Window Cleaning News - Bumper edition

Window washer Jose Torres cleans the windows Monday at the new USO center at Fort Belvoir that will provide "homelike environments to receive the training, education and job placement services needed to move forward in life."

Stanford window washer leaves no streaks behind: Getting a streak-free shine on windows isn’t easy, but Paul F. Moore of Stanford has been doing that for more than 35 years, 23 of those in the area, as a window washer. “I don’t believe in leaving streaks behind,” he said smiling. Moore originates from the Boston area and came to the region in 1990, moving to Lincoln County, after he said he got tired of the winters in New England. He had visited the region some in the 1980s as a Jehovah’s Witness. With that memory, he relocated, settling first in the Waynesburg area, before later buying a house in Stanford in 1995. “I haven’t regretted the decision,” he said with a smile.

When he arrived here, Moore already had established his business in the North but was forced to “start from scratch” in this region. He started on the outsides of some of the area factories through the help of local janitorial companies. “The janitorial companies didn’t have anybody that was really good at glass,” he said, noting they would call him and send him to different locations to clean. Moore also would visit various businesses from Somerset to Georgetown, going “storefront to storefront.” Some of the early operations were in Scott County, where he still cleans, a testament to his consistency, Moore said. “I basically had to get out there and beat the bushes,” he explained.

Car dealerships, banks and city offices all have been part of his customer base, in about 10 counties across the state. The 62-year-old has been cleaning windows on many businesses in downtown Danville for about 16 years. “Sometimes that’s how people find out about me, because they see me on the street,” he said. “Everyone wants clean windows.” While residential window cleaning always has been part of his business, Moore explained that it wasn’t until last year that he really began doing more homes in the area, partially because he snagged a few customers that were more well-known and whose opinions carried weight.

Moore runs a one-man business, Awake Maintenance, although he is training another man to become a window washer. He said the decision to go it alone was one he had to make many years ago. “Early on, I had to decide, ‘do I want my business to be big, or do I want my business to be just big enough for me to handle?’” he said.  While Moore occasionally recruits people to help, for the most part, he said going it alone is enough to support himself and his wife. “As long as I can physically do the work, I’m going to be out there working,” Moore said.

Having flexible hours and spending the day outside make the job even better for Moore, who enjoys being able to work outdoors. “From March through November, I am a happy man,” he said with a smile. While there are some washers who lower scaffolds down, to hang off the sides of buildings, Moore prefers to keep his feet firmly planted.  Sometimes, he says he will use a boom lift, when necessary. Originally, he started in the janitorial business, doing the window washing aspect on the side, but ultimately it became the bulk of his work. As a window washer, Moore has been a proud member of the International Window Cleaning Association, an international trade group, since 1976.

Stephen Stone is one of the countless plow drivers who worked round the clock to clear the snow.

Residents revel in blizzard: The statewide vehicular travel restrictions issued by Governor Patrick for a 24-hour period during the storm “were really necessary,” said Stephen Stone of All American Window and Gutter Cleaning, based in Essex. Stone drove his snowplow throughout Friday night to and from properties in Ipswich, Essex, Hamilton and Wenham and, with a break for rest, on through Saturday and Sunday, plowing the same properties as many as eight times each in order to keep up with the relentless snowfall. Stone said he encountered white-out conditions “almost all night” and had to pull his truck over every 20 minutes or so to break ice off of his windshield wipers. Finally, the wipers themselves broke, while the emergency light on his truck’s top also died. “The visibility was so bad,” he said, adding that he was sure the travel restrictions had been instrumental in keeping road accidents to a minimum.

The T330 being use by window cleaning company Contract Cleaners.

UK based rental company Warren Access has taken delivery of a new 33 metre Ruthmann T330 truck mounted telescopic lift. Mounted on a 7.5 tonne MAN chassis, the T330 has a five section main boom and an articulated jib, providing a 33 metre working height and 21 metres of outreach. Features include a variable jacking and self-levelling system, zero tail swing and a 320kg platform capacity. The machine went straight out on hire for window cleaning company Contract Cleaners who said: “We needed to clean windows on a seven storey building and the machine achieved this comfortably. The T330 gives a nice and smooth ride and and is much quicker than other machines we have used.”

Window cleaner calls in Sidbury blaze: Jacob Voss, Limanda Hobson and 10-month old Mylah were away from their Furzehill house when the fire started at around 2pm, but their window cleaner was working at the time. He called the fire brigade, who contained the flames before they could spread from the workshop to the main house or any neighbouring buildings. Electrician Jacob said: “We came racing back when we heard – if we didn’t have a window cleaner I don’t know what would’ve happened. “We got back as the firemen arrived, and they put it out amazingly quickly.” He added: “If it had come in the house we would’ve been in big trouble.”

Burnley businessman to return to screens in 'Bank of Dave' - Burnley banking revolutionary Dave Fishwick (pictured) will return to TV screens later this year for a second series. The minibus salesman shot to national stardom last year when he decided to set up his own bank, the Bank of Dave. A Channel 4 series followed his attempts to beat red tape and set up the bank in his home town. Mr Fishwick was inspired to start the Bank of Dave because he was fed up with how the high street banks were run and wanted to help local people. The Bank of Dave received the backing of Business Secretary Vince Cable and opened in Keirby Walk, Burnley, last summer. Since then it has lent cash to hundreds of customers and businesses. Last week it helped a local window cleaner, Thai restaurant, mobile sweet shop and a hotel for autistic children. The first series of Bank of Dave was critically acclaimed and was shortlisted for national awards including Best Popular Factual Programme at the prestigious Broadcast Awards, and the Scottish BAFTA’s. Mr Fishwick’s TV success is continuing as well, and he will appear in another Channel 4 series later this year helping young people find jobs.

Leading Firefighter Jarrod Howlett and firefighter Darryl Longhurst with Fred the dummy during a rescue exercise at Joe White Malting in Delacombe yesterday.

CFA conducts mock industrial rescue in Delacombe, Australia: Fred the unfortunate window washer has been rescued for the second time in as many weeks after getting stuck up an industrial building in Delacombe. Ballarat City Fire Brigade again used the Friendly Rescue Extrication Dummy to train its members in high-angle rescues atop tall structures yesterday. The training comes as Ballarat braces for a run of hot weather, with residents urged to make sure they are prepared for bushfires. Ballarat City Fire Brigade Station Officer Scott Gambino said local firefighters were working hard to stay sharp. “At this time of year, we’re pretty busy with bush and grass fires but there’s still these areas where we need to maintain our skills,” he said of this week’s training drill. Last week, firefighters jumped off the roof of Central Square car park to rescue Fred in another rescue simulation.

50 acres/200,000 sq m of damaged windows: A big rescue and clean-up operation involving more than 9,000 workers is going on in the Ural mountains following Friday's meteor strike, Russia's emergencies ministry says. President Vladimir Putin ordered the operation to help some 1,200 people who were injured, including 200 children, mostly by shattered glass. The shockwave damaged an estimated 200,000 sq m (50 acres) of windows. Russian officials put the cost of the damage at about 1bn roubles ($33m). Power of small atomic weapon - A fireball had streaked through the sky on Friday, followed by loud bangs. A large fragment was thought to have landed in a frozen lake near Chebarkul, a town in the Chelyabinsk region. A Russian army spokesman said a crater 6m (20ft) wide had been found there. However, a group of six divers inspected the bottom of the lake on Saturday and discovered no fragments amid the sludge.

A Seneca business has temporarily closed its doors following a Friday morning fire. Picket Fence Flea Market, located at 1050 Cherokee Ave., was left with smoke damage and minimal water damage, after a fire broke out before 10 a.m. on Friday, according to business co-owner Sheilah Hill. Hill and her husband, Rocky, who have managed the flea market for more than 10 years, have approximately 50 vendors selling at their flea market, she said. Hill said the fire, which damaged both the main and second story, was started by unique circumstances. She said the fire started from the sun shining into the business window, where a glass terrarium birdcage was sitting on display, near magnifying glasses and a decades old train set. "The sun hit it just right," Hill said. She said the Seneca Fire Department responded to the fire, and were able to determine the cause by watching the surveillance tape.

Window cleaner beats policeman: (MADISON, Wisconsin) — A Wisconsin state Assembly primary race in Waukesha County with five Republicans in the running is too close to call. Based on preliminary totals from Tuesday's primary, window cleaning business owner Adam Neylon is ahead of Village of Pewaukee Police Chief Ed Baumann by just 30 votes. There is no automatic recount in Wisconsin, but Baumann can request one within three days after the vote totals have been verified by Waukesha County election officials. Neylon had 2,003 votes compared with 1,973 for Baumann. The winner faces no Democratic opposition and will take the 98th Assembly District seat barring an unlikely write-in campaign. The other three candidates were Jeanne Tarantino, the former chief of staff to Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, graduate student Matt Morzy, and construction project manager Todd Greenwald.

Their Backgrounds: Neylon is a 28-year-old local business owner, and he’s also logged over five years working for U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner and state Rep. Bill Kramer. Neylon said his hybrid background as a job creator with his window cleaning business, and his experiences in the Capitol separate him from the other four candidates. Neylon said he has drafted two bills that became law in the last Assembly session. Winner gets a 10-year seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Sample Ballots Mailed for Upcoming Claremont Election: With just about a month to go until Claremont's city council election, voters can expect a preview of what's to come in their mailboxes soon. Sample ballots were mailed out this week, the city announced Tuesday. In the election, voters can choose their picks for two of the five council seats.  Three candidates are running for the roles, which run in four year terms. Those running for the council include: incumbent Councilman Corey Calaycay and Mayor Larry Schroeder, along with Michael Keenan, a local professional window cleaner, according to the city.

The minimum wage debate - Who pays for this raise? We do. All of those goods and services that come to us by employees working for minimum wage will now cost more. You can calculate it pretty closely. Since minimum wage positions are largely in low-skilled service jobs (restaurants and fast food, landscaping, warehousing, janitorial, car washing, window washing, clothes cleaning, etc.), those will be the affected industries. About half the operating costs for these types of industries come from labor. So if a business of these types charges $1 for a unit of sale, with a 10 percent EBITDA rate, about 45 percent, or 45 cents, goes to labor. With the proposed minimum wage increase of about 24 percent, that means the cost of labor will force an increase in pricing of about 11 percent to produce the same EBITDA. Thus, a hamburger from one of the fast food chains that currently costs $3, will now cost $3.33. The home cleaning service that costs $100 per visit, will now cost $111. The car wash that cost $20 will now cost $22.20. The $4 latte will now cost $4.44.

New zone will freeze out cold callers: Cold callers could be frozen out at a housing estate in South Tyneside. Older people in the Cragside, Fellside and The Lonnen areas of Cleadon Park, South Shields, are often targeted by salespeople, charity collectors and strangers offering to do odd jobs. In a bid to stop residents feeling worried about opening their doors, local councillors Jim Foreman and Alex Donaldson want the area to become an exclusion zone for cold callers. There are similar zones in the borough – at Winship Close, Canberra Drive, the Aged Miners’ Homes off Marsden Road and the Mariners’ Cottages in Broughton Road, all South Shields; Lindsay Court, Whitburn; and Bede Burn View and Crusade Walk, Jarrow. If approved, the zone would be supported by the council’s Safer South Tyneside Partnership, Northumbria Police and South Tyneside Homes. The streets’ entry points would have warning signs and homes would display window stickers. The exclusion would not apply to regular roundsmen like window cleaners and milkmen. Coun' Foreman said: “We don’t want elderly residents being afraid to open their doors. They shouldn’t have to feel vulnerable in their own homes. “If the exclusion zone was approved, then I think a lot of people would feel safer.

BT, the telecoms giant, has started producing a landline phone which will allow customers to block up to 80pc of unwanted calls, whether they are offering claims against banks which have mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance or services like window cleaning. The handset, known as the BT6500, will be a particular help to elderly customers, who tend to be targeted by cold-calling salesmen. It will enable them to block all calls from international numbers or numbers that are withheld, as well as 10 additional numbers specified by the user. This will block four fifths of unwanted calls, BT claimed. Customers will also be able to activate a “do not disturb” mode on the new landline handset, for those occasions when they do not any disturbance at all. BT said it introduced the scheme after being bombarded with complaints from customers being harassed by nuisance calls. The company receives more than 50,000 calls a month to its advice line, specifically set up to deal with the issue, and has found that more than half of people affected by unwanted calls receive more than five a month.

The Utah Division of Air Quality says the volatile organic compounds in window-washing fluid and other cleaning and personal-care products contribute to our bad air ("New strategy for scrubbing Utah skies clean," Tribune, Feb. 4). Tailpipe exhaust is a major pollution source, but the DAQ has no effective plan other than asking us to voluntarily not drive. But public transportation is not readily available to many, perhaps most, citizens along the Wasatch Front. Meanwhile, by not washing our windows we at least can avoid seeing the smog. And if seeing is believing, then not seeing is … Oh, just do something realistic to solve our pollution problems!

A view from the windows: My father used to tell me how he, as a teenager, spent many anxious years awaiting the first public transport bus to arrive in our ancestral village in Vidarbha — this part of the state was then central province and Berar. He said when the bus did arrive, it brought a twinkle to his eyes; he touched it gently, appreciated its colour and threw himself onto the hardtop seats. My father is no more. But his story came back to me on Saturday when I saw the monorail up and close for the first time, appreciated its beauty, and enjoyed the trial run from Wadala to Chembur and back. If you think the air-conditioned monorail gives you respite from the stink and the discomfort on a suburban local train, you are right. But if you think it elevates you from the stinking realities of the city, you are wrong. Its cleaner glass windows bring you closer to the city’s disturbing poverty with a clear view of bigger slums, impoverished kids and mothers, and men slogging in prohibited refinery areas.

President's Employee Excellence Awards (Pullman, Wash.) - Five staff members will receive 2012-13 President's Employee Excellence Awards at the Celebrating Excellence Recognition Banquet on March 29, part of the Washington State University Showcase annual celebration of faculty, staff and student achievement. The awards recognize civil service and administrative professional staff for outstanding contributions regarding work quality, efficiency, productivity, problem solving, work relations and community service. The honorees are:

Joseph Beck (left), classified staff, window washer with Facilities Services. Nominators noted his innovative ideas for safely and efficiently accessing new windows in new buildings. He consistently and competently goes out of the way to ensure customers’ needs are met - and does so in a friendly, helpful manner. He works well as a team with co-award winner Barry Birdsell. Beck is "probably the most pleasant person to work with on campus,” said one nominator. Beck plans in advance to contact others who will be affected by his window washing schedule so their needs can be addressed.

Barry Birdsell (right), classified staff, window washer with Facilities Services. He has adapted new technology in order to complete his work more safely and efficiently, said nominators. He consistently and competently goes out of the way to ensure customers’ needs are met - and does so in a friendly, helpful manner. He works well as a team with co-award winner Joseph Beck. Birdsell’s "positive interaction with building clients and his ability to work with and around their schedules is phenomenal.” He seems to sincerely enjoy people and his work.

Fish Window Cleaning does more than windows: Donna and Jim Spude have opened up a Fish Window Cleaning franchise at 1517 Huebbe Parkway, Suite C, in Beloit to spend more time with each other while providing a valuable service. Fish Window Cleaning will clean anything glass. And Jim Spude sees glass wherever he looks. “There is such an abundance of glass, and glass needs to be cleaned,” Spude said. “We offer window cleaning, gutter cleaning, chandelier cleaning, power washing, deck cleaning. If it’s glass, we clean it,” he said. “

The Spudes grew up in the Janesville and Milton areas. Most recently Jim was working as an executive for an educational supply company in Lake Villa, Ill. As the economy took a toll on education related businesses, he started looking for something else to do. With two sons — Joshua, 18 and Jordan, 20 — the Spudes wanted to create a family business where everyone could go to work. Opening the business together would be a way he could catch up with his family.

Being married to Donna for 25 years, Jim joked their new venture has been a little second honeymoon. They’ve both enjoyed the opportunity to give their sons some hands-on experience in launching a business. One son works for the business full-time while the other son is working part-time and attending classes at Blackhawk Technical College. “And because Donna and I were from the Milton and Janesville area originally, we decided it would be great to open up and produce jobs in this area,” Jim said.

The Spudes researched 10 other potential businesses to open. Although they considered food service, they said the window cleaning business did not always require night and weekend work. These days the Spudes said they are very happy washing windows of downtown businesses in Beloit and Janesville as well as a few big box stores. They use different equipment depending on the job site and the building. Although they mainly use mops and squeegees, they also use some advanced water fed poles. “They take water from the source at the building site and they filter water through a filtering system so the water we use that comes out the pole with a brush is filtered water. It leaves absolutely no residue in the water,” Jim said.

Fish Window Cleaning Services Inc. was founded by Mike Merrick in January 1978. Merrick differentiated his business by providing customers with uniformed professionals and reliable scheduling at a competitive price. After 20 years of continued growth throughout economic ups and downs, he decided to begin franchising operations in 1998 with the opening of the first Fish Window Cleaning franchise in Florida. Today the company has grown to more than 240 franchise locations in 43 states. It gained 63,776 new customers in 2012 and cleaned more than 47,000,000 windows.

Glasgow's education and social work hardest hit in £54m budget cuts: It is also looking to save £1.47m through reducing the number of janitors in standalone nurseries and cleaners in secondary schools, many employed by service provider Cordia, through voluntary severance. This aspect of the savings package also includes reducing the "frequency of window cleaning for new build" schools, lessening the number of times the grass is cut at properties and the "annual maintenance contract in secondary estate".

When the new Franklin County Common Pleas Courthouse made its debut in June 2011, county officials touted the glass-walled structure as a symbol of transparency. Justice isn’t nearly as transparent today. Twenty months after the building’s opening, the windows above the first floor have yet to be washed. Dirt clings to the floor-to-ceiling glass on the south side of the seven-story building. The county’s cost-cutting has suspended window-washing at the governmental complex on S. High Street since 2011, said James Goodenow, director of public-facilities management. County crews are able to clean first-floor windows, but going higher would require hiring window-washing crews “for tens of thousands of dollars,” he said. Estimates are being sought in the hope of beginning the long-delayed cleaning in the spring. Which buildings are cleaned first will be determined by the cost. “I wouldn’t describe it as a top priority,” Goodenow said. “It’s important, but so (are) security, maintenance and housekeeping.”

Guardrail Design Raises Concerns: In May 2010, Ervin Pinckney Sr. was driving his Ford F-150 pickup on Route 50 near Bowie, Maryland, when he lost control and hit the end of a highway guardrail, head-on. What happened next shocked the 77-year-old retired window washer. “The guardrail came up through the floor of the truck,” said Pinckney, who lives in Odenton, Maryland. “It nearly cut my head off,” he said in an interview. Indeed, the guardrail went completely through the floor, the passenger cab, and even the bed of the truck before exiting out the lift gate. A tow-truck driver who responded to the crash marveled at the damage and sent a camera-phone video for the local TV station to air. But what happened to Pinckney, who was billed more than $6,000 by the state of Maryland to repair the damaged guardrail that sliced through his truck and he says nearly killed him, may not have been a freak accident worth just a few seconds on local TV news.

You may remember Kane and Lynch as the game that got Jeff Gerstmann fired, though some still speculate that it was just so bad it made him quit. But this game has worse offences under its belt, like a sweet talking demo that cons good people out of their hard earned money. You see, Kane and Lynch’s demo takes place exactly at the high point of the game, it’s still not particularly great, but it is the high point of this game. Disguised as window cleaners you’ll abseil down the side of a Tokyo skyrise and attack a bunch a Japanese businessmen for...some reason. Followed by an intense shootout through the luxurious (for a 2007 game) interior, and eventually spilling out into the streets while surrounded by panicking civilians desperately trying to escape the building.

A couple who assaulted three doormen while visiting Blackpool to celebrate the New Year have been sentenced. Martin Carroll, 30, a former window cleaner, of Rome Avenue, Burnley, admitted one offence of assault. He was sentenced to do 60 hours’ unpaid work for the community and ordered to pay £85 costs plus £60 victims’ surcharge by Blackpool magistrates. Jordan Greenwood, a 24-year-old hairdresser, of Harold Avenue, Burnley, pleaded guilty to two offences of assault. She was fined £130 with £85 costs and £20 victims’ surcharge. Tracy Yates, prosecuting, said three doormen were assaulted after the couple were ejected from the resort’s Revolution Bar on January 1. Carroll was seen to punch a doorman. Greenwood was seen to kick out at one doorman and hit another with her handbag. Magistrates watched CCTV of the incident. The couple’s defence lawyer said both defendants were injured in the fracas. Carroll suffered substantial injuries to his face and body and Greenwood lost a toenail.

Drugs damaged Barrow dad’s brain beyond repair: David Wookey, of Harrison Street, Barrow, died in Furness General Hospital on July 30 – three days after his partner Kelly Baron found him unconscious in bed. The hearing at Barrow Town Hall yesterday heard there was diazepam and morphine evident in the 40-year-old’s bloodstream. The pathologist’s report said the drugs interrupted the blood supply and Mr Wookey’s brain was injured beyond repair. Mr Wookey, who was known in Barrow as a former cab driver with A1 Taxis and window cleaner, also had pneumonia in his lungs. Detective Constable Ben Falvey, of Barrow CID, told the inquest the incident was reported to police after it was suspected Mr Wookey may have suffered a drugs overdose. DC Falvey said Miss Baron confirmed Mr Wookey had been buying blue tablets off the internet, which police believed were diazepam. The inquest heard Miss Baron had found Mr Wookey face down in bed at her home in Longway, Barrow, and got no response when she tried to wake him.

A window cleaner who was spending £400 a week on cocaine started to supply the class A drug to pay off his drugs debt. Defendant Daniel Schofield, 31, was jailed for 32 months on Thursday after he was described as a street dealer. Schofield, of Coed Aben in Wrexham, was told that possessing cocaine with intent to supply, which he admitted, was a very serious offence. The starting point was four and a half years with a range of between three and a half years and seven years. But Judge Merfyn Hughes QC said that he took the view that Schofield was at the bottom of the range and he would receive 25 per cent off for his guilty plea. The evidence of text messages on his phones made it perfectly clear that he had been dealing in drugs. He had no previous convictions for supplying drugs but there was evidence to suggest that he had been using drugs for a considerable period. “For some years you have been a drug addict and eventually you were using £400 worth of cocaine each week,” the judge said. He was drawn into selling drugs to pay off what he owed.

Convicted rapist attacked second woman 20 years later after police force failed to warn colleagues he had moved 250 miles across Britain: A convicted rapist went on to sexually assault another victim after blundering police failed to keep track of him when he moved home across Britain. Window cleaner Hilland Matthews, 66, carried out an 'horrific sex attack' in Ipswich after moving 250 miles from the scene of his previous rape in South Wales. An MP today called for an investigation to discover why police failed to pass on Matthews' history of sexual offending after the rapist was jailed again for a sex crime. The court heard Matthews moved from his home in South Wales to Ipswich three years ago. But police in Suffolk were not told by the Welsh officers that the convicted rapist was now living on their patch. Matthews broke into the home of a 53-year-old woman where he put her through an 'horrific ordeal'. Ipswich Crown Court heard the woman deliberately scratched Matthews' face - knowing she would have his DNA under her nails.

Forres man guilty on stalking charge: A spurned lover has been convicted on a charge of stalking his former partner in Inverness by repeatedly driving past her home and spraying paint on a wall outside her property after a week-long trial at Inverness Sheriff Court. Robert Watson (61) of Forbes Hill, Forres, was cleared on several other allegations of vandalism to Helen Morrison’s property at Inshes View, Westhill. Officers using CCTV cameras at Ms Morrison’s home set a trap with CCTV cameras which caught images of Wallace spraying the paint on a wall at her property. Watson was waiting nearby in his car and the pair were snared minutes later in a cul-de-sac in Watson’s car. The court was told that Watson, an ex-Royal Marine, and Ms Morrison had been in a relationship between 2004 and 2009 and Ms Morrison had ended the relationship. But several witnesses spoke of seeing window cleaner Watson’s distinctive Skoda Fabia car with a roof rack which he used for his ladders, in the cul-de-sac where Ms Morrison lived at Westhill in Inverness. Watson had already been cautioned by the police not to go near her.

A bogus caller pretending to be a window cleaner is preying on elderly residents in Medway, Kent. In one incident he tricked his way into a woman’s house in the City Way area of Rochester and stole £100 from her purse. Medway Council’s trading standards team have issued a warning to householders to be on their guard. Four cases have been reported in the Strood and Rochester area in seven days. Cllr Mike O’Brien, in charge of community safety, said: “If you are concerned about a cold caller who has knocked at your door please report the matter to the trading standards helpline on 08454 040506 and if you feel threatened or intimidated report the matter to the police.” The advice from the Home Office is that you should Lock, Stop, Chain and Check to protect yourself from being a victim of crime.

Window-washing scheme: Man preyed on Vimont and Fabreville residents, mostly seniors: Police in Laval are looking for victims of a scam artist who preyed on residents of Vimont and Fabreville, mostly seniors. The man would go door-to-door and offer to wash windows, but insist on being paid in advance. And then he’d never return. Roger Laroche, who has a history of this kind of scam, is currently detained after pleading guilty to five dossiers in this case, but police believe there are more victims out there who might be too embarrassed to come forward. He was sentenced to six months in jail. “We’re sure he did other people, he charged between $300 and $500, and once he got the money it was sayonara,” said Laval Constable Franco di Genova. Laroche is white, speaks French and is 5 foot 9 inches tall, with grey-brown eyes and a buzz cut.

Drink-driver killed son's friend in Aberdeenshire crash: A drink-driver killed his son's best friend in a crash in Aberdeenshire, a court has heard. Window cleaner James Watson, 38, of Dunblane, admitted causing the death of Brendon Main (pictured), 19, of Aberdeen, by driving dangerously. The crash happened in Newburgh on 24 July 2011. At the High Court in Glasgow, Judge Lord Burns remanded him in custody and deferred sentencing until 19 March at the High Court in Edinburgh. Levi Watson - Watson's son - and Michael Smith, two other passengers in the car, were also hurt. The court heard Mr Main drove Watson, the accused's 18-year-old son and Mr Smith, 17, to the Ythan Hotel. The plan was for Mr Main to leave his Ford Fiesta in the car park overnight and that the three teenagers would stay with Watson. The court heard the group had about three rounds of drinks at the hotel. However, Watson decided to drive when they later left and the boys joined him in Mr Main's car. Witnesses described seeing the Fiesta being driven extremely fast and with noises of a loud exhaust and changing up through the gears. The car crashed and spun.

Scottish Borders Council’s threatened warden team have been accused of ignoring Lauder’s dog fouling problem in favour of other towns in the region. Window cleaner David Miller said the royal burgh is littered with dog dirt, and demanded further action to tackle the issue. However, that looks unlikely should the local authority scrap the warden service at Newtown today, as proposed in its budget for the next five years. Mr Miller, who owns a Labrador and a cocker spaniel, told TheSouthern: “It just seems to me that the wardens have targeted the likes of Galashiels, Peebles and Selkirk, but forgotten about us. “There have been signs put up, but they are no deterrent to anyone. “We need the wardens to come up here between 6am and 8am and 4pm and 6pm when most people walk their dogs. “But instead they come up at 2pm, which is pointless as hardly anyone is around. “It is absolutely shocking the amount of dog dirt lying around the town.” Problem areas include Castle Wynd and the Public Park, according to Mr Miller, 51.

He told us: “A council scaffy cart came up to clear it, but within three weeks the town was covered again. There have even been instances of dog dirt in the middle of the pavement on the High Street. “The football pitch in the Public Park in particular is shocking – if I was a footballer I would not want to play there.” Mr Miller, who said he previously applied for a vacant post with the warden team, added: “At the moment the service is not being run properly. “They should be talking to people and asking if they have carrying bags, and if they are not, offering to provide some and telling them to do so.” Mr Miller’s complaints are the latest in a long line surrounding dog fouling across the Borders.

William Wallace window ready to return to its rightful place: A stained glass portrait of William Wallace will return to its rightful home in Stirling next month. The portrait of the Scottish hero was removed from the National Wallace Monument before Christmas to be cleaned and mended for the first time since it was installed in 1886, 17 years after the monument itself was completed. It is one of 11 stained glass windows in the Abbey Craig monument celebrating Scottish history. They were made by James Ballantine and Son, who had previously made the armorial windows at the Scottish Monument and the west window at Dunfermline Abbey. The portrait of Wallace is in the Hall of Heroes, which also features a stained glass portrait of King Robert the Bruce and two Scottish knights. It was only removed for cleaning for the first time last year, although this proved no easy task. The portrait of an armour-clad Wallace holding his famous broadsword consists of five separate panels, each of which had to be removed individually. It has taken stained glass specialists Rab MacInnes and Linda Cannon more than three months to clean the window. The restoration involves releading parts of the window, cleaning the glass and repairing any breaks using silicone resin.

Willie was the Bishop of Wall Street. A middle-sized man of boundless energy, clad always in black that matched his hair and his piercing eyes. Willie had a soap box, a megaphone, a folded umbrella, which he might brandish for emphasis, and the mandatory Stars and Stripes fluttering overhead for legitimacy, like the ranters in London’s Hyde Park. Willie’s delivery was powerful, straight to the point and fearless. His diction ranged from the patois of a Fulton Street fishmonger to the biblical. He challenged us, we whom he castigated as the scribes and the Pharisees, to trash the temples that surrounded us, to throw out the moneychangers and the false prophets (which he usually punned with profits). He told us that our salvation, and restitution was at hand, that everything below 14th Street would suffer the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah.

With the adroitness of a master swordsman, he would engage two or three hecklers at a time (and they were always there, in the front row). His quick turn of phrase and repartee made him more than a match for his critics. Sooner or later they would turn away and weave through the crowd. Once, twenty floors above him, a lone window washer shouted down at Willie some ribaldry, some comment on his ministry. Without missing a beat, Willie swung his megaphone skyward and shouted: “Repent, my friend, or you are as close to Heaven as you’ll ever be.” The distant muffled response describing his ancestry that drifted down didn’t impress the crowd, who were forced to applaud Willie.

The scientist at the centre of the national drugs in sport controversy is at the top of a performance-enhancing drug distribution network that has tentacles across Sydney, linking Kings Cross nightclub figures, rugby league clubs and an escort agency. Fairfax Media can reveal the murky world of sports consultant Stephen Dank, who is one of four owners of the Medical Rejuvenation Centre at Bondi Junction that sells anti-ageing medicine and sports performance supplements. On Thursday the Australian Crime Commission sent shockwaves through Australia's sporting codes when it said it had found widespread use of performance-enhancing drugs and possible attempts to fix matches. The clinic is also connected through a third company to Nick James Truscott, 24, an entrepreneur who once owned a window washing company and now an escort company, Sydney High Class. Mr Azmi and Mr Van Spanje are also part owners of Sydney High Class.

A family of six who all became ill on an Egyptian holiday have described their experience as ‘a fortnight of hell’. Nancy Bamber, 69, travelled to the Xperience Kiroseiz Parkland Hotel, in Sharm-el-Sheikh, with daughter Sharon Lang and her partner Ralph Bentham. Sharon’s children, Jordana 19, and 12-year-old Ellice were also part of the trip, as well as Ralph’s daughter Rebecca. The holiday makers have now instructed lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to begin proceedings against tour operator First Choice. They said the holiday was ruined when they were struck down with illness just three days into their two-week break last July. By the end of the holiday, they said all members of the family who travelled to the resort were suffering with illness.

The family claimed some meals were served lukewarm or undercooked, and complained that tables and cutlery were sometimes dirty. On occasions they claim they saw staff turning over food-stained table mats instead of cleaning or replacing them. Nancy, from Chorley, who said she had to visit the hotel’s GP three times for treatment, said: “The hotel’s website promises ‘spellbinding gardens and legendary hospitality’. I do not feel that this is what we received. “As a result of the illness, we were stuck in our rooms for the majority of time spent there. It was distressing for the whole family to be sick whilst on holiday. “We ended up so concerned that we were opening doors with our elbows so as not to touch anything.”

After returning from the holiday, three of the family said they continued to suffer from diarrhoea, stomach cramps and tiredness with 54-year-old Ralph, who is diabetic, forced to take time off from his job as a window cleaner. The family said the illness affected Sharon’s remaining time off work from her job as a learning support assistant and left retired Nancy feeling exhausted, upset and put off foreign travel. A spokesman for First Choice said they were sorry to hear that members of Ms Bamber’s party did not enjoy their holiday. He said: “We closely audit all the resorts to which we operate, including the Xperience Kiroseiz Parkland Hotel, to ensure that health, hygiene and comfort levels are maintained. “Reports of sickness at this hotel in 2012 were minimal, and it continues to be an extremely popular choice for our customers.”