Window Cleaners Latest "Show Case of Shame"

A Keighley window cleaner demolished a dry-stone wall worth £1,000 in a car crash after calling at a pub on his way home from work, Skipton Magistrates heard last week. The court was told David Bingley, of Braithwaite Edge Road, suffered a minor head injury in the accident, on December 15, and was taken by ambulance to Airedale Hospital. The 63-year-old, who pleaded guilty to drink-driving, lost control of his Skoda Felicia on the B6160, between Barden and Bolton Abbey, and crashed into the wall after a “convivial drink” at a pub in Appletreewick. Prosecuter Simon Ostler said Bingley consented to a blood test at the hospital. It revealed that he had 117 milligrammes of alcohol in his blood — the legal limit is 80 milligrammes. Mr Ostler said the collision, which did not involve any other vehicle, happened at around 5pm and caused a total of £1,057 damage to a five metre stretch of a dry-stone wall.
Bingley’s solicitor, John Mewies, said his client had mistakenly had a drink on an empty stomach after forgetting his packed lunch. Bingley’s window cleaning round was in the Yorkshire Dales. Mr Mewies said Bingley had been working in the Linton and Grassington area when at around 3pm he decided to see his friend who worked at a pub in Appletreewick. “He enjoyed a convivial drink and left the pub feeling competent to drive but lost control of his vehicle,” said Mr Mewies. “No-one else was involved, but he made contact with the dry-stone wall and he rolled the vehicle on top of the wall and, unfortunately for him, not only had he ladders on top of his vehicle but he also had them inside.
“He banged his head badly on the ladders and was concussed. His recollection is vague but the emergency services attended after a passer-by happened upon him.” Magistrates disqualified Bingley from driving for 12 months and fined him £290. He was also ordered to pay £45 costs and a £15 victims surcharge. Mr Mewies said following the loss of his licence Bingley intended continuing with his window cleaning round with the help of his wife, who would drive him around.

A rogue window cleaner who burgled customers and let others down has been given a two-and-a-half year prison sentence. Homeless David Green, 43, admitted four counts of fraud for taking money for cleaning windows from Swindon householders and failing to fulfill his obligations between December 2008 and March 2009. At Bristol Crown Court yesterday, Green admitted another three counts of fraud between August 2007 and September 2008, three burglaries and one count of theft, all in the Bristol and Somerset area. He also asked for a 147 offences from Bristol and 124 from Swindon to be taken into consideration, consisting of fraud, burglary, attempted burglary and theft.
Sally Thompson, prosecuting, said Green would offer householders a three, six or 12-month deal for cleaning their windows on a monthly basis asking for payment up front but after a couple of visits would not be seen again. The court was told that Green was eventually traced through his white van. Ms Thompson said he told police that the money paid for his drink and drugs addiction. She said he also had two previous convictions in Swindon for similar offences. She outlined three Bristol burglaries between July and October 2009, in which Green had used a tradesman’s identity to gain access to people’s homes.
Victims of his burglaries included an 87-year-old woman to whom he posed as a builder then took cash and cheques, which he used to withdraw £6,000. On another occasion an 84-year-old woman was targeted by Green posing as a window cleaner and had cash, cards and jewellery taken. Christopher Smyth said in mitigation that drug tests on his client proved he was now drug free and that he had completed a drug rehabilitation programme. Mr Smyth said he had also cooperated fully with the police and given them details of where he committed offences. He said: “It makes it fairly clear he was attempting to wipe the slate clean.
“Whether it’s the drink, drugs, depression, the gambling, whatever it was it has got on top of him. “He dropped out of his normal life and committed offences to keep himself going.” Judge Michael Roach said: “You were given a community order and here you are doing it again. “What is particularly unpleasant is these distraction burglaries where at least two elderly people were relieved of their property. “It’s to your credit that you have worked hard in prison to sort yourself out, but clearly the custodial threshold has been crossed.”
Green was given an 18-month sentence for each burglary to run concurrently, six months for each of the Bristol frauds to run concurrently to each other but consecutive to the main sentence, six months for each of the frauds in Swindon to run concurrently to each other but consecutively, and two months concurrently for the theft. The 170 days already spent in custody will be deducted. Justin Tomlinson, Abbey Meads councillor and Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for North Swindon, was one of Green’s victims. He was targeted by Green in February last year when he offered window cleaning and work to gutters. Although the guttering was done and £99 paid, Tomlinson said the windows were never cleaned. He said: “I’m absolutely delighted justice has been served.Working with the local residents we helped to provide the evidence needed.”

A window cleaner – caught breaking into women's homes and trying on their clothes before performing a sex act – has been locked up for burglary. William O'Grady, 20, from Layton, was charged with stealing pieces of toilet paper in burglaries on Morland Avenue in Wesham and Lower Lane in Freckleton. A judge described O'Grady's behaviour as grotesque after he admitted breaking into the properties and performing a sex act in women's bedrooms while wearing their clothes during his window cleaning round.
One of his victims, a woman in her 20s, was so scarred by the events she had to move out of the area. Another victim said she was disgusted by what O'Grady had done. After his crimes were uncovered, she said she had thrown all her clothes, underwear and bed sheets away. She had also moved out of her home because she was frightened he would return. In a witness statement, the victim said: "I can't get out of my head what he did in my bedroom. I feel sick." The other victim said she was in total shock when O'Grady's crime was uncovered and she felt frightened.
O'Grady, of Dutton Road, was sentenced to 16 months in a young offenders' institution. Even though the offences were of a sexual nature, the only legislation available led the prosecution to pursue a charge of burglary.

Grabe Trial Wrapping up Quick: The trial of 53 year-old Allen Grabe who shot his young son continued Monday and is wrapping up pretty quick. Monday's witnesses were personal and professional acquaintances of Grabe, who the defense called to the stand. These witnesses said Grabe seemed stressed out and confused as to why he lost a contract that was a major source of his window washing business. They also said he was quiet and talked to himself a lot. Closing statements are expected Tuesday after the final doctor testifies, and it will be up to the jury to decide if Grabe was insane or sane at the time of the murder.
Allen Grabe, who operated his own window-washing business, had met on Sept. 11 with the local ownership of several Taco Bell franchises, who were considering ending Grabe’s services. The prospect of losing the lucrative contract weighed on Allen Grabe on Sept. 11, according to his wife’s testimony. Over lunch, she said, she saw her husband cry for the just third time in their marriage. “He said he felt like he was letting his family down,” she testified. Grabe’s defense, however, said it wasn’t the first time the couple faced a financial crisis, arguing it was an unlikely trigger for murder in 2008. The couple filed for bankruptcy protection in 1997, and Allen Grabe had signed off on an offered loan from relatives to help pay their son’s prescriptions, according to testimony.

Window Cleaning Snippets

Steve Little, of Steve's Window Cleaning of Rutland, had the perfect day to clean off the windows at Maplefields in Manchester on a warm spring day Thursday. Click picture to enlarge.

New Services for Float Glass Quality Concerns and Cold-End Processes: Safety Glass Experts International Ltd is widening the range of expert services available. From the beginning of March 2010 company has started offering independent and objective expert services for float glass cold-end production and float quality related projects. The new float glass expert services are targeted for float glass producers and safety glass processors requiring assistance in their daily activities or problem shooting situations. Producing flawless quality float glass requires versatile quality inspection programs. Although efficient qualitycontrol activities defects in float glass are sometimes recognized. These defects can be extrem ely painful for the glass processor. Commonly safety glass processors do not hold required knowhow to inspect and evaluate float glass defects. Newly started or older float glass producers require training to improve and update their production and quality control procedures - This is where Safety Glass Experts comes in. Float Glass production cold end Expert Service’s available:
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Mr. Lee’s journey to a CrossFit trainer and business owner began as a teenager when his mother bought him a plastic weight set. Always an active child, he took to the weights and continued lifting through high school. He moved to Nantucket after high school and took to body weight workouts like pushups, sit ups, and pull-ups. But eventually exercise started getting monotonous. He moved to Cape Cod, but continued commuting to Nantucket to keep up his window- and power-washing business. He fell out of shape. One day he started having heart palpitations and felt dizzy. He went to the doctor. The experience scared him back into shape. He started training for and com peting in triathlons, which he stuck with for a few years. He took a second job as a trainer in a country club gym, back on Nantucket. Then he was working out with a friend from New York who told him about this new fitness model that some other friends were doing that was taking them “to the next level.” He did some research about CrossFit and decided he wanted to get into it. He took to it, sold his cleaning business on Nantu cket, moved to Mashpee about a year and a half ago and started CrossFit Cape Cod, which is affiliated with the national program. Ms. Lee picked it up, too, and got her certification as a trainer. Mr. Lee’s dedication to CrossFit and exercise is quickly apparent.

In a case expected to hinge on the testimony of doctors, 53-year-old Allen Grabe’s fate will be decided by how the jury answers a two-pronged question. Was he, under state law, “diseased or defective of the mind” in September 2008 when, as authorities allege, he fired nine shots at close range, killing his 13-year-old son as the boy was asleep in his bed? An d was the Pear Park father capable of discerning right from wrong at the time? Jury selection starts Monday in Allen Grabe’s murder trial. He pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in the death of his son, Jacob, an eighth-grader at Grand Mesa Middle School who had been treated for a neurological disorder similar to autism.
Jurors are expected to hear testimony suggesting Allen Grabe, who operated a window-washing business with clients up and down Main Street in Grand Junction and beyond, was under increasing financial stress after the loss of cleaning contracts in the fall of 2008. According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Grabe entered his son’s bedroom the night of Sept. 11, 2008, opened fire, then stopped and told his wife, Jaquette, “I had to kill him because you were ruining him.” Grabe returned to the boy’s room and fired more shots, the affidavit said.

Samurai sword attack nearly killed me: A father has told how he believed he w as going to die when he was brutally attacked by a man wielding a Samurai sword while drinking in a city pub.
Window cleaner Greg Cook (pictured below) suffered three "slice marks" on the top of his head in an assault by "psychotic" Keith Giles (pictured left). Mr Cook grabbed a table to shield himself and other pub customers bravely leapt in to tackle Giles and pin him to the floor. Mr Cook, 45, said, had it not been for the table and the courage of other people in the pub, he would have been killed. He said: "He (Giles) was psychotic. I didn't have time to think then because of the shock of it all but I could have died that day." Detective Constable Adam Suett, who investigated the attack, said Mr Cook was lucky to be alive. He said: "Mr Cook suffered three slice marks to the top of his head. During this completely unprovoked attack, he was hit at least three times with the sword. "He is lucky that the other people in the pub at the time were able to overpower Giles and pin him to the ground until the police arrived. Had they not done that and had he not been able to help protect himself with the table, I think he would have died." The attack happened at the London Midland Railway Recreational Club Association.

Seattle Center may replace Fun Forest with 44,000-square-foot “glass house” & Dale Chihuly exhibit: The Seattle Center has been debating what to do with 68,000 square feet of empty space left after half of the Fun Forest was cleared out back in January. Originally the space was meant to be used to showcase new vendors and temporary projects on a trial basis while the Center searched for mor e permanent ideas to implement into the Century 21 Master Plan, a $570 million, 20-year investment in the revitalization of Seattle Center and in homage of the 1962 World’s Fair that gave the Center its start. However, according to a report by our news partner, the Seattle Times, after receiving project ideas for the space that left the Center “disappointed,” they decided to consider a proposal to build a 44,000-square-foot “glass house” that would house artist Dale Chihuly’s work. Many consider this proposed project an “extraordinary opportunity” for the Center.

Small Business Snapshot: Premier Residential Services.
Hours of operation: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday; Saturday, Sunday and after hours scheduled upon request.
General manager: Susan Lovato
Date founded: 1959.
Description of business: Residential, co mmercial and concierge services. The services include housekeeping, window washing, handyman repairs, home-watch inspections, janitorial cleaning, summer home care and property management.
Number of employees: 65
Projected revenues: $5 million
Cost of startup: “Too many years ago to remember.”
Source of startup financing: Internal.
Did you write a business plan? “Yes, there was an initial business plan; however as times change and opportunities arise, the plan is constantly modified.”
Marketing budget: $18,000.
Recipe for success: “Staff selection, training and performance are the key elements to our success.”
Personal motto or mantra: “Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.”
Where do you seek advice? Key staff associates, current clients and members of our preferred vendor network.

Has anyone seen Scott? He's the tubby man who came to our house on Saturday, offering to clean the windows. Busy fellow. He had a whole team of people in the street. Naturally, I'm not one to be taken in, so I told him to come back in an hour and then forgot about it. There he was again, just before his men were due to reach the Citizen's Advice Bureau on the corner. Having produced the money, I could then only agree that it would be very convenient if he returned in a month's time. If I paid in advance, we wouldn't even need to be in. And so Scott and I walked to the cashpoint together, having what was to me an insightful conversation about the world of a window-cleaning entrepreneur.
Since then, strangely, our windows have not been cleaned. Nor, I suspect, have anyone else's. I've been trying to look on the £80 of which I'm now short as a charitable donation. In an attempt to recoup some of the money, I didn't lash out on a white loaf to make bread sauce that evening, but, instead , used some stale hotcross buns. Many of the greatest cuisines of the world are born out of the peasant need to economise. What chance of my bread sauce becoming a classic?

NAGPUR: In an excellent example of reverse engineering accompanied with innovation, the department of applied physics at Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (VNIT) has developed a 'radiation resistant glass or RRG', opening the doors of self reliance for all atomic research centres which use this glass in the hot cell of their reactors.

There just aren’t enough opportunities in life to take full advantage of a window scrim. This handy item, incase you’ve no t come across it before, will give your windows a smear-free finish. It could be a handy implement in a house with three children, lots of windows, several mirrors and a glass panelled kitchen door. The mysteries of the scrim have been revealed to me via a catalogue dropped through the door encouraging me to recall that it’s the season for spring cleaning. Inside the catalogue, there’s a nifty static duster set (do they mean anti-static?) and a purple chenille mitt which might look quite fetching whilst scrubbing away. But, while cleanliness is close to godliness it is also, like beauty, all in the eye of the beholder. The catalogue, full of handy hints to create the image that I am indeed a domestic goddess, makes wonderful bedroom reading. “Darling, do you know you can clean baths with lemon juice?” is a comment sure to prevent insomnia.

Angler catches second perch over the magical 5lb barrier: A low-resistance set-up was key to Clive Logsdon’s capture of this enormous 5lb 1oz perch from record-holding venue Stream Valley Lakes. Steering clear of more conventional baits such as maggots and worms, the window cleaner from Kent offered a bright red legered king prawn that had been soaked in Dynamite Baits Predator Plus liquid to tempt his prize. Click picture to enlarge.

Bikers set for fuel protests: Bikers are planning their biggest-ever motorway protest against the increasing cost of fuel. Organisers want thousands of drivers to join a go-slow convoy along the M62. They are aiming to beat the turn-out two years ago when more than 1,500 bikers joined the first protest, causing huge delays to traffic. More than 400 also joined last year's ride held in July. Protest organiser 'Maverick' said this time they were turning out on a Saturday rather than a weekday, to minimise disruption. “A lot of us are self-employed so every penny makes a difference. Prices are slowly creeping back up again, while a barrel of crude oil is a third of the price cheaper than a year ago.”
Riders will meet at 9am on May 1 at Hartshead Moor Services before joining a second convoy at Birch Services. They plan to take up all lanes at speeds no greater than 25mph. The AA has said petrol prices could hit a record high of 128p per litre just after Easter with a wholesale rise and fuel duty increase set to hit motorists over the next few weeks. Maverick added: “We're doing it on a shopping day so people from all walks of life can come and air their grievances. “Prices are still so high and are affecting everyone. One of our lads is a self-employed window cleaner and for someone like him making a living is very difficult.

A former taxi driver who set up a window cleaning business has received funding after winning a Dragons’ Denstyle event. Paul Wallace won £2,500 for his business Wallace and Sons Cleaning Services, after taking part in the City of Sunderland College’s annual entrepreneurial event. Mr Wallace, who is in the final year of an HND business and management course at East Durham College, established his business in August, and will take it full time from May. He will use his prize money to buy equipment. Mr Wallace said: “I really enjoyed being a taxi driver, but the long and often unsociable hours meant I spent a lot of time away from home. Running my own business allows me to be more flexible and I’m getting a great sense of achievement. “I’m thrilled to have won the contest. “The new equipment is environmentally- friendly, so I won’t be using detergents or harsh chemicals.”

Faye Bossman, 54, died Monday, March 15, 2010, at the Iowa River Hospice House in Marshalltown, Iowa, after a 9-month battle with appendiceal cancer. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m., Monday, March 22, at the Center Street Baptist Church in Marshalltown. Burial will follow in the Woodlawn Cemetery at Toledo. In 1990, Faye and her husband began home schooling their three daughters, subsequently being blessed with the opportunity to provide 13 years of Christ centered instruction. Faye and her husband were also involved in a number of home business ventures, including custom woodworking and a window washing service.