Latest news with #HabitatforHumanity
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
UETHDA's energy assistance outreach RV to visit area locations
KINGSPORT, Tenn. (WJHL) — The Upper East Tennessee Human Development Agency's (UETHDA) energy assistance outreach RV will travel to locations across the region in June to help those who may need assistance paying their energy bills. The agency offers assistance through the federally funded Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which provides energy assistance to approximately 6.7 million households nationwide. Bristol Life Saving Crew warns of impending possible closure To be fair and in accordance with Tennessee Human Development Agency guidelines, UETHDA utilizes a priority point system to allocate its limited funds. Priority is given to the low-income, energy-burdened, disabled, elderly, homes with children under 6 years old, veterans, and large households. Due to the limited funds, some who qualify for assistance may not receive enough points to be funded. Payments, which can take 90 days or longer to be applied, are sent directly to the recipient's utility company. The UETHDA's LIHEAP outreach RV will be at the following locations in June: Holston Electric-Church Hill (219 S Central Ave, Church Hill) 6/2/2025 9:00a-3:00p SH/Embreeville Cove (730 Bumpus Cove Rd, Erwin) 6/3/2025 9:45a SH/VFW Post 9724 Teleford/Jonesborough (2463 Hwy 11 E, Teleford) 6/3/2025 1:30p Priceless (3006 North J B Dennis, Kingsport) 6/4/2025 9:00a-3:00p Hope Helps (4540 W Stone Dr, Kingsport) 6/5/2025 9:00a-3:00p Habitat for Humanity (3201 Kimberly Ct, Johnson City) 6/6/2025 10:00a-3:00p Brightridge (2600 Boones Creek Rd, Johnson City) 6/9/2025 9:00a-3:00p Good Samaritan-Piney Flats (331 Industrial Park, Piney Flats) 6/10/2025 9:00a-3:00p Mtn Electric-Roan Mtn (8477 US-19E, Roan Mountain) 6/11/2025 9:00a-3:00p AMFS/River of Life (819 Austin Springs Rd, Piney Flats) 6/12/2025 7:00a SH/Buffalo Valley Church (111 Buffalo Valley Church Rd, Johnson City) 6/16/2025 9:30a SH/Unicoi Methodist (702 Virginia St, Unicoi) 6/16/2025 10:30a SH/East Pine Grove UMC (2215 East Unaka Ave, Johnson City) 6/16/2025 1:30p Habitat for Humanity (750 East Main St, Kingsport) 6/17/2025 9:00a-3:00p SH/Community Fellowship (430 E 4th Ave, Watauga) 6/23/2025 9:30a SH/New Vision COG (1109 Division St, Johnson City) 6/23/2025 12:30p Church Hill Medical Mission Clinic (401 Richmond St, Church Hill) 6/24/2025 1:00p-7:00p Shepards Center (306 E Main St, Rogersville) 6/25/2025 9:00a-1:00p Higher Ground Church (1625 Lynn Garden Dr, Kingsport) 6/26/2025 8:30a-3:30p Good Samaritan-Johnson City (100 N Roan St, Johnson City) 6/27/2025 9:00a-3:00p Salvation Army (200 Ashe St, Johnson City) 6/30/2025 9:00a-3:00p Those interested in the program may also visit one of the agency's nine neighborhood service centers or call 423-246-6180 for more information. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
The Canadians no longer visit down the shore — but why'd they come here in the first place?
Avalon Campground in Cape May Court House was a top destination for Canadians who were regular summer visitors to the Jersey Shore starting in the 1970s. (Beach photo courtesy of the Greater Wildwoods Tourism Improvement and Development Authority) Last week while in Avalon, I stopped at the Cape May County Habitat for Humanity to look for deck furniture. I didn't find any, but while looking through used books and sofa sectionals, I found a mug featuring a maple leaf. 'Eh?' it also read in an equally bold red. A Canadian mug in a South Jersey Shore second-hand store might seem like an oddity, but it's becoming an artifact of another time and a signifier of the once-strong-but-now-fraying relationship between this part of New Jersey and Canada. According to Statistics Canada, Canadian car trips into the United States this March are down almost 32% compared to March of last year. Things don't look better for the summer either. According to a New York Times analysis, summer plane ticket sales from Canada to the U.S. are down 21%. If this winter's dip in Canadian snowbirds flying to Florida (and selling their Florida properties) is any indication, the Jersey Shore, particularly Cape May County, could see a similar drop. But in all the 'will they or won't they' coverage I've seen about the issue this year, I noticed one thing left out: why Canadians — in particular French Canadians — came here in the first place. Like the drive from Quebec to Wildwood, it's a long and sometimes winding journey. In the 1950s and 1960s, South Jersey Shore towns were in trouble. Where they were once the only place people could go to escape stifling summer heat, the advent of air conditioning and swimming pools meant that relief could be found close to home instead — no long train or car ride required. Atlantic City turned to gambling. Cape May County? French Canadians. In 1970, Quebec legislated a two-week holiday for all construction workers for the end of July, a move that rippled out beyond the industry, with many residents of the province also taking that block of time off for summer vacation. Les Quebecois were also, theoretically, one day's drive away, so starting in 1968, the county pitched them on better beaches, warmer water, and cheap accommodations in motels and rooming houses in Wildwood and in campgrounds that lined Route 9 just inland of beach towns like Sea Isle, Avalon, Stone Harbor, and the Wildwoods. In 1970, Cape May County opened a tourism office in downtown Montreal to further bind the regions. In 1973, a tourism official told The New York Times that they spent 75% of its promotional budget to attract Canadians. By the mid-1970s, the Canadians had taken over. Motels in the Wildwoods gave themselves names like Canadian and Quebec Motel, and venues booked Canadian stars like singer, radio, and television host Michel Louvain and Lousie-Marie Houde, a.k.a. Mademoiselle Quebec. In 1977, Atlantic City hosted Quebec Day to thank their Canadian visitors, with a flag raising, cocktail party, concert, and fashion show featuring Quebec-based artists. 'Two weeks after the Fourth of July, cars were backed out all the way to Route 9 to see if we had campsites,' said Lenny Catanoso, 74, who until last year owned Avalon Campground in Cape May Court House with his sister Marlene. Their parents opened the business in 1967, and they were teenagers working there when the influx of Canadians started coming in. For part of July, 'every car in town was Canadian. I haven't seen anything like it,' said Larry Lillo, 77, Wildwood Historical Society secretary and owner of the Holly Beach Train Depot. Lillo has also held a gamut of jobs during his lifetime in Wildwood, including ice cream salesman, lifeguard, and firefighter. 'It wasn't just the mother and father and the kids. It was the grandmother, aunts, and uncles. The whole gang would come down and stay in apartment houses here,' he said. I saw it too, as a kid who spent all of her summers in the 1980s and 1990s in Avalon Campground. While my family's summer place is now in Avalon proper, we were there then for the same reasons as the Canadians: It was more affordable than on-island accommodations and offered more things to do for large family groups that might include parents and kids but also grandparents, cousins, and that guy who isn't really your uncle but that's what you call him. For the last two weeks of July and the first two weeks of August, 75% of the campground's bookings were French Canadians, according to Lenny Cataonoso. You could see it — and hear it. The U.S., New Jersey, and Canadian flags all flew at the campground pools (where, yes, you could usually tell who was Canadian by their penchant for Speedo bathing suits). When it came time for me to pick a language to study in middle and then high school, I picked French, not because I had young girl dreams of Paris, but because I thought it would help me get a summer job down the shore when I was old enough to do so. I never got the chance. By the time I was old enough to work, the Canadian dollar plummeted in value, and the parade of Quebec license plates coming down the shore just about stopped. Marlene Catanoso, 72, remembers her father working the phones, offering regular Canadian visitors half-price tent spots. The Cape May County Montreal office closed in 1995. The relationship hasn't entirely died out, though. Gen X and Millenial Canadians come back so their kids can have the same kind of magical Jersey Shore experience they had when they were younger. Cape May County still has a French language website and Facebook and Instagram accounts, and the county tourism department has a public relations consultant focusing on Quebec and the Toronto region of Ottawa. Before the pandemic, about 8% of Cape May County visitors were from Quebec. Marlene Catanoso said that older Canadian visitors stopped coming to their campground during the first Trump term, but COVID had a much bigger impact. 'For two years, we had a campground that was half empty,' she said. It wasn't just that the Canadian border was closed, but accommodations in the area shifted to attract locals who didn't want to travel either. To cope, Avalon Campground converted sites that once had bare-bones amenities with tent campers in mind and upgraded them with sewer, water, and better power, in order to accommodate RVs, campers, and mobile homes — and charging for it. Diane Weiland of Cape May County's tourism department insisted that other factors, like the value of the Canadian dollar and a stagnant Canadian economy, are playing a bigger role in keeping the Canadians up north this summer than political discontent (though she did note that the Canadian Automobile Association has declined to run their ads; and Canadian news outlets won't be covering U.S. destinations this year). But she believes the region will be OK, as local business owners have said that American travelers have been picking up Canadian cancellations. So, as the unofficial opening of the summer begins, and more restaurants, bakeries, bike shops, and arcades open for the season, we don't know what will happen. But it's hard to see how this more than half-century relationship can repaired, at least during this administration, when the president insists that Canada is going to be the 51st state, pushes punitive tariffs on Canadian goods at who knows what whim, and eggs on the imprisonment of foreign travelers for things like a visa mix up, translation mistake or having tattoo equipment. If I were Canadian, I wouldn't come here. Heck, I'm an American with a beach house and don't know if I want to be here this summer. I guess we'll see, eh? SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Chicago Tribune
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Bee, butterfly and globe sculptures to decorate the Elgin area for Habitat for Humanity
Buzzing bumblebee birdbaths, butterfly benches and big globes will be on display in and around Elgin this summer to promote Habitat for Humanity of Northern Fox Valley's Carter Crossing project in Carpentersville and to raise funds to build affordable housing. The display is made up of more than 30 fiberglass sculptures decorated by area artists in the theme of 'Home Planet Earth.' They were unveiled Thursday evening at The Haight in downtown Elgin. One of them is named 'Buzzin' Springs,' which was painted by Katey Mundorf, a Bartlett resident. 'I found out about the project through a group I belong to, Arts in Bartlett. I wanted to take part because Habitat is such a good cause,' she said. In keeping with the environmental theme of the project, Mundorf said she was inspired by pollinators. She hopes her work illustrates how humans share the planet with nature. Mundorf said her piece will be placed in downtown East Dundee. It was sponsored by the Festen Family of Elgin. Kathryn Festen, who chaired the project, said so far it's netted $179,000 for the organization through sponsorships. Even more money will be generated when the sculptures are auctioned off on Sept. 6. Crews from Elgin, Carpentersville, East Dundee, West Dundee and Barrington will be placing the sculptures in various areas after Memorial Day. They will be on display until after Labor Day, Festen said. The Elgin Area Convention & Visitors Bureau is putting together a promotion that will explain more about the sculptures and where to locate them. Festen said she was delighted with the success of the 'Home Planet Earth' project, for which nearly 160 artists, sponsors and Habitat board members were invited to to celebrate its unveiling. Steve Kroiss, tech businessman and Downtown Neighborhood Association of Elgin board member, was at the event in two capacities. 'I have been involved with Habitat,' he said. 'When I found out about the project, I asked if I could be both a sponsor and an artist.' Kroiss calls his piece 'Earthly Highlights,' and it will be displayed somewhere in Elgin. The globe he painted is stark black and white, not for any thematic reason but because he prefers to create monochromatic artwork, he said. On the brighter side is a butterfly bench called 'A Place to Land.' Artist Jennifer Wambach wasn't at the kickoff, but representatives for the work's sponsor, First American Bank branch in Carpentersville, did attend. Senior branch manager Michelle Charron described the piece as bright and cheery and inspired by the monarch, which is the state butterfly of Illinois. It will spend the summer in Carpenter Park. 'We're happy to help in any way we can,' Charron said. 'Working with Habitat is part of our community reinvestment, and the homes being built will help Carpentersville and those in need of housing.' Carter Crossing is a $12 million project that will have seven new Net Zero homes, according to the Habitat website. For 13 others, Habitat for Humanity of Northern Fox Valley has partnered with Nicor Gas and Southern Company to build single-family homes equipped with a combination of renewable, electric and natural gas technologies, the site says. For more information, go to
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Hard Rock announces new country concert inside Anthem
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) — The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino will be welcoming a country artist to the Anthem stage later this summer. The Hard Rock has announced the upcoming performance of Ned LeDoux, who is set to perform inside Anthem on Friday, August 15. Story continues below Top Story: North Sioux City meeting: South Dakota set to get millions for disaster recovery Lights & Sirens: 2 air conditioning units stolen from Siouxland Habitat for Humanity project Sports: Elk Point-Jefferson baseball advances to SDHSBA State Tournament Weather: Get the latest weather forecast here According to a press release, LeDoux's goal in music has always been to express himself. In the release, LeDoux said, 'I'm just trying to write my own story, and I'm a terrible pretender. I can't write a song that I have no relation with because people would figure that out quickly. I'll just stick to what I understand.' One song he said he has a deep connection with is his song 'One Hand In The Riggin'.' LeDoux has been releasing solo music since 2017. Tickets for the performance will go on sale on Friday, May 23, at 10 a.m.. You can purchase tickets online through the Hard Rock website or in person at the Rock Shop. You must be 21 years of age or older to attend a concert inside of the Anthem. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Norfolk Public Schools interim superintendent to get paid $200K: Contract
NORFOLK, Neb. (KCAU) — More details have been released about the contract for the interim superintendent for the Norfolk Public Schools. The district's Board of Directors approved the contract back on May 12. Interim Superintendent Bill McAllister will get a base pay of $200,000. His salary package totals nearly $234,000, which includes health benefits and expenses related to his payroll. Story continues below Top Story: Blue Lake water levels suffering from dry conditions Lights & Sirens: 2 air conditioning units stolen from Siouxland Habitat for Humanity project Sports: Local Iowa high school baseball highlights and scores (5-20-25) Weather: Get the latest weather forecast here McAllister is set to begin his job on July 1, and his last day is scheduled for June 30, 2026. He takes on the superintendent role after Dr. Jami Jo Thompson resigns on June 30 to take the same role at Rapid City-area schools. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
