Window Cleaning Snippets

How about this for a wfp anniversary cake? Tony Evans of New View window cleaning in Iowa recently celebrated his 23rd wedding anniversary. You may know Tony from his videos. Click photo's to enlarge. Tony will be hosting the Mid-West window cleaning conference this Saturday.

Window cleaner wants bodybuilding record: Windown cleaner turned muscleman Tommy Campion will be doing anything but tipping the scales when he attempts a world record. The Sunderland strongman is hoping to get his name in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's lightest bodybuilder. Tommy, who lives in Presthope Road, Pennywell, will travel to Manchester next month for a competition where he will attempt his record-breaking weigh-in. The 50-year-old, who is also a keen runner, said his low weight, which averages at about eight-and-a-half stone, is not down to dieting, but genes. He said: "I am only 5ft 2in tall and I take after my mam being very slightly built, so that's how I am so light. "The record for the lightest bodybuilder is 60kilos and I will be about 53kilos on the day."
The dad-of-three is confident of success and will be excited to have his name in the record books. But Tommy also wants to show other young people who are taking up bodybuilding that you do not need to be massive or take drugs to look good. He said: "I think there is a misconception among young people that you need to take drugs to look good when you are body building. "I look good and I don't take anything." Tommy began bodybuilding 25 years ago and for the past eight years has been competing as a member of the British Natural Bodybuilding Federation. In recent years he has been placed fifth and sixth in national competitions, which he says is quite an achievement. He said: "I have had a lot of complements from people saying I have done well to get this big when I am such a small frame."

£2 con lands teenager in custody: A teenager who tried to con elderly homeowners out of their cash has been sentenced to 16 months in custody. Steven Anthony Martin, 18, of Dan y Coed, Pentre, admitted two counts of fraud at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court. Judge David Wynn Morgan told him: “It is not going to do any good to you to send you into custody but it will give vulnerable and elderly people a break from what you do.” Chris Jowett, prosecuting, said that at 7.10pm on Saturday, February 21, Martin knocked on a widow’s door claiming he was the window cleaner’s son. He told her the windows and guttering had been cleaned and the cost was £1.50. She locked the door behind her, returning with two £1 coins, which she then handed over without waiting for the change because she felt scared. He left and she telephoned her elderly neighbours to warn them, but she was too late because he had already turned up. He spun the same story but was told to leave and was later arrested, the two £1 coins in his pocket. Lucy Crowther, defending Martin, who has previous convictions for fraud using the same tactic, said: “He has asked me to tell the court he is very, very sorry for what he has done.” She said he had fallen into bad company taking huge amounts of drink and drugs.

Oswego police are warning residents about solicitations by young men and women who are going door-to-door trying to sell magazine subscriptions or other services, such as window cleaning or landscaping. The ultimate goal is to get people to write a check to a company called Quality Subscriptions Inc., with the expectation of receiving goods or services in return, police said Thursday. Police said the solicitors portray themselves as either living in the local area or being friends with someone in the neighborhood. However, the solicitors are contracted by a company out of Georgia called Quality Subscriptions or United Family Circulation, according to police. There have been numerous complaints about the company and their sales associates in Illinois and around the country, police said. The village of Oswego requires most solicitors to obtain a permit and provide their personal information for a background check before conducting business within village limits. Police encourage residents to ask solicitors to show their permit.

The question of the cost to clean the Peoria County Courthouse doesn't necessarily hinge solely on price - it's about return on investment, some say. The Peoria County Board on Thursday will vote whether to accept the lowest bid for two years of cleaning and tidying everything from the floors to the walls. A county committee is recommending approval of the $348,000 low bid by Complete Cleaning Service with the caveat that after the bid is accepted, the administration tries to slash it by 10 percent or more.
The county terminated the contract with Complete Cleaning Service earlier this year following internal management struggles in the company. Complete Cleaning Service has since reorganized. Three other companies returned complete two-year bids between $359,664 and $431,232. The city of Peoria pays a little more than $300,000 annually for cleaning services at City Hall, the Fire Department's Central House (but not the individual fire houses), the police station, three offices in the Twin Towers, the Dries LanePublicServices Building and a few others. Lyons said with this contract, the county already is getting the best bang for the buck.
"Peoria County should snatch up this bid, smile with glee and shake hands on the deal before the bidder has second thoughts," he said. "I'll say it again and again: It is easy to employ a worker, but it takes some real skill for a government to secure a cleaning staff worker with a self-embraced value for talented work ethic and proud results."

Such is the scale of political dishonesty at home and abroad, such is the magnitude of the economic recession, and so few are the leaders deserving of our respect that my commentaries must disguise the fact I'm an optimist at heart. And yet my glass is usually half full to overflowing, such is my belief in the innate goodness of people and their ability to see through and triumph over all the bull thrown at them. A couple of economic forecasts have come in recently that should help cheer us up. The most important, from the International Monetary Fund, suggests that the UK's recession may yet be over before Christmas – although I remember that was said of the Great War.
But we never hear about the self-employed – one of the main drivers of our economy and a vital component of any recovery. From modest window cleaners to highly qualified consultants they make the economic world go round – adding value, creating jobs and paying taxes. To generate more work, build new businesses, create more employment and pay greater taxes they need less of the state's burden on their back. Petty regulation and oppressive overheads in the form of taxes need to be cut – and yet even in a recession our politicians pass more laws and raise their charges. The Climate Change Bill being the latest example. The law of supply and demand suggests that if there are more politicians, the cost should fall – sadly the world over, it's the exception that proves the rule.

A new Web-based business in Holland aims to connect people needing work done with service companies that can do the tasks. Chorelink LLC began business the start of July, founded by Joe Meckly. A person or company needing a task or service completed can be posted on the Web site or called in, with no charge. The business lists more than 100 service categories, from accounting to window washing. When a chore is posted, service companies that have subscribed to Chore Alert will get an e-mail notification, enabling them to contact potential customers in their category and geographic areas. Meckly said the company’s intent is to give consumers and businesses an efficient way to connect.

Vulnerable elderly people living in sheltered housing in Argyll are facing new additional charges of up to almost £40 a week on top of their rent. Service charges are being introduced next month by Argyll Community Housing Association (ACHA), which took control of Argyll and Bute Council’s housing stock in 2006. The charges are to pay for a variety of services provided at sheltered housing not covered by tenants’ rent, which include wardens, lift maintenance, laundry and window cleaning.

Police said the man who fell from Benson Tower early Sunday did not appear to have life-threatening injuries. Officers said they were called to the scene at about 4:15 a.m. They said they were not sure where he fell from, but a fifth-floor window has a broken screen. Police said they think the man landed on an awning. The victim was taken to a hospital for treatment. Police have not released his name.