Have You Hugged Your Window Cleaner Today? + Other News

George A. Faria of Fall River: George A. Faria of South Main Street, Fall River, died on the morning of Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2009, surrounded by his family. He was married to the late Dorothy Brett Faria for 52 years. Born in Fall River, he was a son of the late Francisco Alves Faria and Silvana Fernandes. A lover of nature, Mr. Faria enjoyed camp life and boating on his “Golden Pond” at the East End Sportsmen’s Club, and walking the shore at Sachuest Point and Colt State Park. An expert seaman, he spent many years fishing for stripers aboard “Dolly B,” the boat he built by hand and named in honor of his beloved wife. He was a long-time member and former president of the Fall River Linesiders Bass Club. Upon retiring from fishing, George enjoyed ballroom dancing and started his own window-cleaning business. His loving nature was expressed by the motto he placed on his window-washing truck: “Have you hugged your window cleaner today?” “Pa” George’s Peter Pan playfulness and upbeat outlook on life will be missed by all those fortunate enough to have known him.

A deer wreaked havoc last week in a home in the 3000 block of Harvey Lake Road in Highland Township, after smashing through a lower level window and getting trapped in a bedroom. The daughter of the home's owner was home Friday, Feb. 20 at the time of the incident and called Oakland County Sheriff Department deputies after seeing the deer thrashing around in the bedroom. Once everyone was in place, a deputy entered the room and took an open shot, killing the deer. The deputy then was able to get the deer through the window and out of the room. A tarp was then placed on the window. When the owner of the home arrived, deputies explained what had happened and referred her to a cleaning service that specializes in cleaning up blood.

Janitorial company cleans up in Dallas market: Businesses nationwide are downsizing but Central Florida-based D & A Building Services Inc., one of the area's largest janitorial/commercial cleaning companies and one of the nation's biggest Hispanic-owned businesses, is expanding. The company said this afternoon that it has snagged four contracts worth $100,000 since opening an office last month in Plano, Texas, to serve the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. D & A said the contracts are with the Texas Department of Transportation, the city of Huntsville, Garland Independent School District and the Marriott Hotel at Legacy Town Center. Al Sarabasa Jr., founder and president, said the company has already identified another $1.5 million worth of work to pursue this year in the Dallas area. If realized, that would require hiring 225 people to fill positions as cleaning specialists, lead personnel and area managers, he said. Sarabasa said he has used recessionary periods in the past as opportunities to add client services or expand into new areas. But the opportunity to expand to Texas arose in an unexpected way, he said. Antonio Espinel, employed at D & A's Central Florida office for the past five years, had relocated to Texas in late 2008 when his wife took a teaching position in Dallas. Sarabasa said that rather than lose a seasoned employee, he and Espinel explored the market for expansion possibilities, and when they saw the opportunities, Espinel was promoted to Texas branch manager to head a new branch there. D&A, based in Longwood just north of Orlando, has been in business since 1985. The company provides commercial full-service janitorial, window cleaning, high-rise window cleaning, specialized interior and exterior facility maintenance, landscape maintenance, pest control, waterproofing, construction clean-up and communications services to property managers, building owners, and local, state and federal governments. In addition to the main office near Orlando and the new one near Dallas, D&A has offices in Jacksonville, Tampa, Detroit, Kansas City, Mo. and Madison, Wis.

As Europe cuts, lean Germany may be spared the worst: Businesses across Europe are scaling back but some countries will suffer more than others. Liam Brewer has already embarked on the kind of restructuring that lies ahead for much of European industry this year. The managing director of Cargocare, a Dublin-based haulage company, has reduced his staff from 32 to 22 in recent months. He has also changed its business model, cutting prices in return for a reduced frequency of service. "If everybody works together you can eliminate some things that aren't essential. Everybody has to be a bit smarter in such a recession," he says. Economists say German companies may escape some of the pain facing those in France, Italy, Spain and Britain, even though the German economy is expected to suffer similarly. This is because German companies restructured far more heavily in the last downturn at the start of this decade. "The corporate sector in Germany can withstand a global slowdown more easily than France, Spain or Italy," says Mr Moëc. The Berlin government helped with labour reforms, particularly when Gerhard Schröder was chancellor, but companies played the leading role. They kept wage growth flat for almost a decade while salaries in France and Spain increased by 25-40 per cent. Mr Brewer says Cargocare is in as good a shape as it can be after examining "everything, right down to the window cleaner". Looking out into the slate-grey Dublin sky, he is pessimistic about the prospects for any company that does not embrace restructuring this year.

‘Happenings’ founder Grootveld dies: Robert Jasper Grootveld, one of the most emblematic figures of the 60s provo (provocation) movement, has died in a nursing home at the age of 76. Grootveld was famous for the ‘happenings’ he organised on the Spui (photo), then Amsterdam’s ‘magic centre’. The anti-smoking guru would dance around in a cloud of his own cigarette smoke chanting ugh, ugh, ugh - which became one of his mantras. Grootveld started out as a window cleaner, then turned to journalism and finally found his feet as an artist in the creative atmosphere of the 1960s. He came up with the famous white bicycle plan which has since been adopted by many cities around the world.

Francis M. Kretschmer, 93, of Sheboygan Falls went home to be with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on Tuesday morning, February 24, 2009 at Sunny Ridge Health & Rehab Center, where he resided for the past two weeks. Francis was born in Big Falls, WI on June 15, 1915, the son of the late Oscar and Anna (Brennenstuhl) Kretschmer. He attended grade school in the Merrill area. At age 12, he began working away from home on the Ritter Farm in Merrill. On October 1, 1938, he married the late Lila E. Litke in Merrill. She preceded him in death on October 8, 2000. Francis, was the founder of a window washing business, and was well-known for many years in the Sheboygan area as 'the window washer'. Later, he worked at Schultz Sav-O until retirement in 1986.

Workers' strain injuries increase: Workers in Devon and Cornwall have some of the highest rates of repetitive strain injuries (RSI) in the UK. Health and Safety Executive (HSE) figures for 2007 show between one and two in every 100 South West workers are affected by the condition. In Devon and Cornwall the figures for 2007 are near double the previous year. Many musculoskeletal upper limb or neck disorders like RSI are caused or aggravated by work.
Employers have a legal duty to prevent foreseeable risks of injury or illness in their workers.

A pensioner was left distressed after being assaulted by a teenage cyclist in Maidenhead town centre last week. Police want to hear from anybody who has information about the attack on the 69-year-old woman on Friday last week. She was walking along the High Street from the direction of the library towards the main shopping area at about 11.30am when it happened.As she passed a florist shop she saw a young boy on cycling on the pavement, forcing pedestrians to step into the road. When the elderly woman tried to tell him not to cycle on the pavement he swung his bike around, throwing it to the floor and pushed the woman against a wall and was verbally abusive. The suspect is Asian, aged about 17, well-built, with a ‘modern’ hair style. He was wearing a black hooded top and black trousers with ‘wine-coloured’ shoes. Case investigator Robert Giddings said: “The woman was not injured but she was extremely distressed by the incident. A man, who may have been working as a window cleaner in the area, came to her assistance and had words with the youth. “I would appeal for this man to come forward as he may have information that could assist with our investigation.” If you witnessed the incident or have any information that could help police, please contact Robert Giddings on 0845 8505 505.

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