 |
| Amadore Pacheco and Chris LaPrelle, both of Boise, hang off the side of the new hotel at Wildhorse Resort & Casino washing windows Wednesday in Mission. |
 |
| Chris LaPrelle and Amadore Pacheco, both of Boise, set a main line while washing windows at the new hotel at Wildhorse Resort & Casino on Wednesday in Mission. |
 |
| Chris LaPrelle of Boise cleans a window on the 10th floor of the new hotel building at the Wildhorse Resort & Casino on Wednesday in Mission. |
High-rise window cleaners get rush at 10-story hotel: fter 26 years of washing high-rise windows, Chris LaPrelle’s adrenaline still surges when he drops down from a rooftop onto the side of a skyscraper. LaPrelle and his fellow window washer, Amadore Pacheco, are spending several days this week cleaning outside glass on Wildhorse Resort & Casino’s new 10-story hotel. The two wear form-fitting harnesses clipped onto a mainline with D-rings. They perch on padded wooden boatswain’s chairs as they swish each window, remove construction grime with razor blades and squeegee the glass clean.
 |
| Bird's eye view ... John Dickinson at work. |
John Dickinson has had a bird's-eye view of Sydney for 30 years. His workplace soars 309m over Pitt Street Mall, giving him uninterrupted views across the Harbour and all the way to the Blue Mountains. The maintenance engineer has worked on Sydney Tower, now known as Sydney Tower Eye, since 1982 - the building's longest-serving employee. And being in the one place for so long has given him encyclopedic knowledge of the Skywalk's 4376 nuts and bolts, the tower's 1504 steps, three double-decker lifts, 420 windows, eight floors, two restaurants and 56 stabilising cables which, if laid out end to end, would stretch from Sydney to New Zealand. "If there is some part of the tower I don't know about, it can't be much," the 64-year-old said yesterday. "There's a few hiding places. In days gone by some of my crew would go missing for a few hours at a time but we always knew where to find them." Mr Dickinson has lost count of the number of times he's been "over the side" working on Charlie - the tower's semi-automatic window cleaner - and admits an emotional attachment to the Sydney icon, which just celebrated its 30th birthday. "You never get tired of the place; they'll have to carry me out in a box," he said.
Mr Dickinson has watched the city "grow up from the ground" around him. "I've seen a few changes," he said. "Darling Harbour has been one of the biggest: watching them demolish the old railway sheds and then all of a sudden voil agr - Darling Harbour. "Then there's been the different skyscrapers." With views stretching to the Blue Mountains on a clear day, Mr Dickinson said even in bad weather the tower never failed to disappoint. "I've seen many sunrises after doing a night shift and I've also been there when the fog comes in and all you can see is the tops of cranes - especially leading up to the Olympics, when there were a lot of sky cranes around, it was an unusual sight."
In his "office" suspended 268m above the ground in a man cradle, how does he refer to the tower he's devoted almost his entire working life to? "It's a cotton bobbin on a stick, isn't it? That's what it was known as years ago." Known in the past as AMP Tower, Westfield Centrepoint or simply Centrepoint, Sydney Tower underwent a multi-million-dollar facelift before its anniversary. Beginning in the 1970s, construction of the $36 million tower finished in August 1981. Its 360-degree Observation Deck opened to the public the next month. The tower is now owned by Merlin Entertainments Group, the British company synonymous with the Eye brand of tourism attractions including the London Eye. It is fitting, then, that the golden turret, long offering a bird's-eye view over the city, is now dubbed Sydney Tower Eye. The tower now includes the newly renovated Observation Deck, Skywalk and the CBD's latest must-see tourist attraction: 4D cinema.
 |
| Warren Burg will tackle his fear of heights by plunging 10,000ft through the air |
Warren has a clear view of sponsored skydive: Wantage window cleaner Warren Burg is to conquer his fear of heights and jump out a plane to raise cash for the hospice treating his daughter. Mr Burg’s 44-year-old daughter Michelle Zielinski, who went to King Alfred’s School, is battling breast cancer for the second time. Mr Burg, of Church Street, Ardington, has lived in the area for 45 years and cleaned the windows of Wantage town businesses since 1997. And on October 14 the 69-year-old will jump out of a plane at 10,000 feet and fall through the air at 120 mph in a bid to raise more than £1,000 for the Thames Hospice in Windsor. Mrs Zielinski, a mother-of-two from Chavey Down near Ascot, fought off cancer two years ago but it has come back and spread.
Mr Burg said: “The hospice has been an oasis for her. The hospital is the place where she has needles and horrible stuff and the hospice is the place she has been happiest in so I am raising some money to pay them back a bit. “The nurses and staff are so caring, hospitable and kind and nothing is ever too much trouble for them. “All monies raised will be much appreciated and put to good use to relieve some of the pain, worry and pressure this horrible disease can inflict on my daughter and others like her.” Mr Burg, who is originally from New York, said he had feared jumping from a plane since signing up to the US Air Force. He added: “I joined the US Air Force when I was 20 and I thought I would have to jump out of a plane. When I found out I would not have to I was quite relieved. “I am now facing my fears after 49 years.” To donate money, visit virginmoneygiving.com/warrenwantage windowcleaner
No comments:
Post a Comment