Window Cleaning News

The Royals Are Hiring A Window Washer: (Kansas city royals) “Must Not Be Afraid Of Heights” This excellent job posting for which we are already updating our resumés. The Royals are seeking a new window cleaner, and the job consists of all the excitement a window cleaner could hope for. Applies and removes cleaning solutions to glass and similar surfaces throughout the stadium using tools including scrubbers, brushes, chamois, squeegees, scrapers, poles, and sponges, etc. And if that's not enough: Other duties as assigned. Oh shit. Do you have what it takes to be the newest member of the Kansas City Royals organization? Well, the job posting contains a list of questions that you'll have to answer when you apply. (One of these might be made up.)

1. Are you afraid of heights?

2. Do you have experience repelling off building to clean windows?

3. Do you have at least 2 years of window cleaning experience?

4. Are you at least 18 years old?

5. Are you able to work flexible hours including weekends, evenings and holidays?

6. Are you able to walk and stand for long periods of time and maneuver stairs?

7. If we stuck you in right, could you put up a WAR better than -1.9 and a UZR above -17.7?

Apply today.

It was a perfect day on Wednesday and the Chase Building located at 270 North Avenue in downtown New Rochelle decided to do some window washing. These guys looked like they were having some fun in the sun.

Petoskey window cleaning business reaches 30-year milestone: In 1982 Bill Price decided to start washing windows for a living and started Sunshine Window Cleaning and Pressure Washing. Thirty years later, he's still washing windows. During those three decades Price developed his own method of cleaning windows, his own window cleaning solution and a less expensive way to clean windows on high rise buildings. Price, whose business currently is based in Petoskey, started it as a way to earn gas money. "I stopped into three businesses in Denver, Colo., and just like that I made $75," he said. Today, $75 won't buy more than one tankful of fuel for many motorists, but it went considerably farther at gas stations in the 1980s.

From that modest start, Price developed a business that now services more than 100 accounts. Many are commercial, but there are also residential accounts. "People don't know what a clean window until they see one and that's what I do" said Price. He developed his own cleaning approach many years ago and it involves using as little liquid that's necessary to get a clean window. That way, Price said, "you don't have to squeegee off as much and that make for a cleaner, streak free window." When watching Price apply the liquid and then swing the squeegee across the window, it resembles a dance sequence.  

Along the way Price came up with his formula for his liquid cleaner. He's tried to market it to stores but found limited interest. His entire system involves moisture management to reduce how much cleaner is used and, in turn, the amount that gets spread around on the window frame and sill. Through the years Price also became proficient in cleaning windows on high-rise buildings and he got the jobs because he bid a much lower price. Instead of setting up scaffolding, Price chose another option to move up and down on the side of a building. He opted for a bosun's chair, a device sometimes seen on Great Lakes vessels that resembles an oversized child's swing chair. "Just anchor the line on the roof of a flat roofed building and over the side you go and you can walk along the side of a building and wash the buildings. And with my moisture management system I'm not getting the windows below me wet," Price said.

Price said he doesn't work on the high rise buildings anymore, but he's performed jobs on the Amway Grand Plaza in Grand Rapids, several hospital buildings in Northern Michigan and some high rise condo buildings around the state, including Le Croft and the Dunes in Charlevoix. Bill says, "When I bought my first ad for Sunshine Window Cleaning and Pressure Washing in the telephone book, there were only me and maybe one other company.  Now there is something like 19." Even with the proliferation of window cleaners, Price said his business has not slowed down. In fact he has more residential customers now than he had 20 years ago. Several of the new companies, Price said, were started by helpers he hired over the years who decided to go out on their own. About five years ago, Bill found the sunny warm weather in Florida to his family's liking in the winter. So, he goes to Marco Island, Fla., for several months and takes along his window washing tools. By going to work on the residential windows, he pays the tab to enjoy the south.

A window cleaner who was doing his rounds when two female police officers were shot described how heard 'gun shots, bang bang bang bang' and then a big explosion. A window cleaner who was doing his rounds when two female police officers were shot described how heard 'gun shots, bang bang bang bang' and then a big explosion. Warren Shepherd was on his rounds in Hattersley close to where the officers were shot. "I just heard gun shots, bang, bang, bang - around ten of them, then a pause and a big explosion," he said. "I went around the back of the houses to see what happened and there was a police car that looked empty. "There was people, neighbours stood around there and one of my customers said, 'They've been shot! The police officers have been shot!' "Everybody was in shock and couldn't believe it.

"It must have been a matter of minutes, more police cars came and an ambulance came." Mr Shepherd said he went back to his van but could see the aftermath through a gap between two houses. He added: "I saw one body covered up and going into the back of the ambulance. "I saw another body on a trolley and it looked like they were doing heart compressions on the body, and I had had enough by then. "It was like something on the movies. "It's just so sad for the family of the two police women. "Both lost their lives just doing their jobs and my heart goes out to their families and I know people around here will feel the same."

Business Spotlight: Jonathan Geiman owns and operates A Beautiful View - Services offered: Window cleaning and landscaping. Date established: June 26, 2012. Location: Redding. Website. Number of employees: 1.

Describe your business? A Beautiful View is a custom maintenance service providing primarily window cleaning and landscaping services. I can service you in many areas. For instance, spider web removal, clearing loose debris from roofs and gutters, fence building and other miscellaneous duties both commercial and residential.

What prompted you to start your own business? With a lifetime in small business I learned the importance of quality service. Having a large family some of the difficulties we faced were, No. 1 somebody who could do a job and No. 2, be able to do a quality job. So with that in mind I took something that I love to do and provide it as a service to you while guaranteeing that I will give you a beautiful view.

What is your educational and career background? I graduated with a high school diploma. I spent 15 years working in the food industry full time. I worked 15-plus years working with cattle and farming operations. I spent seven years in window cleaning services.

How much research did you do before starting your business? I have years of research involved directly with hands-on training.

What were the most helpful sources, including websites? My general managers were very good about making sure that I was properly equipped to do a job. Also other acquaintances with 30-plus years' experience have and continue to be an abundant resource of information.

When were you the most discouraged? When I did not have my advertisement products. It seemed like forever before that arrived.

What company or individual do you admire? Dick Devos and Amway Corp.

What will make your business stand out from competitors? Each and every business is similar to individuals, we each leave an impact. I guarantee to leave my customer with a high quality, friendly, professional and reliable service experience that won't soon be forgotten.

Who is your target client/customer base? If you are a resident or business owner, I am here to provide you with quality service.

A V.F.W.’s Fresh Face, Very Fresh: Lance Corporal King joined the Sag Harbor Fire Department two years ago and works a day job at Blue Sky Window Cleaning. He attends Suffolk Community College, where he needs six more credits to graduate. His goal is to teach history at the high school level. He has “always had a love” for the subject, he said. Mr. King is the youngest to have served as the post’s commander, and possibly the youngest in the state. Calling himself the nerdy type at Pierson, where he was primarily interested in computers, he graduated in 2003. Born in Sag Harbor and raised by parents who were both deaf, he felt different from other kids, which posed a challenge but at the same time gave him “a deeper human understanding,” he said. His experience with his parents’ disability also helped him when he served in Iraq, he said, because he was able to communicate with Iraqis through body language.

Lance Corporal King served in the Marine Corps from March 2005 through March 2009, after he decided that small-town living was not leading him in the right direction, a decision that made him “10 times a better person,” he said. A military occupation specialist, he served two combat tours in Iraq, the first taking him to a forward operating base, and the second to Camp Fallujah with an infantry unit. “A few friends died,” he said — three, to be exact. The soft-spoken commander modestly reported that he was awarded a Purple Heart after being shot in the head. He had his helmet on at the time, and three days later was ready “to get back . . . put my life on the line to make sure my friends came home.”

Lance Corporal King did not re-enlist because of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, such as irritability, nightmares, and sensitivity to noises. Even training could cause great stress, he said — for example when he was told to lie on the ground to simulate being killed in action. He said that when he left the Marines, the military helped him make the transition to civilian life with therapy and health benefits. In addition to the Purple Heart, he received the Iraqi Campaign Medal with a star (for two deployments) and Good Conduct Medals in three consecutive years. “I loved it, every second,” he said of his service.

Two town tradesmen are all fired up in their new roles working for the emergency services. Michael Gaunt and Ben Gray (pictured right) are the latest recruits to join East Grinstead Fire Station. The pair completed their training two weeks ago and have already been thrown into action alongside their colleagues at the site in London Road. Ben, a self-employed window cleaner, is enthused by his new role. The 29-year-old said: "It's something I have wanted to do for a while and when someone mentioned there were places coming up, I just went for it. It's something a bit different and I'm looking forward to getting really stuck in." The new recruits have attended several call-outs between them since they graduated at East Preston Fire Station, near Littlehampton, on Friday, August 24.

Retained firefighters are "on call", meaning they are usually employed outside the fire service or are at home when they have to deal with a 999 incident. Retained firefighters fully crew 14 of the 25 fire stations in West Sussex and are vital to the county's emergency service. Michael and Ben both live within a short walking distance of East Grinstead Fire Station. West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service area manager Neil Stocker said: "The retained duty system relies on the support of local employers who recognise the importance of allowing their staff to respond to incidents. Of course, there are benefits to the employer as well – retained firefighters learn new skills, like first aid and LGV driving, which they may be able to use in their full-time jobs as well."

Chris Kaetzel, owner of Shinetime Window Cleaning in Hudson Falls, didn’t plan on being part of the team that creates the method of boat decontamination. But that’s exactly what he may have done Saturday. The decontamination of boats has been at the forefront of the region’s invasive species discussion over the past year, a debate that ramped up this summer after the spiny water flea was discovered in Lake George and the Champlain Canal, which links Lake Champlain and the Hudson River. While various government entities considered the political ramifications of implementing washing programs on water bodies like Lake George, Kaetzel and scientists from Middlebury College in Vermont were solving a problem out of need.

The 48-foot floating laboratory spent more than a day in the flea-infested southern Champlain Canal, before reaching apparently clean waters north of the Fort Edward lock. And that’s when Middlebury’s faculty called Kaetzel. “This is our first time,” Kaetzel said of the boat-washing, adding he’s confident the craft will be invasive-free when he’s finished. But it’s what the Middlebury team and Kaetzel are doing on a whim that could have the most long-standing significance for the region. “There’s really no protocols for this in Vermont or New York,” Manley said. “We’re hopefully finding a solution for everyone.” While chlorine is considered best at killing stowaway invaders, it would have to be used in such high concentrations, it could kill indigenous plants and animals and potentially damage the hull, Manley said.

The scientists and Kaetzal finally settled on a disinfecting soap solution that should make the boat’s hull too slippery for attached species to cling. The boat’s crew cleaned the bilge tanks with bleach and water to clean any invaders potentially sucked into the system, Manley said. All the boat’s ropes were soaked in chlorine and the maps were disinfected. Kaetzel, with his high-pressure washers, said he never planned on going into the boat-washing business. But the heightened awareness of invasive species has him mulling a new business opportunity. “This could really become something,” he said.

The late Stanley Ruhnke once asked Jerry “Wrong Way” Johnson if he thought people would remember Ruhnke after he died. The crowd of people who turned out for the dedication of a memorial for Mr. Ruhnke in downtown Rantoul Saturday afternoon suggests he won’t soon be forgotten. Future generations will remember Mr. Ruhnke every time they view the memorial with his face, flanked by a bike rack to highlight the fact that he rode a bicycle everywhere. Visitors to the Rantoul Historical Society Museum in Grissom Hall will also remember Mr. Ruhnke when they view his bicycle.

On a sparkling September day fit for washing windows and riding a bike, Mr. Ruhnke was remembered for watching out for those he cared for and helping those in need — even if they thought they didn’t need help. Mr. Ruhnke died in February 2011 at age 75.

Friends told stories about the man who wasn’t afraid to do windows and didn’t need a car to get around town. Hopkins said it wasn’t always easy being Stanley. He could be difficult to understand when he spoke, and he walked hunched over. “I know a lot of people made fun of him because of the way that he was and what he did with his bike and window washing,” Hopkins said, “(but) if each of us had a little of Stan’s heart in us, our community would be so much better. “I just want everybody to take away from here if we all work together in this community,” it will be a better place. On display, included Mr. Ruhnke’s bicycle, a bucket hanging from the handle bars representing his window washing business and photos representing his life. People might have made fun of Mr. Ruhnke’s window-washing, but he earned enough to visit Las Vegas several times and travel overseas on sight-seeing trips, Johnson said.

Mrs. Monnie Cox Williams Winchester, 92, died Monday September 3, 2012 in Gainesville. She was a native of Brewton, and a resident of Gainesville since 1946. She had been very active in the Gainesville Womans Club, Gainesville Homemakers Club, and the Alachua County Safety Council. She was a member of Parkview Baptist Church Sunday School and widows groups. She and her husband, Frank Winchester owned a window cleaning business.

Tributes paid to fireman and window cleaner Stuart Townsend: Tributes have been paid to a hero firefighter and devoted family man. Stuart Townsend, 45, suddenly collapsed and died whilst on holiday with family and friends on the island of Djerba, Tunisia last Monday. Mr Townsend was a retained firefighter at Braintree Fire Station for around 18 years and won the Dedication, Commitment and Service award in 2007 after saving a young woman from a house fire. He also ran Fairview Window Services and covered rounds across Great Yeldham, the Hedinghams and Halstead.

Dead Limerick man’s apartment broken into as he lies in funeral home: Gardai are investigating a suspected break-in at the city centre apartment of a deceased Limerick man as he lay in repose across the street at Cross’ funeral home on Saturday night. The burglary forced a late change in funeral plans for Hubert Fitzpatrick, late of Kileely and Lower Gerald Griffin Street. It had been intended that he would repose in his flat on Sunday but the removal instead had to take place from Cross’s. Funeral mass at St John’s Cathedral was also delayed over the break-in. Mourners who arrived at Mr Fitzpatrick’s on Sunday were met with a notice directing them to the nearby funeral home. This was after his residence was ransacked the night before and one line of inquiry in the garda investigation is whether the raider or raiders targeted the property knowing Mr Fitzpatrick - who had been confined to a wheelchair of late - had just passed away.

Kileely-based Cllr Kevin Kiely said Hubert Fitzpatrick, a single man aged in his 50s, was “a well-known and popular figure in Limerick and came from a very respectable family”. Mr Fitzpatrick was a familiar face in the city centre, having worked for over 35 years as a window cleaner. He had to give up work, however, after he sustained injuries when falling from a ladder five years ago. Mr Fitzpatrick told the Limerick Leader at the time that his right leg had never healed fully and he had to have part of the limb amputated after developing gangrene. He would get around town on an electric bike but was more recently wheelchair-bound. He died suddenly late last week. Cllr Kiely described last Saturday night’s break-in as “an awful thing for his friends and loved ones to have to deal with when they are already coping with his tragic loss”. Sean O’Neill, Prospect, said he knew the deceased well and he had been “a very popular man around Limerick”. Mourners had only learned of the “cold-hearted” break-in on arriving to pay their respects on Sunday.

Frank Daniel Austin was a great swimmer, a happily married man, and someone who had a successful window-washing business, says his father. The 34-year-old man went swimming at Salt Creek Beach Labor Day weekend and was reported missing by his mother on Sunday around 4 p.m. He went swimming with an underwater camera, authorities reported. Lifeguards searched for him for several days, but there was no sign of him, and the search and rescue operation was eventually called off. On Saturday evening, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department found a body floating off the coast of Dana Point’s Monarch Beach and confirmed it to be  Austin. He said Frank returned to California about nine years ago when his son relocated with his Japanese bride, whom he met in Hawaii. “We would talk about once a week, and he said and his wife were trying to have children,” he said. Austin also added that his son had a booming window-washing business that he started in Rowland Heights. “He had his driver’s license taken away years ago because he used to get seizures due to being thrown through a windshield when he was young. He was with his mother, and not wearing a seatbelt, and ever since that accident, he has had seizures, and couldn’t drive a car." He said he began a window-washing business on his bike and built it up to what it is today, a thriving business. "Really he started this business on a three-wheel bike," he said. “His mother became his chauffer and had to take him from job to job." Austin says he will miss his son and that they were “the best of friends.”

If I had my time again, I would probably be a window cleaner. Or a milkman. Out in the open air all day, not a care in the world, plenty of water - or milk - to splash about and the chance to say the words “Chamois leather” to anyone who would listen. Old ladies especially love the word Chamois, it makes them feel exotic in the same way they felt the first time they ate a kebab. I have heard tell in the past that some old ladies even faint at the first squeak of soapy cloth on glass. This is probably why the art of the chamois is dying out, replaced these days by a squirty pole hooked up to a pump. I suppose the excuse is health and safety - no more clambering up tall ladders. In reality, I reckon it’s more to do with wives who have banned their window cleaning husbands from peering at naked women through curtainless first floor windows.
Window cleaners are like priests though - what happens on the job, stays on the job and remains a secret between the parties involved. When I was a youngster, it always made me smile when the window cleaner knocked on our door. It meant he either wanted payment for services rendered or he wanted to “borrow” a bucket of warm water - although in my life I can never recall even once when a window cleaner returned the following day with some water to replace the borrowed liquid. Maybe that’s another reason window cleaning has changed. The installation of water meters in many houses make people reluctant to “lend” water as it costs them to do so, which means that not only do they pay to have their windows cleaned but they also supply the means to do it - might as well do it themselves.
But old style window cleaners provided a valuable service which doesn’t really exist any more. They kept lonely pensioners happy by shouting “Chamois” while admiring their wrinkly nakedness through first floor windows and they called the police if they spotted anyone who had collapsed on the floor with a broken hip. Strangely, folk lore surrounding window cleaners seems to deem them less attractive than milkmen. I have often heard people say that someone’s child has ginger hair - just like the milkman. But no one seems to say that about window cleaners, or perhaps there are not many red heads among our double glazing cleansing operatives. 

Stafford OAPs in fear after flats targeted by burglars: Frightened pensioners living in fear of more burglaries at a Stafford sheltered housing complex have urged bosses to install a bigger security fence - but are worried they may have to stump up the cash themselves. Sylvia Bates and Stan McGuinness, who live at George Hill Court in Fancy Walk, were both victims of break-ins within weeks of each other while they slept in their beds. The burglaries were reported to police, who said the waist-high fence around the complex, should be replaced with a taller one to deter further trouble. “There is an alleyway to the side of my flat and Stan’s flat, which is above mine, so we are quite vulnerable. The burglars used ladders stolen from a window cleaner’s van to get into Stan’s flat.

Alert for conman posing as Sheffield window cleaner: A man posing as a window cleaner has been tricking his way into homes in Sheffield to burgle them, police revealed today. The man, who is being hunted by police, has struck in the Longley and Shirecliffe areas of Sheffield. Police have not yet revealed how many homes have been targeted, or what has been stolen, but residents are being urged to step up their security. Extra police patrols have been ordered in the suburbs where offences have been reported, in a bid to prevent further break-ins. South Yorkshire Police today issued a reminder to people to always check the identity of strangers calling at their homes. And instead of relying simply on identity cards callers might produce, the force wants people to call the firms and businesses for whom the callers claim to be working, to check that they really are genuine representatives. Some organisations operate a password system to help residents identify genuine callers.

SINGAPORE: A total of 15,660 foreign domestic workers have attended the compulsory Settling-In Programme between May and August this year. The Manpower Ministry made the programme compulsory for all first-time maids arriving in Singapore from May 1. One of the five modules in the one-day Settling-In Programme teaches foreign domestic workers how to clean the exterior of windows and hang laundry out of the window safely. Nine foreign domestic workers fell to their deaths in the first half of this year. Most occurred while they were cleaning windows or hanging laundry. Five of the nine fatalities were related to maids cleaning windows in an unsafe manner. Two arose from hanging laundry.

In June, the ministry ruled that employers will not allow their foreign domestic workers to clean the exterior of windows unless two conditions are met. First, the employer or an adult representative of the employer needs to be physically present to supervise the worker. Window grilles also have to be installed and are locked at all times during the cleaning process. But employers will also need to do their part. The ministry says it is also looking into enhancing education for employers.

The Comox Valley's best Readers' Forum: Many sleepless nights to the neighbor that runs a window cleaning business nearby. The workers all show up at between 5: 30 and 6 am to start the day...which is fine, unless they start slamming ladders onto the truck, talk loudly and smoke, leaving all of their cigarette butts all over the road. Please have some common courtesy and ask your employees to be a bit quieter so early in the morning and if they need to smoke outside the house, please get rid of the butts somewhere else. I'm sure all of the other neighbors feel the same way. Sincerely, tired and annoyed.

Man charged over break-ins: A man has been charged with burglary as part of a probe into a series of break-ins where a bogus official broke into homes in Southey, Shirecliffe and Longley. The 35-year-old was arrested over a burglary on Sunday, September 9. Police are investigating a series of incidents where residents have been tricked into allowing a bogus window cleaner into their homes. Inspector Simon Leake, of South Yorkshire Police, said: “Detectives from Sheffield Priority Crime Team charged a 35 year old Sheffield man with burglary.

Method statement: Last week, an acquaintance who runs his own business was sent an e-mail from his landlord concerning window cleaning. To comply with health and safety rules the landlord was demanding a “method statement” detailing the technique used to clean the inside of the windows as well as a numerical measure of the risks involved. So my friend stopped running his business in order to report that the job was done using a bucket of water, some detergent, a sponge and a squeegee. This is how it now goes. Every single possible risk facing every single business – not just concerning health and safety but in everything else too – has to be documented, checked, subjected to numerical stress tests, and then reassessed with mitigating factors considered.

Bourne schools clean up asbestos: "The interior of the building looks great," schools Superintendent Steven Lamarche said during a facilities meeting held at the school. After a week of cleaning and removal of tiles and other building materials that contained asbestos, air-quality tests by a school contractor found no trace of the harmful mineral in the air and Peebles opened on schedule, Lamarche said. Some windows with asbestos in the glazing were broken in the cleaning process, and teachers have been asked not to open the windows until they're replaced, he said.

Contaminated windows: Federal environmental officials and the University of Massachusetts have entered into a consent agreement for which the university will remove windows contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyl at the John W. Lederle Graduate Research Center over 15 years. According to a prepared statement from the Environmental Protection Agency, UMass discovered that the window glazing at the research center was contaminated with high levels of contaminants after finishing a window-caulking project in 2009. UMass has agreed to replace and dispose of all 900 PCB-contaminated windows over the next 15 years at a cost of about $3 million.

The university will complete window cleaning, encapsulation, verification and baseline sampling within 24 months, according to the release and to start removing windows in Tower A on floors 3, 7 and 8 by Dec. 31, according to a UMass statement. The cost of these interim measures is about $560,000. The settlement agreement also includes a $75,000 civil penalty that will be waived if both the long-term remediation plan and interim encapsulation plan are completed, according to the release. The window-glazing compound was commonly used in construction from the 1950s through the mid-1970s. The Lederle complex at UMass Amherst was constructed in the early 1970s. UMass spokesman Edward F. Blaguszewski said this is the only building on campus that he knows of that has the contaminated windows.

Lost Cramlington parrot found after Facebook appeal: An escaped parrot has been reunited with his owner after flying off for a trip to the coast. Colourful Indian ringneck Denzel – named after Hollywood actor Denzel Washington – broke out of his cage, sparking a frantic internet appeal for his return. Owners Paul Kerry and fiancee Sarah Law had only had the much-loved pet for a few months when he made his bid for freedom. The crafty parrot managed to prise open his cage door with his beak while enjoying fresh air outside the family home at Allensgreen in Cramlington, Northumberland, last Saturday. As the week went on, Paul, dad to four-year-old Callum and 14-week-old Lily, feared that Denzel must have perished at the claws of a bird of prey.

But, after three days of anxious searching and posting pleas on Facebook, cheeky Denzel amazed everyone by turning up perched on a motorbike nine miles away in Whitley Bay. There, an eagle-eyed resident spotted Denzel’s distinctive bright green feathers and red beak and recognised him from Paul’s appeal. “I was worried sick,” said Paul, 32, a window cleaner. “I put it on Facebook for everyone to keep their eyes open because Denzel was on the loose. I couldn’t believe he was there. I went straight over to set a trap to get him back in his cage. “When I got him, I said ‘Denzel, you bad lad’ and he looked at me as if he was thinking ‘oh aye, I recognise you’. “It’s a miracle he’s alive. It’s unbelievable. We think he’s got as far as the sea and thought he didn’t fancy a trip to Spain so he just landed.”

Paul’s no stranger to making headlines himself as, last year, he snared a suspected sex pest opposite a nursery while out walking his dogs. The bird-lover spotted a man acting suspiciously in the bushes near Little Angels nursery in Cramlington and was so concerned about what he saw that he phoned the police, who raced to the scene and arrested the man on suspicion on outraging public decency. The month before his crime- fighting escapades, Paul became the lucky Toon fan that scored for Derby day goal hero Ryan Taylor’s shirt when he threw it into the crowd following a 1-0 win against arch rivals Sunderland.

There's more time with family: Working "crazy hours" as an operations manager at a startup company, Ryan Thompson spent little time with his family and little time relaxing. "I had no social life and I was frustrated with that. I felt like I was chasing money to be happy," said the 31-year-old from Somis, California. When he was laid off from the startup, Thompson saw it as an opportunity to change careers. He now teaches entrepreneurship at Thousand Oaks High School and appreciates each day. "I never feel like I am punching in and punching out." But before he was molding young minds, he had a reality check -- his future, shrunken paycheck. In the beginning, it took awhile to "be OK with not making a lot of money," he said.

While he was studying to become a teacher, he started a small window-cleaning and pressure-washing business to get by. It was only meant to be temporary, but it's now a second source of income. "I do that year-round still to this day, so that supplements the low pay that teachers get," he said. He also took night classes to push himself higher on the pay scale -- teachers are paid partially based on their work experience and education. Last year he was making just shy of $45,000 and after eight graduate classes, he will be making $53,000, he said.

Resident takes on project to revamp cemetery plagued by neglect: Standing at the face of his father's tombstone, Mr. Hunsinger watched as an elderly woman climbed the hill at Shady Lane Cemetery, navigating around scattered pizza boxes and decaying garbage, and pushing aside 4-foot-high grass on her way to visit a lost loved one. "At that point, I knew something had to be done," Mr. Hunsinger, of Scott Twp., said. "I just couldn't bear to watch these people suffer anymore - it's just not right." Since that day in June, the 31-year-old has spearheaded a family effort to revitalize the cemetery in South Abington Twp. covered in decades of neglect.

Along with his two brothers, Paul and Bob; his three children, Hailey, Matthew and Frankie; his wife, Stephanie; and his nephew, P.J.; Mr. Hunsinger has slowly transformed the cemetery - once plagued by fallen trees, collapsed headstones and uncut grass - back into pristine condition. He spends roughly 30 hours a week at the cemetery and bought a tractor and chain saw to help keep the overgrowth under control. But Mr. Hunsinger worries that it will all be for naught if he doesn't maintain the current upkeep. "It's an ongoing process, so we have to keep working hard," said Mr. Hunsinger, who heads to the cemetery each day after working at Scranton Window Cleaning. "The people who come deserve better. That's what will continue to push us." Either way, township manager David O'Neill said he is grateful for the Mr. Hunsinger's effort. Pictured; Paul Hunsinger of Scranton uses a string trimmer to cut away overgrown grass and weeds.

WACKY GOLF FUNDRAISER: Temple Adat Shalom turned its 5,400-square-foot social hall and courtyard into a 36-hole mini golf course last Sunday to raise money for Escondido-based Interfaith Community Services, a nondenominational nonprofit that provides food, emergency shelter for the homeless and jobs along with drug and alcohol rehabilitation. Billed as a one-of-a-kind event in San Diego, the fundraiser is the result of thousands of volunteer hours over the last year to plan an entertaining course, where sponsors build their own holes to reflect a theme; for example a tire shop is creating a loop-de-loop from a recycled tire, a window cleaner is designing a hole using ladders, buckets and squeegees, and a plumbing company is building a hole around a toilet and sink.

Vice President Joe Biden came from humble roots. He was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania and his family resided with his maternal grandparents in an apartment in Delaware (with his parents and three younger siblings) before his parents were able to purchase a home in Wilmington. While attending the Archmere Academy, Biden worked for the school as a window washer and weed-puller in the garden, a job he soon learned did not suit him as he was meant for the public eye and to represent the people.

Some recognizable personalities remember their worst jobs - David Barbe: “I worked one winter as a window washer,” said Barbe, who also is an owner/engineer at Chase Park Transduction recording studio. “I hung off the side of St. Mary’s and The Georgian on what amounted to a plank of wood suspended by climbing ropes with a bucket of ammonia, lemon fresh Joy, water and a squeegee. In retrospect, it’s a good thing I was so close to a hospital considering the potential consequences. Nonetheless, the actual window washing was pretty fun in an exciting/borderline dangerous sort of way, but it turned out that I was working for someone who could best be described as a mid-grade con-man. He was getting paid, sometimes in money, but other times in perks for himself. Free meals from restaurants or movie tickets from the Palace Triple in exchange for clean windows, that kind of thing. Unfortunately, he held off on paying the window washers with a litany of excuses, and then finally wrote us bad checks the day before skipping town altogether. Ultimately, we did get paid, but it took some effort.”

Taxing questions for Osborne over new loophole for the rich: The Government will lose out on an estimated £1billion in tax revenues, that’s according to the Treasury’s own figures. Try this for a money-raising venture. You are a multi-million pound corporation in Manchester and you decide to open a branch in Spain. You then open another branch in the tax haven of Luxembourg. At the end of the year you take the profits from all three and place them in a Luxembourg bank account. Now, here’s the good bit. Thanks to George Osborne (pictured), you only have to pay Luxembourg tax rates on all your profits, whether they were made in Manchester or Alicante. Of course, these rules would never apply to small enterprises such as hairdressers or window cleaners. But from 2013 they WILL apply to huge multi-national firms based in the UK and, as a result, they are going to be able to avoid paying millions of pounds in tax in this country.

Team who give up their time to make sure accidents don’t become tragedies: Zoe was one of hundreds of people who each year find themselves coming face to face with the volunteers of the Clapham-based CRO. Reliant on donations, as the group nears its 2,500th rescue, it is hoping to use the landmark to raise awareness of the work it does. While the Dales can experience four seasons in a single day, most who get caught in a sudden change of weather manage to escape with just wet feet. Zoe, however, was one of the unlucky ones. On the descent, she slipped on a patch of ice and in what seemed like a split second she fell 300ft. “When the phone rings you never quite know what to expect,” says Malcolm Linford, a CRO volunteer of more than 30 years. “It was a trip with the Scouts that really awakened my love of the outdoors and I see the work I do with CRO as my payback.” Malcolm is just one of 80 volunteers who come from all walks of life. However, whether they are teachers, fire-fighters, engineers or window cleaners they all come together with a singular goal of helping those who are in need.

Outsourcing tasks can help an entrepreneur: Business ownership can be much different after a few months or years in business, especially since most small businesses start small and grow organically. Here are a few tips to get you started; Know what you are good at and attempt to outsource the rest. Cleaning, emptying the trash, landscaping, and window washing, etc. could be on this list not just business support services. If you are doing the things in your business you love, you are more likely to enjoy working the long days and be happier too.

A hero from York saved two elderly women when their car careered off the A64 and landed on its roof in a stream. Warren Lill, 36, was driving on the A64 towards York, with his pregnant girlfriend, when a car driven by an 81-year-old woman veered across the road, narrowly missing him before overturning and ending up in the stream near Stockton-on-the-Forest. Mr Lill, of Dringhouses , said the two women were minutes from drowning when he got to them after the accident, just before noon on Monday. He said: “I was driving in the opposite lane and the car veered into my lane coming straight towards me. I missed it by about two feet. I saw it in my mirror go off the road and into the stream.”

Mr Lill stopped his car and ran to the upturned Renault Clio car, which he said had landed in about four feet of water. He said: “The driver was in imminent danger of drowning – she was trying to keep her head out of the water.  “I was the first one there but then two other guys turned up. “I tried to kick in the window, but I had trainers on and my foot just kept bouncing off. One of the men had a tyre wrench and he put the window through with it.” Between them the three men managed to free the women from their seat belts and Mr Lill carried them to safety on the bank of the stream before the emergency services arrived. Mr Lill, who runs Bucket Heads Window Cleaning Services in York, said: “Bless them, they had to have been well into their eighties. “I put them down and kept one of them with their head still in case they had back injuries. “They just kept saying ‘thank you’ and asking what would have happened if I had not been there.”

Adventures in cheese (COEUR d'ALENE) - A restaurant that takes one of America's best-loved comfort foods and ramps it up in a gourmet way is going gangbusters since opening its doors three months ago in Coeur d'Alene. Mid-afternoon Wednesday, after the daily lunch rush had died down, customers at Meltz Extreme Grilled Cheese - in the Fairway strip mall near the intersection of Kathleen Avenue and Ramsey Road - still filtered in, placing orders for creative concoctions of large slices of grilled Wheat Montana bread, melted cheeses and other adventurous ingredients. "It's an ever-evolving menu," said Joe McCarthy, owner and chef. There are days when the line of customers waiting to place their orders wraps around the side of the storefront table area, he said.

McCarthy's business partner and longtime friend Matt Yetter's current favorite sandwich is their newest menu item, the Potsticker Meltz, which features provolone and jack cheeses, pork, peppers, scallions, ginger, sesame and fried wontons. It's served with a side of potsticker dipping sauce. The Meltz menu offers "Extreme," "Uncommon," and "Simple" sandwich options, all prepared on the diner's choice of sourdough, wheat or a gluten-free bread option. Extreme items include "Gobbler," a blend of white American and jack cheeses, smoked turkey, sausage stuffing, fried sweet potatoes and chunky cranberry aioli. Yetter, who was born in Coeur d'Alene, is retired from the U.S. Army and owns a Spokane window cleaning business. He is married with five children and four grandchildren. He said he leads a ministry at Real Life Ministries.

Man faces court over hamburger assault: A Canberra man has been refused bail for allegedly assaulting a stranger who refused to give him money for a hamburger. Irwin Watson from Lyneham in Canberra's north is accused of assaulting a women on Thursday outside the Dickson shops. The ACT Magistrates Court heard Watson, who works as a window washer along Northbourne Avenue, was already on bail for another assault. His lawyer asked the court to grant bail on the condition that he not go anywhere near the Dickson shops. But Magistrate Peter Dingwall said he was concerned that without any money Watson would just go asking for cash at other shopping centres. Magistrate Dingwall refused his bail and ordered a mental health assessment, labelling his recent behaviour as 'somewhat bizarre'. Watson is expected to be sentenced in September.

Local author launches second book series: Greg Trine has just published the first book in his new series of children's stories called The Adventures of Jo Schmo. The book is called "Dinos are Forever." Trine is the author of the Melvin Beederman Superhero children's series. Trine, who has a window-washing business in Ventura as well as a writing desk, says that he didn't really start reading and writing until he was well into his 30s. "But once I started, I really started," he said. "Basically, reading and writing began on the same day for me. I took classes, joined critique groups, attended conferences, eavesdropped on kid conversations to learn their lingo." Still, Trine said it took him 12 years to sell his first book, which became the Melvin Beederman series. "During my 12 years of book rejection, I sold the occasional magazine story, which kept me from giving up completely," he said.

North Bergen Public Works Chief Used Employees For Home Chores: The North Bergen Public Works Superintendent pleads guilty to directly municipal employees to perform chores at his home while they were being paid by the township. Attorney General Jeff Chiesa says James Wiley, 67, of North Bergen, routinely used municipal employees for household chores and personal projects at his home while they were on the clock being paid by the municipality. He frequently directed the employees to work at his home on Saturdays, when they received time-and-a-half overtime pay for their hours, and the tasks ranged from cleaning his house and swimming pool to helping build an addition.

Wiley also admitted that on three occasions, he had groups of public works employees assigned to perform work for a political campaign while on duty or while being paid overtime by the township, and signed and submitted fraudulent paperwork that indicated they were doing legitimate work for the Department of Public Works. Frequently the DPW workers performed routine chores for Wiley, including housecleaning, window washing, pool maintenance, cleaning his gas grill, clearing away leaves, removing snow, and running to the store for household supplies. At other times, however, the workers were given special projects such as putting up Christmas decorations, helping to build and paint an addition to his house, and installing pavers and a hot tub.

Girl was helping mother clean car when Labrador clamped jaw on her face: Her furious dad Gary, a window cleaner, said: 'I have never seen anything like it. 'There was blood everywhere. I was stunned but also furious - I could have killed that dog. 'The attack was absolutely atrocious she is my little girl and she was savagely attacked by this dog. 'And it felt like the courts were just rubbing salt into our wounds when the owner of the creature was just ordered to pay £250. 'Is my daughters well-being worth just 250? It is an absolute joke. Lucy has just started nursery and all the kids are asking what has happened to her face. 'I hope the scar will fade away but when I look at her my heart drops.

Bad news gets worse: Baseball's Worcester (Mass.) Tornadoes not only occupy last place in the five-team Can-Am League, but they also had a recent game delayed when their cleaning company showed up right before the first pitch claiming the team owed it more than $4,000. The Enterprise Cleaning Co. of Worcester had a court order entitling it to seize the game's receipts, as well as the team's uniforms, bats, gloves and other equipment. After league officials promised to pay the bill, the game started an hour late. The Tornadoes lost to Newark, 4-3.

Occupy Wall Street is back. On the movement's first anniversary, down where it all began in lower Manhattan, a few older protestors had some advice for would-be entrepreneurs.Bob Nash, 60, a former marine, small business owner, and self-proclaimed communist told Upstart, "I would not work for a corporation.” He said retirement isn't like it used to be when retirees might get a gold Elgin watch and dinner at the Waldorf Astoria once a year, “back when people took care of their employees.” He said he believes founders have the responsibility to share the benefits of their success with their employees. “When I look at myself in the mirror, if I’m failing other people, I’m failing myself," he said. Nash recommended getting into a “service” business like window-washing, though contrary to communism's traditional prioritization on the collective, he placed a priority on being self-employed.

Police Report: 10 T-shirts were taken from Uniform Place, 811 N. 68th St., at 4:52 p.m. Aug. 29. The window washer and store manager watched as three people entered the store, took the items and drove off. The thieves went into different parts of the store to avoid detection. They nearly struck a county bus with their vehicle on the way out.

Cleaner responsible;

Q: I have a glass table, six chairs, 14 pots of plants and two large boxes containing evergreens on my 200-square-foot terrace. Each spring management or the window washers move all of those items off the terrace so that the washers can land the swing stage necessary for them to wash the windows in units above. Since the terrace is for my exclusive use and each year something on the terrace gets broken, am I obligated to allow this procedure?

A: The condominium corporation or its representative has the right to enter your exclusive-use common-element balcony at a reasonable time and on reasonable notice for the purpose of performing the duties of the corporation. If those duties include the cleaning or maintenance of the exterior surfaces of the windows in the units above, the corporation is entitled to move the various items if reasonably necessary to carry out the cleaning. The corporation or the cleaner, depending upon who moves the items, is responsible for negligence resulting in damage.

DRUMMONDVILLE, Que.--Trees were uprooted and buildings damaged on Saturday night as a F0 tornado touched down in Drummondville, a town 100-kilometres east of Montreal. Ten people were working on the first floor of the community centre on Brock St. when the roof was ripped off by howling winds of up to 120-kilometres-per-hour. “The winds were much stronger four stories high at roof level than they were on the ground. There’s a lot of suction to really lift up that roof,” said Environment Canada meteorologist Rene Heroux as he surveyed the damage. With winds of up to 137-kilometres-per-hour, F0 tornados are defined as the weakest funnels possible. Despite that, neighbours who saw the tornado were left shaken. While little damage was recorded from the heavy gusts that hit Montreal, a lane of the eastbound Ville-Marie highway was closed at the St-Laurent Blvd. exit on Saturday night. A window-washing platform at the nearby French superhospital was torn from its moorings and landed on the highway’s signage.

Woman in her 20s crushed to death by falling window - Poignant floral tributes including one with a note saying 'sorry we couldn't save you' have been left where a young woman was killed  when a giant window frame fell on top of her as she passed by. The tragic redhead, believed to be in her 20s, was fatally injured when a gust of wind dislodged the concrete frame and hit her as she ate a banana in front of shocked shoppers yesterday. It came from a multi-million-pound six-storey office block in Hanover Square, off Oxford Street in central London, and today flowers and messages have been placed metres from where the giant frame still lies. The construction company running the site, Westgreen Construction Ltd, said this morning they would do 'whatever is necessary' and called it a 'terrible accident.' A gust of wind is believed to have caused the tragedy.

School's new window falls, strikes art teacher (Hinsdale) - The art teacher at Kittredge Elementary School is recovering from a mild concussion after a newly installed window struck her in the head during class this week. Architects and the window manufacturer have already visited the school to inspect the window. More inspections will take place today to determine how the window came out of a locking position on Wednesday and struck art teacher Jennifer Annand. The window itself was not broken. Kittredge Principal Debbie White said representatives from Harvey Industries came to the school on Friday to disengage the release mechanisms on all of the school’s new windows which offer tilting features for cleaning and ventilation. Students are not permitted to use the windows but faculty can open and clean them. "It’s fortunate for everybody that no one was seriously hurt, but we’re taking this seriously. Whether it’s an installation problem, mechanical problem, or how it was opened, we’re still trying to figure out exactly where the problem is," Cameron said.