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A few weeks ago members of Salem Lutheran Church joined The Renewal Center volunteers for a “work day” to make improvements to the property.
TRC’s Executive Director Aaron Edwards said one of the main goals of the non-profit organization, which he calls a “social and spiritual experiment,” is to offer a sense of belonging to members of his community who are often pushed to the margins.
The Renewal Center (which it is also sometimes called) is designed to serve Tomball’s addicted, homeless, and needy residents in addition to businessmen, soccer moms, and students who realize everyone has something to both give and learn from each other.
Singer/songwriter Andy Gullahorn will perform for The Renewal Center this Sunday.
Edwards hopes that Gullahorn’s concert will be enlightening entertainment as well as a draw for fans eager to help financially and physically support his efforts to bring TRC to fruition.
“I’m a pastor but not a huge fan of a lot of what is marketed as ‘Christian music’,” Edwards said.
He met Gullahorn, who has written and recorded for artists like Chris Tomlin, Andrew Peterson, and Jill Phillips, through his work with the National Association for Christian Recovery – one of the main outreaches of TRC.
TRC Board Member Kelly Hall said they also intend to write Re:Group curriculum that can be used with children at The Renewal Center’s planned youth cottage.
Additional efforts on the drawing board include housing for women’s transitional living, a space for healing arts, and an open-to-the-public coffee shop.
Both Edward and Hall say they understand many will view their dreams for The Renewal Center as ambitious, but are determined not to let the work overwhelm them.
“As much as I’d like to put everything on ‘fast forward’ so we can help more people; I’m committed to living in the present and focusing on accomplishing as much as we can as soon as we can,” Edwards said.
TRC: On Showing Up with Andy Gallahorn is a free event to be held at Main Street Crossing in Tomball, Texas at 5:15 p.m. – April 17.
Attendees are encouraged to learn more and RSVP via their Facebook page.
Walleye fishing has been just about as good as it's ever been in the St. Clair River, and that's causing a problem.
Lots of people are fishing for walleye, and not all of them know the local etiquette and how it's applied at boat launches.
Add that to the usual pleasure boat traffic during the summer, and you have the potential for frayed tempers.
"As far as fishing goes, the no-nos are you don't pull up to the ramp where you're going to launch and get all your fishing equipment out," said Joel Anderson, a long-time angler and owner of Anderson's Pro Bait in Port Huron.
He said anglers need to get their equipment ready in the parking lot before they pull up to the ramp. That includes getting bait and ice at locations that offer those items and taking care of any visits to the bathroom.
"When you're ready, you get in line and then you go," he said. "It's the same thing when you come out of the water."
Adding to the traffic this past week: The St. Clair Municipal Harbor was closed Thursday and Friday so it could be sealed and the markings redone.
Harbormaster Dave Shorkey said the work was scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, but it rained Wednesday.
"This has been on the (St. Clair) harbor commission's agenda for three years," he said. "There wasn't any sense waiting until fall to do it. They said get it done by the Fourth of July, and that's what we did."
He said the work was done in part to make it easier for people to park and launch. At St. Clair, boaters have one lane where they can launch and another lane where they can retrieve.
"That is part of why this sealcoat and striping had to be done," Shorkey said. "The directional arrows, one way, one lane is launch. The other one is through traffic for people who are coming in for other business or to go their boat that's parked there."
He said there are 60 boats parked at the marina, and people also come in who are renting kayaks or canoes.
"There's signage all over the place that tells them where to go," he said. "There is a payment station there with instructions or they can come to the office."
The daily pass to launch at St. Clair is $7; the annual pass is $50.
Shorkey said most of the time, there's not much of a wait at the launch.
"I think it's like rush hour on the freeway or any other business," he said,. "You have times when you are busy and times when you are not."
Boaters sometimes are tempted to use the retrieval lane to launch, but that's frowned upon.
"We discourage that," Shorkey said. "As soon as that happens, someone will want to use the other side correctly and that's what starts the problems.
"It would be like, 'I-94 is not busy on the other side, Can I use the other side of the freeway?'"
Mike Davenport, Port Huron harbormaster, said there are no launch and retrieval lanes at the 12th Street Boat Launch or the Riverside Boat Launch.
"It's all pretty much preference," he said. "Some people would rather back in with the dock on the starboard side, others on the port side."
"Coming in on your boat, just wait out there until the next well opens up."
To launch in Port Huron costs $6 for a day pass or $24 for the year. Annual passes are available at the Municipal Office Center or from Anderson's Pro Bait.
"Most people for the most part understand what's going on and do a good job of making the system work really well," Davenport said.
Anderson said the big thing is taking care of all business before putting the boat in the water.
"You just got to use your head a little," he said. "It's no big deal in the spring and the fall when there's not a lot of traffic but the longer you're sitting there tying sinkers and hooks at the dock, the more time it's going to take the guy (next in line) to get into the water."
He said boaters can help speed the process by lending a hand to someone who might have trouble backing a trailer or launching a boat.
"If somebody needs help, give them a hand," he said. "It's just going to speed your process up."
Lost Planet 2 numbers are great; not only do we have strong performance at all resolutions, but you can see we're also ahead of all our other setups again thanks to that strong overclock we gave the MSI GTX 780 6GB Twin Frozr Gaming OC.
Just Cause 2 numbers look great at all resolutions, and you can see we've got playable numbers at every resolution. At the highest resolution, though, you can see that the AMD R9 290 series manages to get just a couple of FPS on the MSI GTX 780 6GB Twin Frozr Gaming OC.
I keep writing about ugly shoes, hoping that I have seen the worst of it. But no. They keep coming. And in today’s chapter of the ugliest shoes ever invented, I present you with Cowboy Boot Sandals.
Okay, okay. I understand the logic here. You love your cowboy boots. They’re so snazzy and go with all your outfits. But yeah, the downside is that it’s freaking hot right now, so your feet feel like they are in a compact leather sauna. And also, if you’ve just dropped $40 on a pedicure, you want to look country, but y...
That’s why one former sheriff, 31-year-old Scotty Franklin, decided to innovate on the design of the cowboy boot, by creating a sandal version. Missouri-based Franklin actually made his first pair for himself six years ago because he’s a bit of a joker, according to CNBC. But then he realized that his friends were seri...
Franklin set up a Facebook page, Redneck Boot Sandals, which, again, was more of a joke than anything else. But people have actually started buying these products, so he’s now contracting work out to local cobblers and sending boots to customers everywhere, from Texas to Australia. He’s now got fully fledged website (c...
“I don’t know if I put myself up there with Tommy Hilfiger, you know, by any means or anything like that, but it’s pretty neat,” he tells CNBC. Nope, I don’t think we would put you up there with Tommy Hilfiger either, Franklin, but thanks for making it possible to wear a full cowboy getup and still have ventilated feet...
Hamas promises to 'gradually' end violent border riots and incendiary kites, balloons, report says.
Hamas has agreed to a "gradual" ceasefire, London's Asharq Al-Awsat reported Monday.
The ceasefire will begin with a cessation of Gaza terrorists sending incendiary kites and balloons into Israel.
According to the report, Israel has agreed to remove the latest sanctions on Gaza in exchange for an end to the incendiary kites and balloons.
Hamas sources quoted in the report said all Palestinian Authority and Gaza factions have been informed of the agreement. They also said that in exchange for a cessation of all types of violence on the Gaza border, Israel will reopen the Kerem Shalom crossing to commercial goods and expand the Gaza fishing zone.
Last month, Hamas promised to gradually end the use of incendiary kites and balloons. However, Hamas then claimed that it is incapable of ending the attacks unless Israel first reopens the Kerem Shalom crossing, which was closed in response to over three months of attacks on Israel.
The federal watchdog dedicated to resolving customer complaints about telecommunications and television services saw a 57 per cent spike in complaints in 2017-18, most of them involving wireless providers.
The federal watchdog that handles customer complaints about telecommunications and television services in Canada saw a 57 per cent spike in complaints in 2017-2018, most of them involving wireless providers.
The Commission for Complaints for Telecom-Television Services said Tuesday that it also expects to see complaints rise this year. For the first time, the federal watchdog is also investigating complaints about television.
But most of what it heard in the year to September 2018 were the same issues that the CCTS has been dealing with for the past 10 years — non-disclosure of information and bill surprises by wireless operators.
"Customers will communicate with their service provider and then find out that the reality of what they get is not what they expected to get. This results in billing issues, in charges people don't expect, on limitation on bandwidth or data," said CCTS Commissioner Howard Maker.
"It's a mismatch of customer expectations and what their service provider delivers."
Maker said the complaints come despite a revised Wireless Code, which is meant to protect consumers. It came into effect in December 2017.
The CCTS handled 14,272 complaints from consumers in 2017-2018. Of that, 41.5 per cent of them were about wireless service and 29.2 per cent were about internet service. Complaints about television made up only 10.6 per cent of the total.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission held hearings into the telcos' sales practices earlier this year and is due to present the findings in February.
Consumer advocates speaking at the hearings complained that the telcos are misleading seniors and low-income people with high-pressure sales tactics. They called for a sales code of conduct and a "cooling off" period to allow consumers to back out of contracts that are not suitable to their needs.
John Lawford of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre said it's a positive sign that consumers are complaining more because it means government might listen.
"It's about time we started increasing complaints in Canada. I'm glad to see people are starting to complain actively now," he said.
He called for policies that would promote more competition in the telecom industry and "maybe bust out the major players' stranglehold on the market."
Lawford suggested rules on wholesale pricing that will encourage competition from smaller players.
"There needs to be some threat to the big guys, so they can't just do what they want," he said.
Maker says there is lots of opportunity for the telecom providers to do better.
"We see a lot of complaints that customers bring to us that have no business getting as far as the CCTS. Small complaints where the provider's own evidence indicates that the customer has merit, that the story the customer is telling is true, and yet they're not resolved at the frontline, presumably because nobody look...
Maker said media coverage of the CRTC hearing with its focus on sales practices may have made more consumers aware of the CCTS and its complaints process.
But he also called on the telcos — especially Bell, Rogers and Telus, the biggest players who account for half of all complaints — to improve their practices.
"Where there's opportunity for improvement is around the disclosure factor — making sure all the necessary information that customers need to really understand what they're getting is complete," Maker said.
Documents should be clear, complete and written in accessible language. Consumers should be educated about "all the ins and outs they need to know to make sure they're getting what they think they're getting," he said.
The CCTS noted an increase of complaints about internet service, which have grown by 170 per cent in the last five years to 8,987 complaints.
Among the issues are billing and disclosure issues, but also quality of service such as internet speeds, internet outages and bandwidth overuse surcharges. Consumers also complained about installations — especially technicians who don't show up on time.
"Consumer protections are in place to TV and wireless, where there are codes. But in the internet business there is no code, so it looks like the CRTC wants to plug that gap," Maker said.
"This would level the playing field in terms of everyone understanding the rights of the consumers and the providers."
The CCTS says it resolved 92 per cent of the consumer complaints it handled.
A customer from Laval, Que., agreed to obtain a bundle of home phone, internet and TV services for $111 per month, but was then was billed $131 per month. The provider told her that she was not eligible for the offer priced at $111 per month. CCTS was able to secure the lower price for her for a 12-month period.
A customer from Langley, B.C. received an offer from her service provider of a new mobile device, which included a device protection plan. The customer paid $280 for the device and believed she was on a month-to-month agreement. The device broke and she received a refurbished replacement. When she reported her dissatis...
A customer from Saskatchewan subscribed to internet service delivered through a satellite system. The service functioned properly for a few days until the internet speed decreased, particularly when used for gaming or watching Netflix. The provider said a new plan would be necessary to get those speeds. When the CCTS b...
The provider most cited was Bell, the biggest telecom provider in Canada, with 4,734 or a 45.8 per cent increase in complaints.There was a sharp increase in complaints about incorrect monthly pricing and non-disclosure issues.
Bell pointed to the increase in complaints for nearly all providers.
"Overall complaints about communications providers have increased each year as both the CCTS's mandate and consumer awareness of its services continue to grow," the company said in a statement.
It said its investments in front-line service teams and support systems are having a "positive impact on our customer service performance."
Rogers, which had 1,449 complaints, sent an email statement from Eric Agius, senior vice-president of customer care: "One complaint is one too many and we always take customer feedback to continuously improve."
Telus issued a press statement saying it received the fewest complaints of any national provider, accounting for only 6.6 per cent of complaints.
"Of Telus's 901 complaints that were concluded prior to the 2017-18 report cut-off date, 757, or 84 per cent, were resolved at the pre-investigation stage," the statement said.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz paid a visit to Russia on Wednesday (3 October), where, in his own words, he wants to act once again as a bridge builder, in coordination with Brussels. EURACTIV Germany reports from Vienna.
The UN has taken the European migration policy in its sights, drawing a strong response from Vienna and Rome. EURACTIV Germany reports from Vienna.
Austria’s ex-Chancellor Kern as Spitzenkandidat?
Ahead of the 2019 European elections, there are considerations whether former Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern could become a Spitzenkandidat for the Austrian SPÖ for the European election campaign. EURACTIV Germany reports from Vienna.
The inclusion of the Western Balkans in the European Union remains in focus. The timing of the bloc's expansion, however, is more than uncertain. EURACTIV Germany reports from Vienna.
The first day of Austria's stint at the helm of the rotating EU Presidency already made clear that the next six months will be a diplomatic challenge for the country. EURACTIV Germany reports from Vienna.
After the CSU indicated it did really not want German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the Bavarian state election campaign and invited Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, both leaders met during a special summit on migration policy on Sunday in Brussels. EURACTIV Germany reports.
The amount of the minimum income protection in Austria is now to be made dependent among other things on the German language skills. EURACTIV Germany reports from Vienna.
Freedom of services belongs to the four freedoms of the EU. Austria wants to fight its abuse with the help of digitization. EURACTIV Germany reports from Vienna.
During its July-December EU Presidency, Austria wants to set its own focus on China. To prepare for this, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz paid a visit to the Middle Kingdom. EURACTIV Germany reports from Vienna.