip on the Los Angeles-Memphis route, for example. On the lighter routes, Federal would still use its Falcons. The savings from using bigger planes alone would increase profits by $9 million a year. This will be Federal's second effort to obtain the right to use bigger craft. Last year the Senate passed a Smith-inspired bill that would permit Federal Express to rapidly institute larger all-cargo flights. The bill died in the House; it was bottled up in a subcommittee headed by Representative Glenn Anderson from Southern California, where opponent Flying Tiger Line is headquartered. This was a severe setback for Smith. In addition to the problem with the CAB, Federal's balance sheet is in terrible shape. The big losses have cut equity capital to just $7.8 million, vs. $52.5 million debt. However, if CAB authorization is forthcoming, Federal's backers have expressed a willingness to help recapitalize the company. There are, moreover, plenty of second-hand Boeings around, and Federal could quickly assemble a fleet of big jets. If it gets to that stage, the next step would be to take Federal public, not only to raise additional capital but to provide Federal's long-suffering backers with an opportunity to get some of their money out. Venture capitalists are not infinitely patient. Maybe Federal will get the right to fly 727s. Maybe it won't. But it has come a long way already. As President Art Bass puts it: "The absolute worst that can happen to us now is that we will be a limited success. It is no longer possible, as it was a year ago, that we'll go down the tube." Will Federal go on to become a $1-billion company? Will Fred Smith once again win a victory of mind over matter, of will over "reality"? Tune in next time for the answer.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
This Black Family Won't Back Down After Court Allows Railroad to Take Their Land
Blaine and Diane Smith were hurt but unsurprised when a Georgia superior court judge ruled last week that a railroad company could seize their land, despite their refusal to sell. For nearly two years, they have been fighting to stop Sandersville Railroad Co., a 130-year-old, white-owned business, from building a 4.5-mile rail spur through a historically Black neighborhood in rural Sparta. The company initiated eminent domain, which is a process that allows the government to seize private property for public use. The proposed spur would cut through parts of the property Blaine and his siblings inherited, which includes 600 acres acquired by his grandfather in the 1920s. Growing up, he farmed, fished, and hunted on the land. His family cultivated cotton, fruits, vegetables, and timber, and raised pigs, chickens, and cows. Not only has it been used to feed generations, but to pay for some family members' education as well. Currently, his brother Mark Smith and his wife, Janet Paige Smith, live on the land. With a railroad just feet away from their home, it would disrupt their peace and run through the middle of the land where Blaine plants trees. He's also worried about the potential damage to the property from hazardous products being transported on the tracks and people trespassing. 'We've had to fight to keep this land. It's always somebody coming in trying to bamboozle you out of it,' Blaine told Capital B. 'There's people trying to come hunt on it and trespass on it. It's gonna be easier for them to do that if we put a railroad through the middle of it. … You asked me, 'What things bother me about it?' I mean, everything bothers me about it.' Despite those concerns, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Craig L. Schwall Sr., in a ruling on Feb. 4, upheld a previous decision by the Georgia Public Service Commission that the rail spur is necessary for Sandersville Railroad to connect industries, and that it serves a public purpose because it opens a channel of trade through east middle Georgia. However, the landowners say they won't be discouraged from the ruling. The Institute for Justice, which represents them, is appealing the decision to the Georgia Supreme Court. 'We're going to fight 'til we can't fight anymore,' Diane said. 'I don't want to leave any stone unturned. My grandmother used to say, 'no stone unturned', so you keep unturning and unturning.' Read More: Why This Rural Community Is at War With a 130-Year Railroad Company In 2023, Benjamin Tarbutton II, president of Sandersville Railroad, made plans to construct the rail spur that would connect the Hanson Quarry, a rock mine owned by Heidelberg Materials, to a main train line along the nearby highway. But, the company needed portions of property from 18 owners along Shoals Road to make it happen. He touted the project would create 20 temporary construction jobs, a dozen permanent jobs averaging $90,000 a year in salary and benefits, and bring in over $1.5 million annually to Hancock County, where the median household income is nearly $34,000, Tarbutton said in an email. And if the proposal moves forward, local officials hope this could attract future businesses and improve economic growth. However, Black landowners have consistently expressed concerns that the railroad could damage their homes, cause noise pollution, and result in the loss of land that has been passed down through generations. Tarbutton moved forward and petitioned the state's public service commission to condemn the land from the property owners using eminent domain. Last fall, the public service commission unanimously approved the proposed rail spur during an 11-minute meeting, falling in line with a hearing officer decision in April. The Institute for Justice appealed the decision, arguing the rail line does not constitute a 'legitimate public use.' Read More: Rural Georgia Community Keeps Fighting Despite Railroad's Win to Take Their Land Schwall, the superior court judge, concurred with the commission's order last week, but halted construction while appeals proceeded. Bill Maurer, senior attorney for the Institute for Justice, said he's committed to proving the railroad's desire to build a new line 'entirely for the benefit of a handful of private companies is not a public use under the U.S. and Georgia constitutions and Georgia's eminent domain laws.' 'We look forward to the Georgia Supreme Court's review, and we are thankful that our clients will not have to deal with Sandersville building tracks on our clients' property until the higher court weighs in,' he said. Diane Smith said she's hopeful the law will prevail. 'Is it against the law to protect what you have?' she questioned. 'We want to build generational wealth for our children, but not off the backs of someone else.' For Blaine, the court's decision 'galvanized us to fight harder,' despite people demonizing them for protecting their property. 'Every time you hear an eminent domain case … it's them against us, and we're the bad guys, because we try to hold on to what we have. … Leave us alone,' he said. 'Let's make this clear: They are looking to get our land to make money for them. If we win and they don't … there's no compensation for us. There's nothing in it for us, other than our peace of mind, and that's what we want.' The post This Black Family Won't Back Down After Court Allows Railroad to Take Their Land appeared first on Capital B News.
