Golf, Cheques, Wind & A Library For Window Cleaners In The News

Ever Wonder How Much It Costs to Clean All Those Library Windows? The Fountaindale Public Library has tons of window space. In fact, nearly the entire second and third floors are nothing but windows. Have you ever wondered how much it would cost to clean them?The library's board of trustees found out last week when they approved a measure to hire a window cleaning company to do the dirty work for them. The board will pay the Smudge Free Window and Cleaning Service, a Bolingbrook-based company, $3,460 annually to clean the hundreds of window in the new library. The company will clean the lower windows four times per year and clean the higher windows once per year. The measure was approved at last week's board meeting.

Wicked Winds Whip Through Borderland Sunday (EL PASO, Texas) - Winds whipped through El Paso Sunday afternoon and into the early evening. Construction crews working on the Coronado Tower in west El Paso left a window cleaning cart suspended about 4 feet off the ground. When the winds kicked up the cart began swinging and crashed into the building, breaking two of the windows. KFOX-14 spoke to the leasing company, who sent someone to secure the cart and board up the broken windows.

Pulex boab's at dawn: (l-r) Neville Hunter, Paul Lee, Club Pro Jason Laszkowicz, Rebecca Staley, Stuart Staley and Jason Kendrick are taking part in a charity golf day to raise money for Retts Syndrome in aid of Demi Turner, 2, who is Stuart's grand daughter. Picture: Andrew Roe.

Tot’s family want to raise ‘hole’ lot of cash: The family of a tot struck with a brain disorder are gearing up to get a charity challenge in full swing. Demi-Leigh Turner, aged two, has Rett Syndrome which has caused her to suffer from epilepsy and left her unable to walk. A group of keen golfers and window cleaners, including Demi-Leigh’s uncle Neville Hunter, of Poplar Road, Skellow, and her grandad Stuart Staley, of Charles Street, Skellow, have decided to do a sporting challenge which will see them play five rounds of golf on an 18-hole course in a day.

The dusk ‘til dawn challenge will take place on Tuesday at Owston Hall’s golf course and there will also be a raffle. The group want to raise around £1,000 which will be donated to the Rett Syndrome’s registered charity RettUK. Organiser and Demi-Leigh’s auntie, Becky Staley, 28, of Poplar Road, Skellow, said: “My niece is one of the youngest sufferers who was diagnosed before she was three-years-old but she’s still a happy, loving child. We are hoping to make that little bit of difference by providing money that could help to maybe one day find a cure.”

Cheque guarantee cards check out: It is the final weekend for the cheque card. Forty-one years after they were first introduced, they finally become defunct on Thursday, 30 June. No longer will you have to ask a tradesman to write your card number on the back of a cheque. No longer will there be a guarantee from the bank that the payment will be honoured. Many people are unhappy about the change, but the banks say such payments have almost died out anyway. They point out that the number of people using cheque cards has been falling for years. "In the last five years, the numbers have dropped off by 65%," says Jemma Smith, of UK Payments.
Cheques themselves will continue for at least another seven years, but without the backing of a guarantee. Last year, at least 95 million were written with a guarantee number on the back, although that was only about 7% of the total. Many people still rely on them for paying tradesmen, such as plumbers, carpenters, window-cleaners and electricians. For many of those tradesmen, the guarantee card is important for preventing fraud and making sure that they get paid. "Many people will write out a cheque, whether or not they've got money in the bank," says Charlie Mullins of Pimlico Plumbers. As a result, he fears his business will lose out when the guarantee system comes to an end. "No cheque card means cheques may not clear. It's going to be absolute chaos to do away with it," he says. 

The alternatives - Those people who need to use cheques are being advised to continue doing so. They will not disappear until 2018 at the earliest and that date may be changed in 2016. That means the banks have five years to come up with alternative payment methods. In the meantime, consumers can consider using debit or credit cards, paying on the internet, via mobile phones or using new contactless cards. In any case, cheques are falling in popularity. Whether that is because fewer places are accepting them, or because consumers prefer to use other payment methods, is hard to determine. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) insists it is the latter. They say that only one in 1,000 retail transactions now involves a cheque.

My Favorite Way To Clean Windows Is To Write A Check

The only thing missing from Mike Fantucci's bucket is Dawn and Joy detergent (back in the truck), both of which he typically adds to water to wash windows. One of his favorite tools is his large, natural sponge.

Don't Do Windows? These Experts Share Their Secrets: Are streak-free windows obtainable? Yes, say area homeowners and professional cleaners, who share their favorite ways to wash glass. Wow. There’s never a dull moment when it comes to the fine art of polishing glass! I found this out when I recently asked friends and acquaintances to share tips about their favorite ways to wash windows successfully. And there are as many cleaning tool suggestions – paper towel, rag, steel wool, microfiber cloth, newspaper, etc. – as there are windows in my house. After being queried about their washing ways, many laughed, saying their No. 1 tip is to call a professional.

“I have no hints,” said Kathie Ninneman, director of special events/volunteers for The Community House in Birmingham, “but would love to have some.”  Toni Grinnan of Bingham Farms is all about ease. “My favorite way to clean windows is to write a check,” the attorney said with a laugh. Priscilla Eggen of Pleasant Ridge agreed. "My favorite way to wash windows is to hire it done," said Eggen, a potter whose studio is in Ferndale. "Of course, I don't get them done very often." 

Others, like Barbara Deyo, talked about old family secrets. “My dad (William Deyo) swears by a mixture of vinegar and water in a spray bottle. You just spray and wipe it down with a cloth,” said Deyo, a beauty expert who owns Deyo for Face and Body in Birmingham. “He likes to follow up with a balled-up newspaper for polishing and then uses steel wool to remove small specs without scratching." The window and the steel wool must be dry for this step. Deyo warns not to use this technique on mirrors, though, or it will take off the finish.  “I’ve tried the vinegar or sudsy ammonia solution with newspapers and it’s stinky, but OK for outside windows,” said artist Fran Wolok of Bloomfield Township.

Professional window cleaner Mike Fantucci, owner of Royal Oak-based A Window Washing, shows how to zap pesky streaks. "I use lint-free towels that I buy, as well as natural sponges, which are not only great for glass but also help to pick up dirt and grime from screens," he said.

Professional window cleaner Mike Fantucci, owner of Royal Oak-based A Window Washing, won’t go anywhere without his favorite “women,”  Dawn and Joy. Seriously, he adds a little bit of Dawn or Joy dish detergent to water and then uses natural sponges to wipe down windows before finishing with  his trusty squeegee.

This glass guru, who cleans windows everywhere from Metro Detroit homes to Beaumont Hospital, Troy, has been washing glass for nearly 40 years and says he's never met a window he couldn’t clean. Sometimes he has to use a bit of trisodium phosphate or even oven cleaner for the grimiest of windows. “But we don’t see a lot of grime these days,” he noted. “People are living healthier lives and there’s not as much cigarette smoke build-up on windows now."

Mary Bester of Troy turns over the squeegee to her husband, Steve, owner of  Educated Garage Systems. “Steve always uses a squeegee, ammonia and water,” Bester said. “Me, I hate doing windows.” If she has to do them, Bester, a marketing specialist with Digitas, prefers using Sprayway: World’s Best Glass Cleaner (available at many ACE Hardware stores). “It’s ammonia-free and streakless. Plus the people of Sprayway support breast cancer research with a donation from the sale of every can.”

Abby Miller, a student at the International Academy in Bloomfield Hills, washes windows at her home in Troy. "I swear by Sprayway glass cleaner," she said.

Abby Miller, also of Troy, agreed with Bester. "Sprayway is the absolute best and the only thing we buy for window washing," said  Miller, a sophomore at International Academy in Bloomfield Hills. She often helps with window-cleaning around the house because  the product is "quick and dependable." As for paper towel or newspaper, it's a toss-up in the Miller household. "My dad uses newspaper," said Miller, "and I like paper towel."

Artist Laura Whitesides Host of Birmingham shared that her husband, Brad, learned from a professional window washer that his company, like Fantucci’s, mixes a tiny bit of lemon Joy dish detergent with a lot of water. “My cousin tried that and said it worked like a charm,” Host said.

The front door of the Miller home gets a rub-down with Abby Miller's favorite window cleaning agent, Sprayway. "And I like to use a paper towel," she said.

Second-story challenge: Beyond the challenge of creating or purchasing the perfect solution, it’s also difficult to get to the exterior of second-story windows, homeowners said. That’s where hoses come in extremely handy. Home Depot sells a Windex product for outdoor window cleaning that easily attaches onto a garden hose. Called Windex Outdoor Multi-Surface Concentrated Cleaner, it’s perfect for hard-to-reach windows. “You just screw the bottle onto your hose,” said Bill Young, an assistant store manager at the Commerce Township Home Depot. “The hose’s water spray mixes with the Windex solution and can reach up to second stories. You let the solution settle for a while and then go back later and spray with just water from your hose. It’s a great way to get dirt and grime off your windows.” He said customers like to use it on patio furniture as well.

Young also recommended Unger cleaning products that include squeegees, brushes and more. “Unger products are like those that a professional would use,” Young said. Indoors at his own home, Young prefers using a paper towel or reusable microfiber cloth. “Those types of cloths don’t leave a lint residue,” he said.

Picture Of The Day & Window Cleaning News

They do windows: David Nickelson of Modern Window Cleaning of Grand Rapids rappels the towering window structure of the Radisson Plaza Hotel at Kalamazoo Center as a crew washes the building's windows Tuesday morning. "You have to work very fast in the hot sun," says operations manager Bill Beck, "before the water evaporates." It will take 4 days to wash the entire Radisson Plaza Hotel at Kalamazoo Center, says Beck. Modern Window Cleaning has been in business since 1926.



Two Window Washers Rescued After Platform Malfunction High Above 53rd Street: Two window washers nearly fell 40 stories to their deaths after a platform malfunction on Wednesday. Two window washers were left dangling high over 53rd Street Wednesday morning after the platform they were working on malfunction and almost pitched them to the street below, the FDNY said. The two unidentified men were washing windows 42 stories up near the roof of 1301 Sixth Ave. around 10:30 a.m. when the incident occurred. One of the motors that lifts the platform up cables along side the building malfunctioned, causing the platform to tilt at a dangerous angle, fire officials said.
“We saw stuff falling. We saw the cart go sideways and then we got the hell out of there,” said Stacy White, 33, who was on her way to a conference at the Hilton Hotel across the street from the incident. While responders worked to rescue the men, bystanders continued to sip coffee at Lou's Cafe, oblivious to the drama taking place overhead. They were eventually moved away by police. Luckily the workers were strapped to the platform. One worker was able to grab a railing and pull himself to safety. Emergency responders were able to lift the other window washer off the platform, a fire official said. The fire department and NYPD responded to the scene and closed off 53rd Street as a safety precaution. No injuries have been reported. Over 50 onlookers watched from the street as the fire department attempted to secure the platform after the incident.

Student entrepreneurs gain support, experience and grants: Four local students will get to experience self-employment first hand this summer thanks to the 2010 Summer Company Program. Once again, the Orangeville & Area Small Business Enterprise Centre has teamed up with the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade to deliver this exciting initiative, which provides an opportunity for local youth to develop and run their own summer businesses while developing business related skills early in life. Steve’s Outdoor Maintenance - Orangeville based Steve Craggs is a high school student who is brimming with entrepreneurial skills and ideas. As the owner of Steve’s Outdoor Maintenance, his goal is to provide a variety of outside maintenance services to local homeowners. With the motto that no job is too small, Steve will provide power washing, window cleaning, minor yard work and clean-up, as well as general labour for a variety of household and property odd jobs that need doing. Hard working, honest and enthusiastic, Steve says Steve’s Outdoor Maintenance exists to do all those jobs that homeowners just don’t have time to complete.


Would you clean the windows in here? WACO - A unit at the Window Box Condominiums on Lakeshore Drive in Waco was cleaned up after accumulating thirty years worth of trash. Originally neighbors were upset at the disgusting mess in the unit and wanted to see something done about it. Wednesday, they got what they wanted. A cleaning crew hired by the condo complex board showed up at 7 a.m. Wednesday and started removing the rubbish. "No more bugs, rodents, I'm happy something got done," Charles Fritze, who lives in the condo below, said.
Fritze had been living below the trash heap for three years, but he didn't know that until the condo owner offered to sell him the place 3 months ago. By 4 p.m. the crew had stuffed around 100 trash bags, 2 tons worth, and they expected two more loads with half of the 1,100 sq foot condo still to clean. "I thought who could live like this," Travis Bryant, cleaning crew member, said. News Channel 25 was told a possible buyer for the condo has offered the former owner, who has since moved out, $40,000 for it and expects to spend another $20,000 gutting it.

The year-long countdown starts today (30th June 2010) to the closure of the UK Domestic Cheque Guarantee Card Scheme.This means that after 30th June 2011, it will no longer be possible to guarantee a cheque using a plastic card. To help businesses and consumers, the Scheme has today published two fact sheets available here.
Alternatives to guaranteed cheques: Debit cards - 92% of cards carrying the guarantee are also debit cards. About a million businesses accept card payments and know that they should get their funds much quicker than if they accept a cheque.
Cheques - the withdrawal of the Guarantee does not mean you can't pay by cheque or that a business can't accept one. Since 2007 cheque funds have been guaranteed* after a cut-off point which means that a cheque won't bounce - providing the recipient isn't a knowing party to a fraud - and it's safe to hand over goods and services.
Electronic transfer - paying someone online or over the phone. Since the launch of Faster Payments in 2008 it has been possible to pay someone almost instantaneously, 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Unlike a cheque, businesses don't have to wait several days to get their money: you can pay anybody from your window cleaner to someone with a stall at a craft fair in this way.
Cash - cash will always have a place, about a third of all retail spending is still in cash.

NHS-funded fertility tests are being denied to a woman who wants children, because her health trust is one of just three in the country not to pay for the treatment. Tracey Parnell cannot have the test on the NHS because she lives in Kidsgrove and NHS North Staffordshire will not pay for fertility tests and treatments. The married 35-year-old needs an ultrasound scan which costs between £200 and £300 for private treatment. But her trust will not pay for the scan, so her GP at Kidsgrove Medical Centre has organised for a blood test to look at hormone levels.
Tracey would receive the tests on the NHS if she lived in Stoke-on-Trent, or South Cheshire. Now health campaigners and politicians have again asked NHS North Staffordshire to change its fertility policy. Tracey, who has been trying for a child for more than eight years, said: "I am not asking for IVF treatment – I only want to find out why I can't conceive so I can try something else.
And she has spent more than four years trying to conceive with husband Martin, who she married in September 2008. The support worker, who works with autistic young adults, said: "I phoned the health trust about the fertility tests and it said there was no funding. "I cannot understand why people get help for alcohol and drugs and things that are self-inflicted. "I work full-time and put into the system, so why should I not get it back when I need it?" Self-employed window cleaner Martin, aged 37, said: "If I was fat and wanted a gastric band fitted they would fund it, but all we want to know is if Tracey can have a child."

That Window Cleaners Book: International Film Festival about a girl’s search for the right man to take her virginity, Sean Wickens, 34, now of Sunnyside, ended up making himself an unusual dare. “At an after-party for the screening I asked a few strangers how they lost [their virginity] and was amazed how candid everyone was,” Wickens said in an e-mail. Afterward, he set himself up for what he called an “unattainable” goal: to interview more than 1,000 people about their first time. Three years of interviewing and three years of editing later, he had a book, “How to Lose Your Virginity (... And How Not To),” which is now on sale.
The stories in the book run the gamut from sweet to strange. The excerpts on Wickens’ website include a man from Florida who lost it watching “As Good As it Gets” in a movie theater, another who lost it to a porn star he met on his paper route in Japan and another man who lost it in a squat in London, only to meet up with a former classmate the next morning who had also lost her virginity that night in the house. To get those and many other interviews, Wickens traveled to 34 cities across the United States plus Montreal. He said the interview process took so long because Wickens — who moved from Cleveland to New York in 2004 and now currently works as a window-washer in Manhattan and a stand-up comedian — had to raise the money himself.
“I had thought about asking friends and family for donations or applying for grants but determined energy spent on fund-raising would be best channeled into the project itself,” Wickens said. “I also worked at a place that would let you work extra hours in exchange for vacation time, so I did a lot of that.” Wickens said he picked many of the cities — Montreal; Nashville; Roswell, N.M.; Austin; and New Orleans — because he had wanted to see them in the past or, had family in areas like Wichita, Kan. and Tulsa, Okla. Other times he went to a place because it coincided with a major event, like visiting Boston for the 2004 Democratic National Convention.
“It was a lot of fun driving around and interviewing people,” Wickens said. “And collecting stories for the book gave me a drive and a purpose on these trips that in a way made them more enjoyable than if I were aimlessly driving around America.” Wickens said his favorite story was about a girl from Tennessee who lost her virginity working on a salmon boat. “She ends up having her first experience with the boat’s cook, but she told her story with such nostalgia and epic detail I was speechless when she was done telling it,” he said. There are some funny ones he liked as well. “A guy stole his brother’s car for a date and while the two were fumbling around in the passenger seat his foot snagged an A/C hose, covering him in freezing water,” Wickens said. Wickens laid out the book himself and a photographer, Emily Bryan, took some pictures for it. “[Bryan] told me she keeps it on her coffee table and finds that friends she brings over, without fail, gravitate toward the book and start flipping through and reading random stories,” Wickens said. Previous story here.

NEWPORT, Ky. Three local fire departments joined forces Wednesday to refine the skills they need to keep your family safe. Crews from Covington, Newport and Cincinnati fire departments worked cooperatively for aerial rescue practice over the Ohio River. The crews practiced high angle rescue skills while rappelling up and down the Purple People Bridge. They said it helped them get familiar with each other in case they need to work together. "This is a resource sharing concept. Where today we are just doing an introduction to each department as well of the individual capabilities of each of the departments," explained Cincinnati Fire Dept. Capt. Michael Washington. "We assemble a crew that rappels down and picks you off of whatever structure you're on. And that's the safest way to do it," said Covington Fire Batt. Chief Alan Terry. The crews need the practice in case a skyscraper window washer needs rescued, or someone gets trapped in a high place that a ladder cannot reach. "We try to do something on a monthly basis to do some type of rope rescue or high angle rescue review, but large drills like this… once a year twice a year," said Terry.

Falling glass scare: Pedestrians on Pinstone Street had a lucky escape when a glass pane fell four storeys from an office window frame in Palatine Chambers and smashed on to the pavement.
The council, which rents the accommodation, immediately checked all windows in the building, opposite the Peace Gardens, after the incident mid-morning on Tuesday. A passer-by said: "It was amazing nobody was hurt – there were a lot of people around."

Saint Augustine wrote: "Miracles are not contrary to nature, but only contrary to what we know about nature." A phenomena within health care, often applied when no rational scientific explanation can be given, preexists medicine itself. Be it via the Internet, urban legends or contemporary television and cinema, we have all marveled at the thought of the teen who lived 118 days without a heart, or the paraplegic man who was once again able to walk after being bitten by a brown recluse spider, or the window washer who fell 47 stories and awoke from his coma on Christmas Day. Sometimes, medical degree or no, the only way to explain the reasoning behind such patient outcomes is to use that often overburdened word -- miracle.

TV Preview UK: The IT Crowd – Fridays, Channel 4, 10pm - CHANNEL 4’s BAFTA award-winning sitcom, the IT Crowd returns to our screens for a fifth series. It follows the inner workings of an office IT department and the computer geeks that work there. Written by Father Ted’s Graham Linehan, it focuses on the personal and professional problems of Moss, Roy and Jen, who are based in the bowels of the Reynhold Industries building. Moss and Roy are both social misfit while Jen, their boss told a few lies on her CV and has no idea about IT. In this week’s episode, Moss becomes a celebrity by beating all records on a game show. Meanwhile, Roy is mistaken for a window cleaner, and Jen is preoccupied with the head of the company, Douglas’ secret meetings with women in dressing gowns.

61 Years A Window Cleaner + Other News

Arthur's 61 years of window cleaning: Window cleaner Arthur Thornton has put away his chamois leather and bucket after more than 60 years in the job. The 84-year-old, who started out cleaning windows after leaving the Navy when he was 23, celebrated his retirement with family, friends and customers at a party last week at Changes Cafe in Prenton last Tuesday. He started with brother Freddie. But Freddie’s Ill-health forced Arthur to carry on by himself and for the next 48 years he went on to work across Merseyside. For the last few years he has concentrated on cleaning the windows of businesses in Woodchurch Road, Prenton. He retired last month.
On his retirement Arthur, who is originally from the Kirkdale area of Liverpool but now lives with his wife of 53 years, Rita, at their home in Tranmere, told the Globe that he would miss the job. He said: "I've very much enjoyed doing it, and I'm going to miss the people I've cleaned windows for. "Sometimes when I'm by myself I have a little cry, because I know I won’t be doing the round anymore. But life's been very good to me." He started off with a bike, then got a motorbike and side-car to carry his cleaning equipment around in. The father-of-two's nephew Paul has now taken over the round. Arthur is also a steward at Tranmere Rovers Football Club on matchdays and plans to take a holiday in Llandudno.
Jan Gill, owner of Changes cafe in Woodchurch Road, where the party was held, said: "Every Sunday morning he brightens up everybody’s day and used to clear the tables for us when we were busy. He is a lovely man and I’m going to miss him." Jilly Jones, an adminsitration clerk for nearby Clive Watkin Partners Estate Agents added: "I've worked here for four years and known him throughout that time. He will be much-missed and it must be very strange to give up work after 61 years in the same job."

A Nelson man has died after a motorcycle accident at Golden Downs, south of Wakefield. Mark William Herron, 38, died in Nelson Hospital yesterday after his life support was turned off last week. Detective Senior Sergeant Wayne McCoy said no- one would be charged in relation to the accident and Mr Herron's death had been referred to the coroner. Mr McCoy previously said Mr Herron travelled down the hill and was on the wrong side of the road when he crashed into a ute on Stock Rd on May 22. Mr Herron suffered head and internal injuries in the crash and was flown to Nelson Hospital by the Summit Rescue Helicopter. Dennis Noland, of Nelson Window Cleaning, said Mr Herron had worked in a supervisory role at the business for more than two years. Mr Noland had worked with Mr Herron for six months after his wife bought the business. Mr Herron would be missed. "He was loved by a lot of people; he got on well with everyone." Mr Herron loved his bike and was normally very careful when he rode, Mr Noland said.

Consumers take aim at debt collectors via federal lawsuits: When Vicki Higgins (pictured) saw a strange name on her business phone's caller ID in 2008, she didn't know that Patenaude & Felix law firm would become an unwelcome part of her life. The Export resident filed a federal lawsuit May 6 in the hopes of ending the relationship. Patenaude & Felix, through its local agent, Carnegie lawyer Gregg Morris, tried to collect $5,685.94 plus interest on a Target credit card Higgins never had. Early in the dispute, she called Target and talked to a representative who confirmed that the account with the same name as hers had an Ohio address and different birth date and Social Security number. That didn't stop the retailer from suing Higgins in Westmoreland County Court to collect. Higgins hired a lawyer. After he demanded Morris prove she was the account holder, Morris had the Westmoreland County court dismiss his lawsuit Sept. 2. Higgins said the series of phone calls, form letters and then Morris' lawsuit in Westmoreland County Court came at the worst time. Her late father had terminal lung cancer and was living with her, diverting time she could spend with her husband, two sons, granddaughter and her window cleaning and landscaping business.

Cheque campaign petition gets 12,000 signatures: Twelve thousand people have signed up to a petition to save the cheque book. Campaigners for the elderly are trying to gather more than 15,000 signatures to ensure a council debate on the demise of cheques. They fear many people, especially older members of the community will be unfairly discriminated against if cheques disappear as they do not use the internet and getting to the bank is difficult. They also fear the elderly are likely to keep more cash at home – leaving them vulnerable to theft. "Both young and elderly find cheques useful when sending money to grandchildren or relatives, or when paying the window cleaner, gardener or the babysitter.

Why are some people highly successful in life, while others just get by? Authors Jeff Brown and Mark Fenske say the difference between the high-achieving and the merely average is due not to IQs, life circumstances, financial resources, social connections or luck but to the workings of the brain. In "The Winner's Brain," Brown, a Harvard cognitive-behavioral psychologist, and Fenske, a neuroscientist, present evidence showing that the brains of the high-achieving operate differently from those of the average person. Brain scans measuring neutral activity show these processes at work, they say. They also write about a very focused high-rise window washer, London cabbies who have enlarged their hippocampuses by memorizing city routes and the Central Park Jogger, who pushed herself to recover lost motor skills and become a motivational speaker after she was attacked and left for dead in 1989.

Sisters fight for justice: The family’s nightmare began on October 18, 2008, when Chris, a 39-year-old father of one from Chadsmoor in Cannock, decided to go out for the evening with a couple of friends. It was just after midnight when he was crossing the bridge in Market Street, Hednesford, when 20-year-old window cleaner Ashley Lunn, of Sandpiper Close, Hednesford, crashed into him. At Lunn’s court case at Stafford the jury was told that Lunn had been beaten up by a group of young people earlier that night. Bent on revenge, he returned to find them and mounted the pavement in his Volkswagen Golf GTI. But it was innocent bystander Chris who bore the brunt of Lunn’s anger. Lunn was jailed for 14 years after being convicted of manslaughter – but that was reduced to 11 on appeal. He is likely to get out in just five-and-a-half years.

From window cleaner to one of Russia's richest men, Alfa Group founder Mikhail Fridman has always set his sights high. And now it appears his telecoms dream may come true. Of the original oligarchs who rose to prominence under Boris Yeltsin, Alfa Group founder Fridman is one of only two still in the game. He set his heart on telecommunications early on, and in April he cleared away the last obstacle to fulfilling his dream: to create a "Vodafone of the East". "Fridman always made it clear that everything in the group was for sale – but not the phone business," says a former Alfa Group executive (who didn't want to be named) talking about the group's strategy. Fridman's chubby figure and jolly demeanour is deceptive – in business he can be ruthless. And trouble has tended to follow in the wake of many of Alfa's purchases in the telecom sector.

Fish Window Cleaning Opens First Franchise in New Mexico: Robert and Sonia Chancey have opened New Mexico’s first Fish Window Cleaning® office at 3700 Osuna Rd. NE, Suite 603. The Chanceys previously opened the first Molly Maid franchise in New Mexico in 2005, and it is now the largest residential cleaning service in the state. Robert Chancey said they were opening the new business because, “We have seen the need for a window cleaning company… (and) received several requests for this service.” Chancey is a graduate of New Mexico State University where he received a B.S.B.A. Before becoming an entrepreneur, he served six years in the U.S. Navy as a sonar electronics technician. He also held sales and management positions with Radio Shack and Shell Oil Company.
In preparation for running the new business, Chancey and his operations manager, Paul Duran, completed four weeks of pre-training work and an eight-day training program at Fish Window Cleaning headquarters in St. Louis, Mo. Fish Window Cleaning has over 220 locations in the United States and is the largest window cleaning company in the world. The organization is ranked 182nd on the Entrepreneur Magazine Franchise 500, 19th for financial health on the AllBusiness AllStar Franchise 300, and received the Franchise Business Review’s 2010 Franchise Satisfaction Award for placing 43rd among the top 50 large system franchise organizations.

Psychologist Suzi Cresswell scores a hit with Jade Fry Private Eye book: The latest page-turner is called 'Jade Fry, Private Eye: The Summer Fete Robberies', and has just been published. It is aimed at eight to 12-year-old girls who would normally be classed as reluctant readers. They can follow the inquisitive youngster as she tries to find out who gnabbed a valuable pearl necklace, a crime that creates uproar in the village. Suspects include a window cleaner, the new stable lad, and radio DJ Eddie Hotspur.

Biking culture gets a makeover: At a Dutch Bike shop, you can forget about spandex, helmets, pedal clips or any of the other typical biking paraphernalia. The Seattle, Washington-based retailer wants to take customers - mostly baby boomers - back to the carefree days of childhood, when riding a bike was full of whimsy. "People think that this is messing with the paradigm of biking," said company founder David Schmidt, 39, a self-proclaimed nonconformist who previously owned a window-cleaning business where he regularly repelled off the side of commercial buildings like Seattle's Space Needle. "The bike culture is almost its own little group." By Schmidt's accounts, it's an unfriendly world filled with attitude and disdain. His company, which operates stores in Seattle and Chicago, is offering a non-intimidating alternative to lure the relaxed crowd. Customers are encouraged to come into the shop to just hang out, often with a complimentary glass of beer. Many are well-heeled and of a certain age, with pocketbooks fat enough to afford price tags of up to $3,000.

Window Cleaning News

Tomorrow the IWCA opens it's doors in Reno for another convention. If you want to play to win, put your money on the International Window Cleaning Association. This year, the IWCA Annual Convention is headed back to Reno, NV and when the stakes are high, Reno is where YOU and your products or services need to be! The last time the IWCA convention was held in Reno, it was one of the highest attended events we’ve had in the past 20 years!. And, this year should be no exception. Window cleaners from across the nation are already generating a lot of excitement for this event and they will be looking for you while they are there, Jan. 27– 30 for the 2010 IWCA Annual Convention &Trade Show.

Window Cleaning at Height Weather Monitoring: Many high-rise buildings monitor local meteorological conditions as an aid to determine whether conditions are safe to use cradles while cleaning windows and other working at height applications. To help provide accurate local weather information, Health and Safety managers from a prestigious company in Canary Wharf have recently invested in and installed two automatic weather stations at two different roof levels. Prior to installing the weather stations, the decision on whether or not to use external cradles relied solely on hand held Anemometers which did not provide sufficiently accurate results. Readings tended to rely too much on where the reading was taken from which did not take into consideration how weather circulated around the building. The hand-held equipment also only took a snapshot recording of the moment it was used and did not take into consideration actual weather patterns or trends.


Small-businessman John Browne says a near-fatal bout with cancer five years ago was probably the best thing that could have happened to him. During months of chemotherapy following successful surgery to remove aggressive cancer that threatened his liver, Browne researched his dream of starting his own business. Now, Prestige Unlimited Services, a full-service residential and commercial cleaning service that Browne operates from his home, employs half a dozen people. He doesn't disclose sales but says his business has more than doubled every year. Last year Prestige was recognized by the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber as one of its "10 under 10" small businesses. All the honorees were less than 10 years old and employed fewer than 10 workers. "I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, and I am thankful to have had cancer, and also thankful to have been cured," says Browne, 41, a native of Colerain Township.
Browne was 10 years into a high-pressure middle-management job in facilities management at AK Steel in Middletown when he was stunned to learn he had cancer. Diagnosed with testicular cancer during a routine examination, his physician was so concerned about the disease's spread that he scheduled surgery that night. Because of his background in facilities maintenance, Browne looked at options including a cleaning franchise, but rejected it. "I wanted to say I legitimately built the business on my own, and wasn't living off somebody else's idea," he says. Starting with one carpet cleaning machine in 2004 after leaving AK Steel, Browne began marketing his cleaning business by word of mouth to friends and family. The company's motto is: "If you dirty it, we clean it."
A military veteran, Browne says, "One thing you learn in the Navy is how to strip and wax floors." So Prestige began adding commercial as well as residential accounts. Browne added air duct and chimney cleaning, window cleaning, tile and grout cleaning and emergency water removal. Costs vary depending on the square footage and service involved; residential carpet cleaning starts at $150. Early on Browne joined the regional chamber, which led to membership on the CEO Roundtable, an informal forum where executives can share and critique ideas. Prestige is one of the smallest companies in the CEO Roundtable. "I'm the CEO and janitor at my company and everything in between," Browne says. He adds that the insights and friendships he's developed in the monthly meetings have been invaluable. The janitorial business is crowded with large national chains and fly-by-night operators, but Browne says the business boils down to delivering on commitments. "We have to deliver a clean product. If we don't, we won't eat tomorrow," he says. Browne says he wants to continue to grow Prestige Unlimited, but doesn't have a complex business plan. "I just try to use common sense," he says.

ROCKFORD — When city leaders huddle Saturday for a marathon budget session at City Hall, the topic of outsourcing — the practice of hiring private businesses to provide city services at a lower cost — is expected to dominate the conversation. The city outsources work in nearly 30 categories from snowplowing and garbage collection to information technology and window washing. In some cases, entire services are contracted out. In others, it’s a portion of the work.

Mum's shock over thieves at cemetery: A grieving mum has slammed thieves who stole flowers from her son's grave as "sick". Elaine Clark was left horrified when she visited Harton Cemetery in South Shields to find a floral tribute left for her son Graham had disappeared. It had been placed at the grave by his older brother Christopher, 26, over Christmas. Mr Clark died on June 4, 2008, days after accidentally falling from a ladder as he was window cleaning in the Laygate area of South Shields. For almost a week the 21-year-old devoted father-of-two from Tyne Dock fought for life in hospital, but his family eventually had to make the painful decision to switch off his life support machine, after he failed to respond to medical tests. This is the third time since Mr Clark was laid to rest that his grave has been hit by thieves who have stolen tributes left in his memory.

The weather has been brutal, an endless stretch of days with temperatures in the teens. But this day couldn't be better with sunshine and a thermometer's red dot reaching 38. A father's passion hooked a son. Kevin Kram is a third-generation window cleaner specializing in high-rise buildings like Bausch & Lomb. It is stressful work. Dangerous. That makes the cost of fly fishing tackle, like the fine $1,350 Sage rod and reel combo in his hands, affordable therapy. Fishing has been his window into nature. Thanks to great form honed over many years, the 5-foot 2½-inch Kram is a giant among fly rodders, able to apply the muscle memory training he used as a champion skeet shooter at RIT into each cast.

A security worker in downtown Minneapolis, Bullard has been an active member of SEIU Local 26 for six years, president of the local’s Black caucus for two years, and a member of the Local 26 executive board for five years. The union represents over 5,000 janitors, security officers and window cleaners in the Twin Cities; Bullard believes over two-thirds of these workers are Black. “We also just picked up laundry workers,” he adds. Janitors' union sets strike authorization vote: SEIU Local 26 — Minnesota’s Property Services Union, which represents security officers and window cleaners in addition to janitors — had arranged for two additional weeks of negotiations at the end of last year, pushing the final deadline for a new contract to Jan. 8. That deadline came and went, with both sides no closer to an agreement.

Local small business owner and former County Commission candidate Don Marsh has filed to run for mayor of Gainesville. Marsh, who was not available for an interview on Thursday or Friday, was a Republican candidate for County Commission in 2002. He gained 34 percent of the votes cast in a race won by Cynthia Chestnut. In that election, Marsh took aim at the county's Comprehensive Plan, saying it hindered development and was restrictive on property owners. Marsh also runs the Web site http://alachuavoterguide.com, which tracks local elections and the political landscape and allows candidates a firsthand forum to voice opinions on the issues. In a message posted on his Web site, Marsh stated that he has wavered on whether or not to run since last fall, when he said he would not seek the office of mayor. He said those who might think he is the Brett Favre of local politics - a reference to the National Football League quarterback who has retired and returned to play multiple times - should remember how well Favre is doing now. Favre led the Minnesota Vikings into the National Football Conference championship game on Sunday. Marsh also indicated on his Web site that he supports another Wal-Mart Supercenter in Gainesville and opposes a new GRU biomass powerplant due to his skepticism of the science behind global warming. Marsh is a longtime local small business owner. He owns and operates Marsh Window Cleaning.

OAP says cheques should not be phased out: An avenues pensioner who says the phasing out of cheques will disproportionately hit the elderly and the handicapped, is urging people to join her and petition East Devon MP Hugo Swire and the treasury. Yvonne Wardrop, of Douglas Avenue, says she can fully 'understand the economic argument' for stopping the use of cheques as payment. But she added, like the closing of smaller Post offices, it was yet another example of banks, institutions, businesses and the Government failing to consider the knock-on effects of policy decisions. She said: "They affect the elderly and the handicapped. This section of society is dependent upon people coming to their homes to provide service or to deliver at the door and the choice of payment is either cash or cheque. "I am thinking of the home cleaner, the gardener and the window cleaner. All of who are usually small business people."She said there were already problems for the housebound in getting cash to pay for services while some elderly or vulnerable people do not like keeping cash in their homes. She added: "The drive towards a total cash-less society using electronic money transfers excludes a substantial and vulnerable section of society.

Cleaning the gutters and windows can be a tricky and dangerous task best left to professionals. However, clearing debris from gutters is mandatory to prevent water from leaking onto the roof and into one's home, causing major damage to walls and ceilings or rotting the roof and eaves. Randy Mills owns and operates Pioneer Services in Sunnyvale and offers professional window, gutter and skylight cleaning to homeowners in Silicon Valley. Mills suggests cleaning the gutters once a year if trees or other greenery are present near one's house. Citing that approximately half a million homeowners are hurt on ladders each year, Mills advises using a ladder stand-off to lean the ladder against the roof without touching the gutters or creating a precarious situation where the ladder can slide off. Two smart investments are screens to place in the gutter downspouts to prevent them from clogging, Mills said, and gutter covers, which go over the top of or inside gutters to prevent leaves from falling in them. "If homeowners determine they want gutter covers, they need to make sure they get the right cover for the job," he said. "A professional should determine the gutter cover type a home requires." An expert at double-pane window cleaning and repair, Mills said a leading mistake homeowners make with windows is failing to paint and caulk them properly, reducing the windows' ability to properly insulate. Mills suggests inspecting windows, doors with windows, and window and door screens each year, looking for holes in the screen and rotting or poor caulking. While cleaning windows is not a necessity but more of a luxury, he said, it does add to the appearance of one's home.

Government data on where our money goes? The founder of the web, Tim Berners-Lee, is today unveiling a new website, data.gov.uk, which promises to get more public sector data into the public domain. For Boris Johnson the transparency has brought some problems - one of his Deputy Mayors had to resign over expenses claims. Last week it was queried why City Hall spends £13,314.11 in a single month on window cleaning.

FORTUNA - Reaching for Independence, a locally operated, customized employment service for adults with developmental disabilities, has launched a new errand service called Errands Unlimited. This service provides “time-challenged” individuals and businesses with services such as pickup or delivery of packages, documents, groceries, gifts, prescriptions, medical supplies, floral arrangements, animal medicines and supplies, movie and video game rentals and more for a nominal fee. Additional work services provided by Reaching for Independence include power washing, commercial vehicle and window washing.

Don't give up the day job - how artists make a living: Right now, the economic climate for artists in this country looks particularly bleak. There's the innate financial instability of most artistic careers (low earnings, and sometimes none at all; little job security; no pension or other benefits), together with the recession. Then there's the fact that – unlike some European and Scandinavian countries – the British government makes no specific social provision for artists, unless through the publicly funded regional arts councils. But in this country, for artists without a lucky early break, rich parents or ­benefactors, a day job is often the only way to survive. It needn't mean that fame and fortune aren't just around the corner. Van Morrison immortalised his old job as a window cleaner in the 1982 song Cleaning Windows.

Spirit of 1970 can bring Iron cup glory: Don Welbourne, now 60, was part of the Iron team that dumped First Division Sheffield Wednesday out of the competition at Hillsborough, in January 1970. A young, Fourth Division United side upset the odds that day to record a 2-1 win over their top flight opponents. Welbourne, who now earns a living as a window cleaner, was just 20 years old when he played at Hillsborough in what was the big shock of round four, 40 years ago. "Nobody really expected us to go there and win," Welbourne confessed.

Australian Open 2010: Hewitt was never a contender here, however much that pains a home nation still looking for the first men's singles champion since Mark Edmondson, who was then a part-time window cleaner, put down his bucket and sponge and won the 1976 tournament.