One way or another, pay raises for teachers in the Alamance-Burlington School System should come through next month.

“We will do it in one big chunk, and that will most likely happen in the November paycheck,” said Jeremy Teetor, ABSS finance director.

Public school districts in North Carolina get most of their funding directly from the state. That means the budget impasse in Raleigh has kept ABSS from finalizing its own budget and from giving teachers and administrators the raises the state legislature already agreed on.

Regular raises based on years with the school system have also been held up.

“Each year teachers count on moving up to their next level of experience on the pay schedule,” Teetor said, “and we’ve not been allowed to move them up, so they’re really hanging out there in limbo right now.”

The pay increases would give the average teacher 3.9 percent more over two years, but it’s weighted to teachers with 16 or more years of experience.

Raises could come through in two ways — either the state Senate overrides Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of the budget, or the legislature passes a “mini budget,” a small spending bill for one of the budget’s less controversial items, like teacher pay.

So far there have not been enough votes in the Senate for an override, Teetor said, but he understands there should be a solution by the end of October.

“I’m looking forward to the treat,” he told the Alamance-Burlington Board of Education at its meeting Monday, Oct. 28.

The county also supplements teacher pay, but that increase was included in ABSS’ budget request, so, Teetor said, ABSS won’t be going back to the commissioners for more money.

Cummings, Broadview repairs

Work started tearing out areas of the chorus room at Cummings High School last week and should be done by Friday, said Assistant Superintendent Todd Thorpe, Monday.

Leaky roofs did serious damage to the chorus room, band room, auditorium and other arts areas. The renovations are pretty extensive and include removing asbestos, though serious mold problems were mostly in one area.

“We have reports for the chorus room, which I’ll be honest with you is bad, that’s the reason for what we’re planning in there,” Thorpe said.

The auditorium and band room both came in within normal limits, Thorpe said, meaning comparable to outside.

“Your inside mold should look like your outside mold,” Thorpe said.

Once the remediation is finished at the end of the week, the rest of the building will be safe again while work is going on. It will take three or four months to finish construction, Thorpe said.

It all comes back to a bad roofing material.

In 2005, J.P. Stevens Roofing, which was bought by Dow in 2008, installed six roofs for ABSS — at Sellars-Gunn Educational Center, E.M. Holt Elementary School, Graham and Broadview middle schools, and two at Cummings High School — under a 15-year warranty.

In 2016, major leaks began appearing, and by the summer of 2017 four out of the six needed to be fully replaced due to an issue with the materials used (45-mil TPO membrane) and sun exposure.

Roofs at Cummings High School and Broadview Middle School were repaired with money from three different sources, the school system’s $890,000 settlement with Dow Chemical, lottery funding and the county’s School Capital Reserve Fund, which is a portion of sales tax revenue.

Reporter Isaac Groves can be reached at igroves@thetimesnews.com or 336-506-3045. Follow him on Twitter at @tnigroves.

source https://www.thetimesnews.com/news/20191029/schools-begin-rain-damage-repairs-teacher-raises-coming-in-november

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Damage from last week’s tornado and storms will force the relocation of more than 700 people from a Parkway Village apartment complex, the city’s public works director said Tuesday.

Inspectors initially determined that 16 of the 46 buildings in the Cottonwood Apartments were uninhabitable because of damage.

But since then, other issues that weren’t immediately apparent, such as leaks, have pushed the number of uninhabitable buildings to 32.

That means more than 700 residents will have to be relocated by Friday. The apartments’ occupancy before the storm was close to 1,100.

The majority of the complex is no longer a safe place for people to live. Some damages, covered by tarps on the roofs, are apparent, but last weekend’s rain revealed hidden issues like leaks and mold.

For health and safety reasons, residents have to leave as soon as possible.

“We want people to know there’s no power,» City of Memphis Public Works Director Robert Knecht said. «It’s going to be cold.»

City officials say they’re working with Latino Memphis and the Red Cross the find affordable housing for those residents.

“Trust is a big issue,» Knecht said. «We have police going around with us, and that automatically brings a red flag. So we’re trying to be as soft about this and gentle in explaining as much as we can.”

The National Weather Service says an EF-1 tornado with winds up to 105 mph tore a 7.4-mile path through southeast Memphis on the morning of Oct. 21. The Cottonwood Apartments were among the areas hit hardest.

A shelter is still open at the Marion Hale Community Center, 4791 Willow Road. If you need assistance call 1-800-RED-CROSS or go to redcross.org/shelters.

“For the individuals who are affected, it doesn’t matter what their background is or where they come from, we’re there to provide that safe place of refuge,» Red Cross volunteer Tom Campbell said.

The Red Cross is offering disaster assistance from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday at Park Village Christian Church, 4568 Knight Arnold Road. The center will be staffed by the Red Cross and other local agencies that may be able to provide help.

Knowing that’s only a temporary solution, the main goal now is working to find affordable housing until the apartments can be repaired.

The apartment complex refunded everyone displaced their October rent and security deposit.

source https://wreg.com/2019/10/29/tornado-damage-to-force-relocation-of-hundreds-from-memphis-apartments/

source https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/alfred-noble-library-in-livonia-closed-after-elevated-levels-of-mold-detected

This article originally appeared in the Friday Oct. 25, 2019 issue of the Progress Times.

Problems with mold forced the Palmview Fire Department to shut down Fire Station #1 in April.

Six months later, the station — which is adjacent to City Hall — remains uninhabitable. When the city will either decontaminate or demolish the station remains unclear.

“The City of Palmview takes matters such as these very seriously as the health and safety of City Personnel is our number one priority,” according to a statement released by City Attorney Eric Flores. “The City will continue to take any and all necessary steps to ensure our firefighters are safe so that we may continue to serve our residents with the utmost care. Additionally, the City of Palmview will continue their diligent efforts to secure additional funds to build a fire station our hardworking firefighters deserve.”

Fire Chief Jerry Alaniz had concerns about Fire Station #1 as far back as June 2014, according to documents released under the Texas Public Information Act.

“We are in need of replacing or repairing the roof at the fire station,” Alaniz wrote to then-Fire Marshal Severo Ochoa on June 6, 2014. “Every time it rains we are having to place buckets all over the station. Water damage is clearly visible throughout the station.”

Alaniz asked Ochoa to discuss the problem with then-police Chief Chris Barrera. What, if anything, happened as a result of the memo remains unclear.

When the Progress Times contacted Alaniz and City Manager Michael Leo on Wednesday, the city attorney responded with a written statement.

Alaniz wrote another memo to Ochoa in August 2015, asking him if Barrera or then-City Manager Ramon Segovia wanted to discuss the problem.

“It is worse and worse every time it rains,” Alaniz wrote to Ochoa on Aug. 8, 2015. “If we don’t remedy this the problem will continue to get worse, and may be more expensive.”

Concerns about the building became a crisis in February 2019, when firefighters signed a letter to Alaniz warning about potential health problems.

“Recently firefighters have been having trouble sleeping with allergic reactions when dorming at the firehouse or just being inside the lobby area,” according to the letter, which is signed by three fire department captains. “Some firefighters had to start taking medication and other precautions to protect themselves.”

The letter listed five major concerns, including the leaky roof, which left marks on the ceiling; mold under the kitchen sink, in firefighter dorms, throughout the air conditioning system and in the captain’s office; plumbing problems in the kitchen and restroom; and pieces of the ceiling that had started falling.

“Staff also has had the idea of relocating our central station until further notice for Dorming purposes to station number two,” according to the letter. “We would really appreciate if you would take that into consideration or to resolve the problem for the meantime for the wellbeing of our health.”

The bottom of the letter is covered in signatures.

“Upon receiving the letter, the City immediately began to strategize and formulate a plan to ensure these firemen and firewomen were working in a safe environment,” according to the statement released by the city. “This plan included securing additional space and renovating the alternate location to ensure the new location met the needs of these hard-working individuals.”

Palmview hired Hutto, Texas-based National Mold Advisor to conduct testing. It found mold throughout the building.

“The occupants of the building should not be permitted to work in this environment with the genus of molds found inside the building,” according to a 21-page report prepared by the company.

The report also identified two types of mold, Fusarium and Stachybotrys, that posed serious health problems.

After National Mold Advisor completed the initial assessment on April 23, the city manager asked firefighters to vacate the building.

“All shift personnel living quarters will be moved to the portable building,” Leo wrote in a memo to Alaniz on April 24. “It will serve as a temporary fire station and living quarters until the final long term plan of action is finalized.”

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source https://www.progresstimes.net/news/local-news/13594-palmview-shut-down-fire-department-building-amid-concerns-about-mold.html

A group of families living on Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph and Laughlin AFB in Del Rio have filed suit in federal court here alleging a variety of problems with the homes they lived in at both installations, including mold exposure that made them sick.

The suit says a private contractor called Hunt Military Communities “under-maintained the houses located on (Randolph) and (Laughlin), subjecting our service-members and their families to atrocious conditions, including pervasive mold and other airborne toxins. Service-members have seen mold grow on their children’s toothpaste and their children’s toys, take over walls, and blacken the interior of HVAC duct-work.”

The suit also contends Hunt often misdiagnosed problems with housing, used “substandard” workers to fix them and “would mislead its tenants about the remediation actions allegedly undertaken. Most notably, Hunt’s representatives would simply paint over existing mold and exclaim ‘Problem Solved!’

“Many service-members and their families have become ill as a result of mold exposure, have lost nearly all their personal possessions, and have paid their full base housing allowance for substandard houses,” the lawsuit states.

The suit accused Hunt of engaging in deceptive trade practices, breach of contract, negligence and fraud. Officials with San Antonio-based Air Education and Training Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The problems detailed in the lawsuit are similar to those recently reported by troops and commanders on Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland and Camp Bullis, a sprawling, rugged military training range in Northwest Bexar County. Brig. Gen. Laura Lenderman, head of the wing that runs Joint Base San Antonio, said in mid-August that mold or mildew had been found in 30 percent of all dorm rooms at Randolph, Lackland, Fort Sam Houston and Camp Bullis. There are 27,000 beds in 77 dorms under the wing’s control, the most in the nation.

On ExpressNews.com: Almost one-third of dorm rooms at Joint Base San Antonio had mold, mildew

Mold was often found in dormitory housing showers used by technical school trainees, but also was observed in carpets, walls and closets, where it sometimes covered backpacks and blue suits. Lenderman has said the extent of some mold in some dorms was unexpected but conceded the scope of the problem “wasn’t too surprising” given the combination of mold in this part of Texas and the age of the facilities.

There was no mention of problems with privatized housing at the local bases, however, and until now none had been reported by the military.

The plaintiffs, families who had been based on Randolph and Laughlin, are represented by attorneys in San Antonio and Houston. The suit demands actual damages in the past and future and compensation for mental anguish. Part of the AETC, both bases instruct Air Force pilots. Laughlin is a major producer of novice pilots.

The suit claims that “mold pervades and grows in the houses, asbestos and lead-based paint fill the air, floors detach from walls, plumbing is disconnected for years, depositing human waste under the houses, electrical lines break, roofs leak, and HVAC systems pump cold air into attics as opposed to the houses.

“In short, defendants leased plaintiffs houses that were uninhabitable from the inception of the lease and subsequently refused to perform reasonable repairs to address the issues and make the houses fit for human habitation,” said the suit, which accused Hunt of knowing about the conditions at Randolph since running the properties in 2007.

The suit said the issues have been and continue to be “a producing cause of economic damages, including without limitation loss of base housing allowance, damage to personal property, repair bills, excessive utility bills, medical bills, and future medical bills.” The suit also said each of the family members “suffered mental anguish damages as a result of defendants’ conduct in knowingly placing them in uninhabitable houses.”

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Petty Officer First Class Jon Alexander and his wife, Allison Alexander, moved into a duplex on Randolph with their two children and “suffered from constant allergy issues, including their daughter being diagnosed with asthma” because it was full of dust, with degraded fiberglass in the ductwork and insect infestations that went unremediated in the year they lived there, the lawsuit said.

The Navy family observed “visible mold growth on the vents, ants infested the upstairs carpet, the stairs and closet doors were broken, the toilets and faucets leaked, and the floors were so dirty it turned socks black,” the suit said. “When Mrs. Alexander opened the refrigerator to put away her first set of groceries, she nearly fell over from the smell of rot and decay coming from the refrigerator.”

The problems were not fixed by multiple visits by repair crews, including a Hunt contractor who soaked the ducts with chemicals, leaving an odor that “pervaded the house for days,” the suit said. “Mrs. Alexander and her children were all put on prescriptions to aid their breathing,” and the daughter suffered increasingly severe symptoms and finally was diagnosed with asthma and now has to use an inhaler twice a day, the suit said. But the symptoms eased when they spent time away from the house and their health has improved since they moved off base, it said.

At Laughlin, where 2nd Lt. Lance Konzen and Megan Konzen lived for eight months, their home’s heating and air-conditioning system had “extensive mold and debris,” the lawsuit said. At 20, Megan Konzen had always enjoyed good health but a week after moving in, she began to suffer daily headaches that got worse over time, it said.

An examination of the HVAC system outside the house revealed it had never been serviced and emitted “billows of mold” when opened, the lawsuit stated. An inspection found mold growth in duct openings and lines and the Konzens made a three-hour trip to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio for intensive tests, the suit states.

The suit said Hunt representatives threatened Lt. Konzen’s career when his wife threatened to make the issues public. She later testified before Congress about privatized housing conditions and believes that trip to Washington led to her husband’s reassignment to Sheppard AFB in Wichita Falls. The suit said her health has returned since leaving Laughlin.

sigc@express-news.net

source https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Suit-says-families-fell-ill-at-San-Antonio-Del-14571237.php

Military Housing Lawsuit plaintiff Kassandra Wolf/KTSA Photo-Elizabeth Ruiz

SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) – Eight families at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph and one at Laughlin Air Force Base in Del Rio have filed a federal lawsuit over what they call “toxic mold and pest-infested privatized housing.”

The suit alleges that Hunt Military Communities , a private contractor, subjected service members and their families to “atrocious conditions.” It says mold was found growing on children’s toys and toothpaste, taking over walls and ductwork.

Kassandra Wolf told KTSA News that she and some of her children became so ill, they required hospitalization.

“Over the last three years, we dealt with mold, we dealt with pest infestation, we had water damage,” said Wolf.

She says her son had severe asthma problems and upper respiratory distress. Wolf says she also suffered numerous health problems which she attributes to the mold.

“I’ve had migraines and nosebleeds, numbness in my hands and feet. It felt like needles and spiders were constantly poking me,” she said. Wolf also blames the mold for incontinence issues.

She says the health problems have not occurred since her family moved out of the privatized housing at Randolph. Her husband is still stationed there, but they have purchased a home away from the base.

“Our citizens need to recognize that these families are the families that are protecting us,” said attorney Jim Moriarty with Pulman, Cappucio & Pullen.

He says when families complained to Hunt, the company “would mislead its tenants about the remediation actions allegedly undertaken.”

“No one should live in the family homes that these people live in and we’re not going to put up with it,” said Moriarty.

The suit alleges the family members suffered mental anguish and that Hunt Military Communities knowingly placed military families in uninhabitable houses.

“We’ve got to fight this through the court of public opinion, fight this through Congress, and as we’ve done today, file suit on behalf of our clients to pursue their rights in the federal courts,” said attorney Ryan Reed, who’s also representing clients in the mass lawsuit.

source https://www.ktsa.com/some-jbsa-randolph-families-sue-over-toxic-privatized-housing/

WHITEFISH BAY, WI — Gracious Richard Phillip English Tudor awaiting restoration. Beautiful Lake Michigan views, rich in architectural detail, tall ceilings, and leaded glass details — this home is a classic. Kitchen Remodel — 2008.

This listing originally appeared on realtor.com. For more information and photos, click here.

Newly installed Roof 2008. Home has incurred extensive water and mold damage and needs restoration and remediation to be able to occupy the property. Electrical and Plumbing may need restorative care. Home Inspection on File, GZA Mold report on file.

This listing originally appeared on realtor.com. For more information and photos, click here.

For Sale: $419,900
3 bd/2 full ba, 1,980 sqft

2581 N Terrace Ave

Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53211

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2581 N Terrace Ave