Missing Window Cleaner Found

Missing Newport man found safe and well: The four week search for a missing Newport man concluded this afternoon, when he was found safe and well. John Barrington, a part-time window cleaner of St Julians, Newport, was reported missing after he failed to meet a friend on April 30. Friends and family of 42-year-old John Barrington held a fundraising event on Saturday to subsidise the cost of their search. Previous blog on this story here.

Help find John Barrington event 22 May 2011.

Missing Window Cleaner Sparks FaceBook Appeal

MISSING: John Barrington

Search for missing Newport window cleaner widens: More than 1,000 people have now joined the Facebook group to help find Newport missing man John Barrington as his family say they have been “overwhelmed” by the public support. The Argus reported last week how Mr Barrington, 42, of Worcester Crescent, St Julians, was last seen on April 30 when he was due to meet best friend Lawson Richards to go on a day trip to Weston-Super-Mare but didn’t turn up.

With no word from him since, family and friends launched a public campaign to find him including putting up hundreds of posters in the area and setting up a Facebook group named ‘Help find John Barrington, Newport’. The group, which was set up just over a week ago, now has more than 1,000 members who are offering their help and support in the campaign. Mr Barrington’s sister Andrea said friends were also now planning on holding a charity fundraising event this weekend to raise funds for the campaign.

The details are yet to be finalised. She said: “The support we have had in the campaign has been overwhelming and people have been marvellous. We are still hopeful John is somewhere out there.”

Miss Barrington said friends had also been travelling to places like Bristol and Weston-Super-Mare, where Mr Barrington often visited, to put up posters and search for him.

Mr Barrington, a part-time window cleaner, is described as six feet tall and of a slim build with short brown hair. He was last seen wearing blue jeans, a royal blue jacket with white stripes, a blue top and trainers. He has a tattoo of Batman on his upper right arm and one of Mickey Mouse on his upper left arm. Anyone with any information is asked to call Gwent Police on 01633 838111.

Window Cleaning News

Fall from height warning given by former window cleaner: A former West Midlands window cleaner who broke his hip and wrist when he fell from a ladder has added his weight to the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) efforts to eliminate workplace injuries. Ken Bradley, 63, was cleaning the windows of a house in Dudley in July 2006 when the ladder slipped and he fell. "I felt the ladder slip from under me and I grabbed a window to try and stop myself from falling. But I couldn’t reach. I don’t really remember much after that until I woke up in hospital but I do know I was lucky to escape with the injuries I got," he said. Brian Martin, HSE inspector, said that Mr Bradley's accident shows that any fall from height can have devastating consequences. The HSE recently re-launched its slips, trips and falls campaign, which aims to make people aware of the risks of working at height, among other workplace dangers.

Police in the Driffield area are urging possible victims to come forward after police arrested a man for fraud by false representation. Police have arrested a 27-year-old Driffield man in connection with a number of alleged offences. It is alleged a man knocked on several doors in the Driffield area on Thursday 04 February between 1545hrs and 1630hrs, claiming to be the residents' window cleaner and asking for payment. It is alleged some home owners paid the man a sum of money, whilst others became suspicious and refused to pay the man. The 27-year-old man has been released on police bail, pending further enquiries, until a date in February. PC Simon Marshall said: "We have had many victims coming forward with regards to a man alleging to be their window cleaner.

Missing man found: A 33 year old man who had been missing for two weeks has been found safe and well. Police appealed for help in tracing window cleaner Alexander Wileman after he went missing from his home in Albermarle Drive, Wantage, on Wednesday, February 3. Police spokesman Daniel Donovan said Mr Wileman was found safe and well at Victoria Station in London at about 11am today. He is currently being driven to an Oxfordshire police station. Members of the public were thanked for their assistance in trying to find Mr Wileman.

Frost-bound building firms get cash help: Building groups, gardening companies and window washing firms can claim government help to pay workers who have been left without anything to do because of the long period of frost. Social affairs minister Piet Hein Donner has agreed that companies which have been affected by the wintry weather can apply for temporary unemployment benefit (ww) for staff for February and March. Some 400 claims have already been made and thousands are expected, the Financieele Dagblad reports.

Bus riders now shivering on the curb at Fifth Avenue and State Street in downtown La Crosse could have been using a heated transit center blocks away — had its construction gone as planned. But passengers and city officials who’ve waited more than 15 years for the transit center will wait at least another eight months. The Grand River Station, bid for about $21.6 million, is about eight months behind schedule and $2 million over budget, though still within the contingencies for the project. The project has had 24 change orders to date, some small — such as $2,000 for sprinkler revisions or an additional fire valve hose — and some pricier, such as $109,000 to install window washing equipment. Many of those, Hutchens said, are the result of incomplete architectural information from the start.

A Turkish investor has brought the basic ‘Roomba’ model of US company iRobot to the market, selling 500 units in only 45 days. Ali Tan Şerbetçi says the company plans to sell its products in the Middle East through Turkey. iRobot, a United States-based company with a 75 percent market share in the global home robots market, has entered Turkey with its “Roomba” model. The robot, reminiscent of a Frisbee, has a diameter of 30 centimeters and a height of eight centimeters. The robot is able to calculate the layout of a given area and clean it without human intervention. The 'Roomba' reminiscent of a Frisbee, has a diameter of 30 centimeters and a height of eight centimeters. The “Scooba” model, which uses water and detergent, will be on the Turkish market in April and will sell for 1,200 liras. “Scooba was designed for working couples, families with children, those who have pets, elderly people and the disabled,” Şerbetçi said. “It brushes and washes an area of 80 square meters and completes its cleaning without touching carpets and the like.” After Scooba, the company plans to introduce window cleaning and security robots to the market.

Ultra-thin glass coating for buildings on the way to UK: German company says new product is green and suitable for almost any surface. An ultra-thin coating is being promoted as the next big thing for protecting the surfaces of everything from hospital equipment to buildings. Called Liquid Glass, the flexible and breathable glass coating is being marketed by its German maker Nanopool as a coating for wood, stone, fibre, plastic and glass and ceramics.
The coating is approximately 100 nanometres thick (500 times thinner than a human hair), and according to the manufacturer it is food safe, environmentally friendly and can be applied to almost any surface. The coating leaves surfaces easy to clean and anti-microbially protected. Neil McClelland, UK project manager for Nanopool explained some of the principles behind the product, saying, "In essence, we extract molecules of SiO2 [silicon dioxide] (the primary constituent of glass) from quartz sand, and then we add the molecules to water or ethanol." Liquid Glass is on the market in Germany and will soon be available in the UK. It has already been trialled for the protection of monuments in Turkey, including the Ataturk Mausoleum in Ankara.

A plane crashed into a Northwest Austin building that houses federal offices about 10 this morning, injuring several people and sparking a fire that sent plumes of smoke into the air that could be seen for miles. A Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said the crash, at the Echelon 1 building in the 9400 block of Research Boulevard, was “apparently a criminal act.” Austin Fire Department Division Chief Dawn Clopton said that the FBI would be taking over the investigation. Joe Williams, co-founder of the company, and Cynthia Reed, her boss, ran to a nearby truck with window washing equipment and ladders. “By some miracle there was a truck that was for cleaning windows and there were ladders,” Olivarez said. “They were putting ladders up against the building trying to get people out,” Olivarez said. “It looked as if they couldn’t get out, like both the floors were on fire. There was smoke protruding out of all the windows. It probably took about four minutes for the entire parking lot to be filled with smoke.”
They began to get out people until fire trucks showed up with their own ladders, she said.

Window Cleaner Knew: A second long-running business in Birmingham’s Brindleyplace has been refused a lease renewal amid claims the landlord could damage the long-term success of the district. Spiritual health shop Zen is the latest tenant to be turned down by the British Airways Pension Fund after hair salon Umberto Giannini was told it too would have to leave. They claimed they were the last to know and even a local window cleaner was aware plans were afoot to “kick all the smaller people out”.

In celebration of Black History Month, University of Rhode Island students and faculty attended the Black Inventors Exhibit on Tuesday, to pay tribute to and learn about the famous inventions of lesser-known black inventors. The exhibit showed that without black inventors, we would live in a world without traffic lights, mops and golf tees. Sandra Lamb, co-founder of the organization, said some of the tools featured, particularly the early technology, are from Africa, which she bought from a flea market in Massachusetts. The exhibit also displayed simple inventions like a window cleaner and a lemon squeezer.

For Mayor: Don Marsh: I'm Don Marsh, and my wife and I have been married for 32 years and raised both our children here. I am the owner of Marsh Window Cleaning, and I've spent the last 29 years serving the private sector in a position where what matters are positive results that can be seen with the naked eye. This is the kind of bottom-line-driven governing and transparency that I will bring to City Hall.

Giuliani also spoke about 9/11, said youth council member Garrett Weeks, and told the audience it was a day where a lot of people showed their leadership skills. One example he cited was an event that took place on an elevator in the World Trade Center. The power went out after one of the hijacked planes slammed into Tower One, Giuliani said. This caused the elevators to stop working. Six men were on one of the elevators. Most of them were executives with the exception of window-washer Jan Demczur carrying his bucket and a squeegee. As the men were trying to figure out how to get out of the elevator, Demczur realized they could use the pole on his squeegee to pry open the door so he directed the men in helping him. The elevator opened to a thick wall. Demczur took the lead again and took the sharp edge of his squeegee handle to scrape away the wall. After digging through three layers of drywall they were able to free themselves from the elevator. Demczur is not only considered a hero, but a leader as well.

Saturdays Window Cleaning News

Little optimism goes long way: While Canadians, and particularly newsmakers, have always had a pessimistic habit of believing that when the United States economy catches a cold, Canada will also automatically suffer, this has not proven to be totally true during these past few years. The business service industry is also predicted to continue growing as it is now well known that the service sector has replaced the production of goods as our principal form of economic activity. Two additional service areas that support the day-to-day operation and management of businesses are also creating significant job opportunities. For instance, Statistics Canada predicts that by 2014, the building services field will represent 50 per cent of all service sector jobs. These jobs include janitorial, landscaping, carpet, window and chimney cleaning and will be found in both private homes as well as businesses.

City licenses, building permits drop during 2009: The good news: despite a year-long recession that gripped Mesquite, the number of new city business licenses increased slightly to 217 from 211 during 2008. The bad news: revoked and expired business licenses took a big leap in 2009. Revoked/expired city business licenses jumped from 277 in 2008 to 514 in 2009. Many of the business licenses erased from the city’s list over the past year were those belonging to mortgage companies, real estate brokers and out-of-town contractors. Most of the new city business licenses: real estate brokers and local/out-of-town contractors. “When I first started in licensing, we had about 2,100 active business licenses,” said Maria Trujillo, who handles business licenses for the city. “Now it’s down to about 1,600. But keep in mind that contractors used to have to have a license for each contracting service offered, but we have new regulations requiring contractors to have just one license. They’re able to combine all the licenses into one now.” Business licenses for services – everything from lawn mowing to house sitting to window cleaning – are among the most common.

Commitment from the top: How Lynn Elliott instills a service mindset at Columbus Window Cleaning Co. - It’d be nearly impossible for E-Wynn Inc., which does business as Columbus Window Cleaning Co., not to reflect the service mindset ingrained in its president and CEO, Lynn Elliott. Her commitment is obvious through her involvement on many local boards, which mean much more to her than just more titles on her resume. For example, as the board chair of the Columbus Housing Partnership, she met with board members individually over lunch to discuss the organization’s goals and to ensure that each member was comfortable with his or her role.
Then as the director of development and communications for Action for Children, a nonprofit focused on early learning initiatives, Elliott created a communitywide model for child care and education programs called Learning Begins Right from the Start by expanding strategic alliances between community organizations and securing corporate contributions. Elliott also coordinated the School Business Partnership Program at Upper Arlington City Schools, creating an outreach program that resulted in the support of 260 Columbus companies. Later, she turned those networking tactics into a graduate class at the OSU College of Education called Building School Community Partnerships, which was offered for five years.
When Elliott stepped into her role in 2000, she put a community giving plan in place. A committee reviews needs and decides where to donate an annual contribution — usually to an organization involved in housing, education or the arts. The company also offers gift certificates for free or reduced-cost window cleaning to local fund-raising events, while Elliott helps draft written fund-raising materials. She also encourages employees to get personally involved, noting the company’s hours — 7:00 to 3:30 in the summer and 8:00 to 4:30 in the winter — are convenient for coaching sports or participating in evening meetings. She considers supporting her employees’ participation, whether financially or through team sponsorship.

Grandad asked for I.D.! Trevor Butcher was told he could not buy six cans of beer and a bottle of sherry unless he produced some proof-of-age ID. The 60-year-old window cleaner with greying hair was given the ultimatum at his local newsagent’s and post office in Chelmsford, Essex. He said yesterday: “The man at the counter, aged about 40, said: ‘You know what I’m going to ask now?’ I was at a loss. Then he asked me if I was over 25 and said: ‘Have you any ID?’ “I couldn’t believe it. By this time I was a bit miffed and said they could keep their booze!”
Manager Kevin Lind said the shop had to ask for ID as part of licensing conditions after selling alcohol to a 15-year-old in 2008. He said: “We are determined to meet the terms and rigorously enforce the under-25 check, although we are embarrassed at having to ask older people.”

Missing man mystery: St. George » It's been nearly a month since Steven Koecher vanished, leaving his family alternating between hope and despair as they endlessly speculate. The 30-year-old St. George man was last seen Dec. 13 in a homeowner's surveillance video leaving his car in a residential area in Henderson, Nev. Inside the car were Christmas presents for his young cousins and snack food, according to his cousin, Jeff Bradshaw, of Las Vegas. A police investigation, searches of the surrounding desert by helicopter and all-terrain vehicles, and the efforts of family and friends has turned up nothing substantive. "We're taking things one day at a time," said Steven's mother, Deanne, who lives in Bountiful. "We go through different scenarios to try and get a handle on it, but none of it makes sense. I can't believe it's been this many days."
Greg Webb, a good friend of Koecher's in the LDS church, said he called Koecher the morning he disappeared. His cell phone has not been used since, nor his bank cards. Webb said he asked Koecher to attend a church meeting in his place that day at 11 a.m. "He said he was in Las Vegas, but would go back [to St. George] if I needed him to," said Webb. "I was also in Vegas so decided to go back myself. I told him just to do whatever it was he had to do and I'd see him later. That's it. I wish I would have asked him to go back to St. George." Webb, who did not know why Koecher was in the Las Vegas area, said his friend always told him if he was not planning to be at church. That Sunday, he never called. "It's one thing that sticks out in my mind," said Webb.
Webb said Koecher, who worked for The Salt Lake Tribune 's online edition from March 2007 until July 2008, had been actively looking for a full-time job and had sent out his résumé to a list of possible employers. The power company was threatening to disconnect electricity at the house where Koecher rented a room and lived alone, according to Webb. Deanne Koecher said she knew her son was having financial difficulty, but said the power bill was the landlord's responsibility. "We talked about [finances] in our last conversation and I felt he was in control of things and I offered to help with his rent, saying that's what families did for each other," she said. "I transferred some money into his account, but it was never used." She described her son as "a good young man" with a fondness for drawing, playing the guitar and singing.
"He didn't have issues or addictions or anything that could have led this to happen," said his mother. "He was devout to his church and liked water sports, always taking advantage of an opportunity to go boating." She said Koecher, who has three brothers and a sister, graduated from high school in Amarillo, Texas, and served a mission in Brazil for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He studied at Ricks College (now Brigham Young University-Idaho) in Rexburg, Idaho, and eventually graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in communications. Deanne Koecher said her son liked his job at the Tribune , except the overnight aspect. He also didn't like winter temperature inversions. "Last winter really got to him so he took the opportunity to move to St. George," said his mother. Once there, he initially had a job selling advertising for a publication and later worked part-time for a window-washing business.

Norwich, Conn. The back tax issue that reared its head in the 2009 elections has popped up in Mayor Peter Nystrom’s office. Bonnie Cuprak, who was appointed by Nystrom as secretary for him and the City Council, is making $50 weekly payments to the city out of her salary on $1,300 in back taxes and $1,700 in fines she owes the city. Cuprak is disputing the personal property taxes assessed against a window cleaning business she owned with her husband. According to the city budget, the annual salary for Cuprak’s part-time position is $22,113. She works 21 hours a week. She is the wife of Peter Cuprak, a Republican who served with Nystrom on the City Council and in the state Legislature in the 1980s. The Cupraks are long-time friends of the mayor.
Cuprak said she was held harmless for the debt by a Superior Court judge in 2008, but she does not have paperwork of the decision. “The lawyers stopped calling after that, and I went back to looking for a job,” she said. The Bulletin was made aware of the debt through a series of anonymous phone calls and letters.
Tax issue in campaign: During the city’s fall election, one mayoral candidate, three council candidates and two school board candidates were listed as having delinquent city taxes. One school board candidate disputed the bill’s accuracy. One council candidate from the Norwich For Change Party dropped out of the race because she was unemployed and could not afford to pay at the time. “I’m not paying this back because I thought it would be an issue, because I’m not a politician,” Cuprak said. “I’m not paying the bill to protect Peter Nystrom. I’m paying the bill now because now I have a job. And as soon as I got the job, I went to the city and made arrangements.”
Nystrom said he was made aware of Cuprak’s debt and payment arrangements after he asked her to take the job. He also said if anyone thought they could use the issue against him politically, they’re mistaken. “I would have offered her the job whether I knew or not,” he said. “I’ve known Bonnie for years. She’s very qualified to do the work. And I don’t need protecting. If she offers her resignation, I won’t accept it.” City Manager Alan Bergren and Comptroller Joseph Ruffo declined to comment.
Mayor stands by her: Nystrom said Cuprak is one of many people who have been out of work and have financial troubles. He said her payment arrangement settles the matter. “Anyone who thinks I would just throw someone aside because she lost her job and had money problems really ought to look at themselves in the mirror,” he said. Cuprak said her family’s financial difficulties date back to 1999, when her husband, a firefighter, was injured on a fire call. He underwent three surgeries in three years and couldn’t work. They lost ownership of their home nearly three years ago, and now pay rent to a landlord to live there. She then lost her job at the state Legislature after the 2008 term.
Cuprak said she intends to fight what she calls an unjust bill for equipment she said is worth about $380. “You fight after you pay it off,” she said. “You fight with clean hands.” She also believes the leaking of the information about her tax situation was a political vendetta. “Anyone who would use anonymous letters to go after a secretary to hurt the mayor or hurt my husband is a coward,” she said.