people Archives - Naturally Healthy Living

Shed Houses

‘The destruction down there is unfathomable’: Danville fire destroys buildings, damages homes

On Saturday night, a controlled burn gone wrong destroyed buildings, damaged homes and sent one firefighter to the hospital.

“The destruction down there is unfathomable,” Angie Kennedy said. “It looks like something that went off like a bomb or something, and to look around there anyone could have been hurt. Anyone could have been, that’s my concern.”

The call came in around 5:30 Saturday night for a controlled burn gone wrong at the old Danville Lumber Company facility.

“We lost like five buildings down there in the lumber facility itself, including the main office building,” Danville Volunteer Fire Department Assistant Chief Tony Nichols said.

Plus, surrounding homes and cars were damaged including Kennedy’s son’s home.

“I’m just really upset about it because I just feel like we get a stigma down here that we’re not intelligent. We’re more intelligent than this, and more thought should’ve been put into this burn,” Kennedy told Eyewitness News.

She said her son was not there when the fire happened.

“They had their two dogs in there, and those people that did start the fire did get the dogs out,” Kennedy said.

Nichols estimates almost one million gallons of water were used to put out the flames that evacuated several homes and sent one firefighter to the hospital for minor injuries.

“A lot of activity, a lot of people in here,” Nichols said. “Couldn’t tell you how many men and women we had fighting the fire last night. I have no clue. I just know there was a bunch of people here, and it was a really, really tough fire.”

Kennedy hopes people will think about what Saturday’s flames caused before striking a match.

“Please let this one lesson come out of this,” Kennedy said. “Please think before you strike that first match. Get professionals

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By Dawn J. Larkin, 3 weeksNovember 22, 2023 ago

Shed Houses

Thousands of Gaza residents flee homes

People flee their homes amid Israeli strikes in the southern Gaza Strip, October 8, 2023. Photo: Reuters

Surrounded by his grandchildren, Mahmud al-Sarsawi on Sunday lay on a table in a corridor hooked up to an oxygen tube in a school-turned-bomb-shelter in the besieged Gaza Strip.

“We all came here to escape the Israeli airstrikes,” said the elderly man from the Shujaiyya neighbourhood, adding he was among about 70 people sheltering in the building for the second day from Israeli air strikes.

“The situation was terrifying, and we had no choice but to seek refuge,” added Sarsawi, 68, who is worried he may run out of oxygen.

He had taken cover in one of 44 schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA), which they have opened up as shelters.

More than 20,000 people in the Palestinian territory have been displaced due to fighting, UNWRA says, after Hamas militants launched thousands of rockets, and stormed into Israel before dawn on Saturday in a series of devastating attacks on southern Israeli towns.

Retaliation was swift from Israeli forces, who launched air raids on the impoverished and densely-populated Gaza Strip, where 2.3 million people live crammed into a small piece of land.

“I’m telling the people of Gaza: get out of there now, because we’re about to act everywhere with all our force,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned late Saturday, telling people to leave certain areas saying Hamas hideouts in Gaza would be reduced to rubble.

In just two days, about 600 people have been killed in Israel and at least 370 people in Gaza, according to figures from officials on both sides.

‘Unbearable’

Inside the classroom, women members of Sarsawi’s family sat on sponge mattresses brought from their home, surrounded by cooking gas, canned

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By Dawn J. Larkin, 4 weeks ago

Shed Houses

‘Terrifying’: thousands of Gaza residents flee homes

Surrounded by his grandchildren, Mahmud al-Sarsawi Sunday lay on a table in a corridor hooked up to an oxygen tube in a school-turned-bomb-shelter in the besieged Gaza Strip.

“We all came here to escape the Israeli airstrikes,” said the elderly man from the Shujaiyya neighbourhood, adding he was among about 70 people sheltering in the building for the second day from Israeli air strikes.

“The situation was terrifying, and we had no choice but to seek refuge,” added Sarsawi, 68, who is worried he may run out of oxygen.

He had taken cover in one of 44 schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA), which they have opened up as shelters.

More than 20,000 people in the Palestinian territory have been displaced due to fighting, UNWRA says, after Hamas militants launched thousands of rockets, and stormed into Israel before dawn on Saturday in a series of devastating attacks on southern Israeli towns.

Retaliation was swift from Israeli forces, who launched air raids on the impoverished and densely-populated Gaza Strip, where 2.3 million people live crammed into a small piece of land.

“I’m telling the people of Gaza: get out of there now, because we’re about to act everywhere with all our force,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned late Saturday, telling people to leave certain areas saying Hamas hideouts in Gaza would be reduced to rubble.

In just two days, about 600 people have been killed in Israel and at least 370 people in Gaza, according to figures from officials on both sides.

‘Unbearable’

Inside the classroom, women members of Sarsawi’s family sat on sponge mattresses brought from their home,

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By Dawn J. Larkin, 1 monthNovember 11, 2023 ago

Shed Houses

Hundreds feared dead as Afghanistan earthquakes reduce Herat homes to rubble

A series of earthquakes and aftershocks in west Afghanistan are feared to have claimed hundreds of lives, with many more injured.

Estimated deaths have spiked to 500, less than a day after the quakes hit, the Red Crescent said on Sunday – a sharp increase from Saturday, when only 16 deaths were confirmed.

The Taliban, which has ruled Afghanistan since overthrowing the democratically-elected government in 2021, meanwhile put the death toll at over 2,000. The group said public health officials were visiting Herat to assess the scale of the impact.

Abdul Wahid Rayan, a spokesman at the ministry of information, said Sunday the death toll is higher than originally reported. Villages have been destroyed, and hundreds of civilians are buried under the debris, he said while calling for urgent help.

“Besides the 2,060 dead, 1,240 people are injured and 1,320 houses are completely destroyed,” said Mr Rayan. At least a dozen teams have been scrambled to help with rescue efforts, including from the military and nonprofit organisations like the Red Crescent.

Multiple quakes struck the war-torn country near the Iranian border on Saturday. The epicentre of the disaster was around 25 miles north-west of Herat, where 12 villages faced powerful aftershocks.

Afghan children rest under a blanket beside damaged houses after the earthquake in Sarbuland village in Herat (Photo: Mohsen Karimi/AFP via Getty)

One quake measured 6.3 magnitude, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said, after tremors started at around 11am local time on Saturday. The highest recorded magnitude of an earthquake is 9.5.

More than 200 victims had been “taken to several places – military bases, hospitals”, a Herat health department official told Reuters, adding most of them were women and children.

“People left their houses, we all are on the streets,” Herat resident Naseema said. She said that

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By Dawn J. Larkin, 2 monthsOctober 18, 2023 ago

Shed Houses

The loss of the Crooked House pub reveals that built heritage is about a lot more than buildings | Opinion

Martyn Evans index

The Crooked House in Himley, Staffordshire has become the most famous pub in Britain after it was demolished earlier this month following a devastating fire. The jury is still out on why the fire started and why the remaining shell was so quickly demolished, but the subsequent political and public outcry says a lot about what people feel when part of what they consider to be their community heritage is lost. It seems that playing with (the aftermath of a) fire can get you burned.

The pub was originally The Glynne Arms, named for the family who lived in the original 1765 farmhouse. It was only renamed The Crooked House in 2002 as official recognition of the affectionate name given to it by locals a long time before.

Whilst no Leaning Tower of Pisa in terms of tourist pulling-power, it was nonetheless a source of love and pride for its regulars and gave its village and nearby Dudley a distinctiveness that all good places should have. It was the best example of common heritage phenomena in the Black Country – buildings made crooked by subsidence resulting from the area’s extensive coal mining.

Emma Smith, a local resident, was quoted in the Observer: “My nan and grandad brought me here when I was little, and I’ve brought my kids here. Everybody knows the Crooked House, it’s part of Dudley, part of our history, and now it’s gone…everyone is so angry.”

Its swift demolition has been condemned by local politicians – Andy Street, the West Midlands Mayor says he is “laser-focussed” on making sure it’s “rebuilt brick-by-brick”. He told the Independent, “This is a part of our heritage, our history, and somebody thought it could literally just be confined to rubble. That is not right.” These places are important.

We’ve

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By Dawn J. Larkin, 3 monthsSeptember 24, 2023 ago

Shed Houses

China: 31,000 forced to flee homes in Beijing as Typhoon Doksuri brings heavy rains | China

Two people are reported to have died in severe flooding that has engulfed parts of Beijing, as Typhoon Doksuri passed through China’s capital.

People’s Daily reported on Monday that two people were found unresponsive in a river in Mentougou, a district in west Beijing that has suffered some of the worst flooding. According to state broadcaster CCTV, more than 31,000 people have evacuated their homes in the city.

Heavy rain continued to fall in Beijing as well as in Hebei, Tianjin and eastern Shanxi as Doksuri dissipated over northern China, the China Meteorological Administration said.

Doksuri is one of the strongest storms to hit China in years and caused widespread flooding over the weekend in the southern province of Fujian, driving hundreds of thousands of people from their homes.

Between 8pm on Saturday and 1pm on Monday, average rainfall in Beijing was 176.9mm, with the maximum rainfall in parts of Mentougou hitting 580.9mm, according to the city’s observatory.

Beijing Traffic Radio reported on Monday that the 65 mile-long (105km) Fengsha railway line, which connects west Beijing’s Fengtai district with Shacheng in Hebei, had suffered “serious water damage”, disrupting journeys. Nearly 2,000 passengers and railway crew were evacuated from two trains.

Flood-stranded people are rescued by a civilian rescue team with a rubber boat in Quanzhou, Fujian province — Stranded people are rescued by a civilian rescue team with a rubber boat in Quanzhou, Fujian province, on Saturday. Photograph: Xinhua/Shutterstock

Work was halted on more than 4,000 construction sites, almost 20,000 buildings were inspected for damage, and scenic spots in the city were closed, media reported.

While Doksuri continues to taper off, forecasters warned that Typhoon Khanun was approaching and was set to strike China’s densely populated coast this week. Authorities said Khanun could inflict further damage to corn and other crops that had already been hit by Doksuri.

Doksuri made landfall on Friday, downing power lines and uprooting

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By Dawn J. Larkin, 4 monthsAugust 14, 2023 ago

House Planters

A plant with a name is twice as sweet

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – I’m continuing my series of finding out the stories behind some of our SnapJAX photos.

This week’s SnapJAX Story took us away from the beach and into the heart of Jacksonville into Kim Owens’ backyard. It reminded me that there’s beauty and connection growing all around us.

It was Kim Owens’ picture of this flower that got my attention. It only opens at night, once, and then dies.

“I came out when my plant was blooming, I shot it at 10 o’clock and 12 o’clock and 2 o’clock because I couldn’t get enough of it,” said Kim, who goes by “FlamingoKimbo” on SnapJAX.

The plant is called Queen of the Night, but Kim also calls her Betty Jo. In fact, most of her plants have names, for good reason.

“I name my plants from the people that gave them to me,” Kim said.

Some of those people are still around. Others have passed on, like Kim’s mom.

“I was inspired by mom, my mom, to love color and plants,” Kim explained.

Kim inherited her mom’s bright red Amaryllis and they’re all over her garden.

“I have so many sets and so that feels like a piece of your mom. It’s a piece of my mom and I can give a piece of my mom away to folks,” Kim said.

All of her plants are special and some are inspiring, like a pink Bougainvillea plant named Michael, one of her favorites, that’s named after a friend who has cancer.

“Michael has been fighting cancer for almost 10 years. And this really kind of signifies that we never give up. This thing froze down to nothing last year, and

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By Dawn J. Larkin, 4 monthsAugust 5, 2023 ago

Hydroponics Gardening

North Bay news: New electric vehicle charging stations added

Four electric vehicle charging stations are available at Community Energy Park outside Memorial Gardens in North Bay.

North Bay Hydro president and CEO Matt Payne said it’s a sign of the time and the changing auto industry.

“I think it’s the direction the country and the province want to go with enabling EV vehicles,” Payne said.

“It’s helping people that come through North Bay and people who live with North Bay charge up their vehicles and that’s what it’s all about.”

He said the region faces some challenges when it comes to electric vehicles, including the climate and the distance between charging stations can be issues.

“Northern Ontario has its unique challenges with EV because of the distance apart of the centres in the north,” Payne said.

“We’ve had 170 unique visitors to the park already, which is about 245 different charges and 6,000 kilowatts hours used. So we’re seeing usage and it’s actually ahead of what we thought it would be.”

Funding for the charging spots came from the federal government.

“This isn’t something we have a choice in, it’s something we have to go towards,” said Nipissing-Timiskaming MP Anthony Rota.

“Some people ask why is it taking so long — well it doesn’t happen overnight. It’s certainly going to be a challenge in northern Ontario but we’re seeing battery changes happening all the time so I’m sure we will be able to overcome the challenges.”

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By Dawn J. Larkin, 4 monthsAugust 5, 2023 ago

Hydroponics Gardening

Warren residents speak out about businesses at planning meeting

WARREN — At a recent meeting of city planning officials, residents expressed their displeasure and sought to prevent two businesses from further impacting their neighborhoods.

During the audience portion of the Warren Planning Commission meeting on July 10, neighbors living on Cunningham and Le Fever avenues, near Hydro Depot in the 4500 block of Eight Mile Road, spoke about how they did not want the site plan for outdoor retail sales of gardening supplies to be approved for petitioner Vinson Bahri, who owns the business.

“This is a large-scale business that needs to be in a different location,” said resident Niki Becker. “We are fighting it for our neighborhood because that’s what we are, a neighborhood. We don’t want trucks and traffic racing up and down our street.”

Bahri was represented by attorney Robert Ihrie who spoke on his client’s behalf.

“We have the recommendation of the Planning Department with conditions. We have agreed to 100% of all the recommendations of the Planning Department,” said Ihrie. “The objections that have come forward to the Planning Commission have been essentially posed by a couple of people, maybe three, not all of which even live on the two streets that border this problem.”

According to the attorney, the two streets at issue are Cunningham and La Fever.

“The people showing up here, we are the people who live right there,” said Holly Fabian. “It is my house. It’s not your house.”

Ihrie spoke about how he canvassed the neighborhood to determine how residents felt about traffic in the neighborhood.

“I took it upon myself to ring doorbells and talk to people on Le Fever and talk to people on Cunningham, the two streets that are border (to the property),” Ihrie said. “I asked if they had any problems or concerns

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By Dawn J. Larkin, 4 monthsAugust 4, 2023 ago

General Article

Interior whizz shares four common things which make your home look cheap – it’s bad news if you have vertical blinds

AN EXPERT has listed the four popular mistakes that instantly cheapen any home – and vertical blinds need to go.

When it comes to home decor, nobody wants their guests to leave with a tacky aftertaste, and now one pro has come to rescue with a few easy tips.

According to the London-<a href= — According to the London-based whizz, vertical blinds need to goCredit: TikTok/momentofchange

Unless it's the festive season, the pro advised against decorating your home with fairy lights — Unless it’s the festive season, the pro advised against decorating your home with fairy lightsCredit: TikTok/momentofchange

Offering a helping hand to those looking to transform their property this summer, the expert at MOC ARCHITECTURE revealed the common mistakes to avoid at all costs.

The first interior faux pas to steer clear of is vertical blinds – they might a popular choice for many, but according to the London-based whizz, they need to go.

Just as tacky, the guru said in the video, was keeping fairy lights on all year round.

The only exception is the festive period during Christmas.

Expert shares 5p hack to banish pesky ants from your <a href=

home for good in seconds” width=”295″ height=”188″ src=”https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/newspress-collage-22675706-1686648199705.jpg?1686651828&strip=all&w=360&h=240&crop=1″ role=”img”/

Woman gives her patio a glow-up on the cheap with bits from Facebook Marketplace

Once you’ve removed the string of lights, the pro also advised to take a look at your staircase.

If there are dozens of mismatched artwork and photo frames that don’t go together, the interior whizz urged to rearrange these.

The look will be chaotic – and in turn, cheapen the feel of your home.

”If your photo wall is chaotic or disordered, that’s will exhaust you,” the guru noted.

But don’t be tempted to strip the walls naked and leave them

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By Dawn J. Larkin, 5 months ago