Amazingly, given his oil industry links, George W. Bush�s Texas ranch boasts a range of eco-features including geothermal heating and cooling, that would make Leonardo di Caprio proud. The passive-solar house is positioned to absorb winter sunlight, warming the interior walkways and walls. Full description of all eco-features and analysis of why the oilman bothers.
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An off-grid village of 150 souls in Oregon is running out of food due to the severe snowstorms in the area. And there is a severe threat of the weight of snow collapsing roofs.
County commissioners declared a local state of emergency around Prineville near Bend,OR yesterday after being pummeled with feet of snow for weeks. But now, county resources are drained and they need state help, said county emergency preparedness coordinator Vicky Ryan.
Ryan said Juniper Acres, an isolated, off-the-grid community south of Prineville, is county officials’ main concern. The community of about 150 has been cut off from emergency resources due to snow-blocked roads, which the county does not maintain, she said.
Crook County officials have asked the state for money, equipment and manpower to help plow rural roads that the Central Oregon county does not maintain in the area 30 miles north-east of Bend.
Some roads have reportedly been covered in snow drifts up to 8 feet deep. Crook County Judge Seth Crawford tells The Bulletin newspaper they’re impassible and people who live in neighborhoods including Juniper Acres and Prineville Lake Acres can’t leave to get supplies. Some may be running low on food and heat.
Maya Bamer lives in Juniper Acres subdivision, southwest of Prineville. She says snowmobiles are being used to deliver donated goods to snowed-in families.
a large portion of the shut Woodgrain Millwork plant in Prineville collapsed last Sunday morning, four days after another part of the roof collapsed under the weight of heavy snow. And a Tumalo youth ranch’s arena also collapsed from wet, heavy snow — but fortunately, no injuries occurred in either case.
“My husband and I were just outside playing in the snow with our kids and heard what sounded like an earthquake,” Jennie Quinn of Prineville told NewsChannel 21. “The rest of the Woodgrain Mill collapsed!”
This time, photos showed the walls also had fallen, not just the roof, leaving large holes exposed to the elemets.
Another area resident said Sunday’s collapse on the northeast corner of the complex of connected buildings blew sawdust and small debris across Peters Road, prompting a closure in case more of the structure fell at the 83-acre site, which the Idaho firm has up for sale.
The heavy snow also caused a collapse of the indoor arena at Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch on Innes Market Road in Tumalo.
“It’s a total loss,” CEO/Founder Troy Meeder said of the 9:30 a.m. collapse. “We have close to $500,000 of equipment now buried under snow, wood and twisted metal.”
But it could have been worse: Just “a few minutes before,” Meeder said, as one of her team was parking a tractor inside after use. Another team member and his 2-year-old son “were just gearing up to get out one of the tractors to move snow.”
“The building collapsed while neither was inside — thank you, …
All the way from a remote mountaintop 6 miles from Crawford CO, Jeneve Rose Mitchell didn’t think she was ready to take her small-town voice to the biggest of stages, but the final season of “American Idol”has made the 15-year-old a national face.
Jeneve has lived for the past eight years in a straw bale home with no running water or electricity.
“We can’t get power lines up there,” she tells the TV audience, “so we use kerosene lanterns. Twice a week, during ‘American Idol’ season, we turn on a generator to get the TV going.”
Jeneve’s quiet corner of elk wilderness where she spends much of her free time training horses and playing music, is “definitely lonely sometimes,” she admits.
“Me and my mom and my dad pretty much fend for ourselves on our ranch. Sometimes we go (back)packing. We are big campers.”
Her mother, Jenny, is a heath care provider and operates a local family clinic. Jeneve’s father — who also serves as her vocal coach — is a carpenter. He built the family’s home by hand using straw bales and mud from the mountainside.
With a cello draped across her body — you’ll have to see it to believe it — Mitchell stood out in a crowd of nearly 10,000 this fall in Denver and was selected to play in front of “American Idol” judges Keith Urban, Jennifer Lopez and Harry Connick Jr.
Not only did Mitchell secure a spot in front of the trio of musical stars, she’s also likely to appear in the premiere episode of the 15th and final season of “American Idol” airing Wednesday, Jan. 6, on Fox. The second night of the premiere airs on Thursday, Jan. 7.
In advance of the premiere, Mitchell spoke in a telephone interview about her decision to audition for the show, her musical background in Crawford and the rather unorthodox way she grew up watching “American Idol.”
Melinda Mawdsley: Thank you so much for your time. This is the final season of “American Idol.” I’m guessing that helped push you into an audition.
Jeneve Rose Mitchell: Yeah. I’ve always wanted to try out for “American Idol” but was going to when I was older and more polished, but since this was the last season, I decided to just go for it. I pretty much grew up watching “American Idol.” We turned on the generator up here just to watch “American Idol.” Otherwise, we don’t have power up here.
Mawdsley: Um, what? Where do you live?
Mitchell: I was born in Las Vegas and lived there until I was 7. My parents bought a bunch of property on a mountain near Crawford five years before I was born. My dad grew up near here. When I was 7 we moved here. When we moved here my mom had my dad build her a clinic.
Mawdsley: Is your …
You can drink the rainwater in Atlanta, Georgia, but that is one of the few places in the US that provides for the use of rainwater as a source of drinking water. A handful of states – including Arizona, Texas, and Virginia – have created tax credits to reduce rainwater harvesting system costs.
Meanwhile water rates are rising at an average of 8% a year, and corporations are freely using “our” rainwater to increase their profits.
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This is a huge lists of Festivals taking place this year around the world – from little local events to major international ones – please add your festival to our listing. Make 2007 the year of the Festival!
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