Make the Rounds of Twin Falls Businesses to Help Judge this Year’s Art &Soul Contest

A 9-foot-tall praying mantis watched passers-by at the corner of Fillmore Street and Cheney Drive West.

People didn’t fear the large insect. After all, it wouldn’t bite them.

“Violin Praying Mantis” is a metal sculpture created by Gooding resident Jacob Novinger as an entry in this year’s Art & Soul of the Magic Valley contest. The citywide art contest kicks off today and runs through May 5, and anyone who strolls the streets of Twin Falls to puruse the art can help decide the winners.

It is the second year the Art Guild of Magic Valley and the Magic Valley Arts Council have sponsored the event. And, director Art Hoag said, it’s bigger and better than last year.

This spring, 178 artists entered their work, compared with last year’s 94, and $30,000 will be given away in prizes this time, compared with $10,000 in the contest’s first year. Artists came from around Idaho and even from neighboring states.

Money comes from artist fees — $50 each — and sponsor and venue fees — $100 each — plus donations from area residents and businesses, Hoag said.

The contest is not only a way to get artists and their work recognized, but to promote area businesses.

“I think that people are getting a better idea about what the contest is about,” Hoag said. “It’s about getting community involvement in a collaborative effort.”

The artists’ work is scattered throughout Twin Falls in 45 businesses, he said. Don’t just view the art; let the businesses know you appreciate them.

When stopping by to see the praying mantis, check out sponsor Lori Ward’s store, Flutter, where she’s also sponsoring four other pieces of art. The mantis sculpture, she said, is “awesome. I like that it’s imaginative and well-executed.”

Head next door for art and a frozen yogurt at Kiwi Loco, then over to Cycle Therapy. Inside the bike shop, notice the colorful painting by Twin Falls artist JasonUrry. Titled “Morning Light,”it shows a barn with sunlight streaming onto its roof.

The painting is meant to “bring feelings of the quiet serenity of mornings in a small town where the glorious sunrise is not obstructed by tall buildings,” Urry said.

Cycle Therapy owner RobinSeastrom said she’s excited to meet new customers as they come in to see the art.

“Come and have a yogurt” at Kiwi Loco, she said, “and ride a bike.”

Head downtown to see another sculpture, this one of a blue heron perched on the corner of Shoshone Street and Main Avenue. The 8-foot bird sculpted by Maylen Pierson of Lewiston, Utah, sits amidst the tables and chairs outside O’Dunkens Draught House.

Got a craving for something sweet? Head next door to The Cookie Basket to see the large ceramic-tile painting by Scott Moon of Hansen, depicting a hardened cowboy on a bucking horse.

Shop owner Jayne Fischer said she’s sponsoring four other pieces of art, including “Sepia Significance,” a lifelike oil painting by Kathy Lilyford of Buhl. It’s of an attractive woman dressed Western style.

Once she agreed to sponsor the ceramic tile, Fischer said, the western theme was set.

She’s excited to see the other art in the contest and meet new people as they come into her store.

The Neuro Hospital ‘Gift of the people for the people’

The Neuro Hospital (Institute of Neurology) on Kynsey road opposite the De Soysa Maternity Hospital, is 30 years old. It is a unique hospital built entirely from public donations in the short space of three years. The Lake House group of newspapers helped in no small measure to make this unusual project a success, by giving publicity to the project, the progress and donors.

Diseases of the nervous system affect the brain, spinal cord, nerves and muscles. If they are not diagnosed early and treated adequately, the patient may be disabled for life. Even in the 1970s the patient with a neurological ailment did not receive the special attention they needed. A few beds were allocated in the general medical wards for the neurologically ill patient with little or no special attention. At that time there were no CT scanners or MRI scanners, and diagnosis depended on traumatic investigations like angiography, myelography and electromyography, for which there was a quota and a waiting list. The only non interventional investigation available was the EEG and even this machine was located in the surgical unit. Medical neurology was a much neglected specialty.

Thus there was an urgent need for a specialized unit or hospital where neurological disorders could be diagnosed early and accurately and managed by specialized staff. It was the lack of these facilities that led to the concept of a separate Neuro hospital where all the facilities for diagnosis and treatment are available under one roof, as is available in the Institute of Neurology of today. To start this ambitious project was not easy. All the necessary items were missing viz: land, funds and a suitable contractor willing to undertake an unusual project without and advance or adequate safeguards for payment.

With difficulty we found a narrow strip of land adjacent to the Kynsey road opposite the De Soysa Maternity home which served as garages for consultants. There were two obstacles - a large tree which needed special permission for felling and removal and the standby generator for the General hospital which had to be relocated at an immense cost, which we were able to obtain from the President's fund.

Having circumvented this initial obstacle, we had to have plans drawn for a custom built Neuro hospital. Fortunately, the Design Consortium headed by Navin Gooneratne came to our rescue by drawing the plans free of charge. He also requested Mohan Coomaraswamy to provide the necessary technical input and regular follow up of the building process.

The biggest challenge was still to come - obtaining funds. We were given the encouragement we needed by a donation for the ground floor by Milina Sumathipala, in memory of her husband. The first fund raising function was held in the official residence of the then Medical superintendent, Dr Joe Fernando with Hema Premadasa, the wife of the Prime Minister Ranasinghe Premadasa as the chief guest. We needed a steady flow of funds to keep the building programme in motion and for this we needed an energetic committee. Fortunately, the Hospital Welfare Services of the All Ceylon Buddhist Congress headed by Venerable Vipassi were able to muster a small dedicated committee for the purpose. It was virtually going round with a 'begging bowl' for a worthy cause. We had two regular meetings every week - on Sundays to discuss funding and Thursdays to discuss technical details. It was a 'turn key job' in construction parlance - build while collecting funds, in spite of which there wasn't a single day off work.

UK recession case studies - how three firms are weathering the storm

Despite today's return to recession, it's not all doom and gloom for British industry. Amtico is a manufacturing business that continues to benefit from retailers, despite the sector's ongoing UK woes. The Coventry-based flooring manufacturer counts shops from Germany to the US among its biggest clients and its home market remains strong. "It is looking fine," says Jonathan Duck, Amtico's chief executive. While construction has suffered in the UK over the past three months, Amtico has benefited from refurbishment orders from retailers, offices and hospitals. "Most of it is remodelling and refurbishment. If you are largely in the new-build sector things might look a little different, because that has been depressed."

Amtico's floor tiles can last 25 years in a well-trodden environment, underlining the company's appeal at a time when capital expenditure has to endure and the path to recovery grows ever longer. It posted double-digit revenue growth in the first quarter and expects the same for the whole financial year, which ended in March. It has also repatriated some manufacturing from China after whittling down costs.

Duck says there are many more companies that have outperformed the wider economy. "There are lots of people like us out there who are succeeding.But the issue is that when you have government spending accounting for 50% of the economy, and that is being reduced, you are going to hear squeals."

He admits, however, that doom and gloom will have an impact. "It is a confidence game. Looking at the eurozone will affect people's investment plans."

Amtico's spending proposals are safe after it was taken over by a US business in March, although Duck would like to see UK businesses unlock a corporate cash pile that stands at 754bn, according to the Ernst & Young ITEM Club.

The UK is not investing enough, he says, due to a mix of low confidence at home and abroad, an uncompetitive tax regime and a lack of bank funding. "I would love to find a way of unlocking this corporate cash that has built up," he says.

Hard times mean difficult meetings for Jill Thomas, whose wealth management firm on the edge of Sheffield is getting more and more clients from both ends of business – success and failure.

"It can get quite emotional for all of us," she says of sessions with former riders of the 'noughties' boom whose investments on borrowings have crunched and, judging by today's GDP figures, are not in sight of revival any time soon.

"It has to be a Betty Ford moment," she says, comparing the plight of those caught by hard times with the United States' First Lady who had the courage to confront her alcoholism. "It may be a matter of accepting losses and dealing with them before things get worse, but facing up to reality is the essential first step."

The offices of Future Life are in a converted stables at Renishaw Hall but a dose of Yorkshire pragmatism isn't always enough to solve problems for her clients.

Her team of accountants and lawyers comb regulations and financial options, both to rescue clients landed with debts – unsaleable and unlettable foreign property is a commonplace – and others who might have, for example, a flourishing engineering firm but need skilful handling of expansion in a turbulent market.

"Part of the time, we're looking at options which are available now," she says, citing a way in which currently low-valued commercial premises can be bought through a self-invested personal pension scheme, thus helping a business through hard times. "Sometimes it's keeping a more strategic eye: we've had two meetings this week where quantitative easing has come up, and its possible effect on final salary pension funds. Take that with the gender equality retirement measures and the time we're taking to get out of recession, and you've the makings of a perfect storm."

Thomas talks with the brio of a well-experienced sailor heading into rough seas, but she's also sustained by a conviction that the trials of double-dip mask a different challenge: the UK's unreadiness for success.

She says: "One of the commonest cries of successful manufacturing clients is: where are the skills? They've won back orders from China because their standards are so much higher, but they need new staff to come in and keep that up."

RaceWay Fine-Tunes Its Design

RaceTrac Petroleum Corp.'s RaceWay division rolled out its first new prototype in 2009, featuring a larger footprint, more cooler doors and an expanded foodservice area. The division, which focuses on the company's contractor-operated convenience stores vs. its RaceTrac company-operated stores, then reached out to its franchisee operators for feedback and decided to make a few more adjustments to accommodate new foodservice programs and better meet the demands of being a one-stop shop.

In 2011, RaceWay opened seven stores featuring its new design, and the chain will add 20 more prototype stores this year. The division, which has approximately 290 c-stores across 12 states in the Southeast, is also retrofitting some existing buildings with features taken from the new prototype as well.

"Seeking this kind of feedback from our operators follows our mission: 'to build long-term mutually beneficial relationships with outstanding operators,'" Justen Giambalvo, director of RaceWay operations, told CSNews Online.

The retailer's latest design includes changes to both the exterior and interior compared to the original 2009 prototype. On the exterior, the company chose a center tower design with a larger soffit in order to direct a customer's attention to the front doors of the store. For the same purpose, the design also incorporates new front windows. This draws attention to interior signage, while also allowing for more natural light, according to Giambalvo.

"Our goal on the exterior was to make the building stand apart from the canopy," he explained. "We wanted to create a classic look for the building that would stand the test of time."

Materials used for the exterior facade include brick, stone and an exterior insulation finishing system (EIFS). The use of both brick and stone offer different textures to "create a warm feel, telling our customers visually that 'this isn't your average convenience store,'" Giambalvo noted.

For the interior, the company added a beer cave, a flexible foodservice area, larger coffee and fountain areas, expanded restrooms and a larger back room. The main goal was to use the feedback received from the operators to create an attractive and efficient overall layout, he said.

"We wanted the inside to be inviting to the customers and have all the features necessary for our operators' success," he added. "We wanted to create an environment where customers can navigate the store easily and find the items they need quickly."

Ceramic tile flooring is featured throughout, and LED lights were installed in the coolers. In the coffee and fountain area, 12 feet of millwork was added to allow operators the needed space for the latest coffees, teas and other fountain offerings. Additionally, the deli or foodservice area is now near the center of the store -- in close proximity to the checkout -- so operators can maximize labor and make food the "centerpiece of the store," Giambalvo said.

Adding the beer cave to the new design was also based on operator feedback. They wanted the ability to expand specialty beer in the cooler, while also bulk-buying cases for the cave, Giambalvo said. This allows operators to provide their customers with the best selection and pricing possible.

River Watcher: The Clay Connection

Near the Diversion Dam at Oroville after a spring rain, I discovered a puddle rimmed with a photogenic film of yellow pine pollen. In the process of getting close, I stepped into gummy clay mud, and the Nike rippled soles were plastered as I skidded my way to solid ground.

Clay! That type of soil is like a mixture of glue-stirred, pliable slick manure, as a ceramist well knows, but fortunately, water, nature's greatest solvent, comes to the rescue. Let clay dry, though, and you have a brick or yellow caked shoes, or it can be permanently hardened by firing in a kiln to make pottery.

According to geological summaries, the Earth was a mass of melted magma for the first two billion or so years after its creation until it finally cooled down into solid rock. At least on the surface. The hot liquid magma lurks beneath the crust at our feet!

Until living creatures got into the act with organic matter, rock ruled, and erosion contributed pulverized pieces to the formation of future soils. Clay is essentially fine-ground rock-minerals containing trapped water molecules, which may be mixed with sand, loam, and loess to form various degrees of soil — the foundation of life.

I think of clay bluffs in my homeland of Northern Missouri. Bunker Hill and Foxden Bluff were mounded hills of secondary clay; composed of smashed glacial gravel drift called glacial till, but I loved to explore those eroded "mountains" and find transported Lake Superior agates, spruce fossil wood, and rocky oddities from far away places.

The creamy colored brick stamped "Mo-Rex" that I have, is fire-brick from Mexico, MO.

Great granite erratic boulders had been shoved far from their origins, and the glacier weight pulverized rock to glacial flour, hence clay. Some of that ice mass was 13,000 feet thick and was like a giant bulldozer. The last Ice Age was about 10,000 years ago, and in three million years there were 30 ice sheet ages fingering across the Midwest to as far south as the Missouri River, and down the spine of the Sierra Range into Yosemite.

Clay that remains in place is called primary clay, and is not infiltrated with till impurities, making it highly desirable for potters to work the fine textured clay. The purest form is called kaolin, used in delicate porcelain. The word Kaolin comes from Kao-ling, China, famous for Chinaware made from the kaolinite aluminum silicate mineral clay combination found there.

In the silica sand removal in Table Mountain's Morris Ravine, pockets of primary clay were found in the sand, and it was pumped into a retaining pit. Ceramist Richard Harvey gained permission to take some of the Artists of River Town there to obtain a few buckets of the grayish clay. You don't want to get stuck in that sticky stuff or you'll sink and be stranded!

Some clay trivia: Clay has been used in construction as bricks and pottery since 6000 B.C. Clay mixed with straw and sun-dried forms adobe bricks. The tile roof on the Feather River Nature Center is fired clay, as it was in the original 1935 building. The core of Oroville Dam is clay transported from the "Clay Pit" southwest of Oroville.

On my desk I have a block of catlinite, or Indian pipestone, bought at Pipestone National Monument in Minnesota by my cousin Al Tolle. Several tribes quarried the very fine soft clay that is wedged between layers of very hard Sioux Quartzite. The argillite metamorphosed mudstone contains kaolinite, making it suitable for pipe-making, as in Native American 'peace pipes'.

Treating Allergies and Asthma During Pregnancy

Congratulations! You’re pregnant! Now your doctor gives you the bad news — the medications that keep your allergies under control are forbidden during pregnancy. How are you going to survive the next nine months of sniffling, sneezing and wheezing?

The first step to allergy relief is avoidance. Substances such as pollens, molds, animals, dust mites and even drugs such as aspirin can trigger allergic reactions. Eliminating these triggers from your environment is the biggest improvement you can make.

There are medications that can provide relief, but check with your doctor before you try anything, especially during the first trimester when the most development occurs in your baby.

Antihistamines are sometimes used to treat nose and eye symptoms, hives and eczema. But as with any medication used during pregnancy, your doctor will weigh the benefits of these drugs against possible risk to your baby.

Decongestants, especially nasal sprays containing a chemical called oxymetazoline, may be dangerous. In “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth,” Dr. Michele Isaacs Glikman, chief of obstetrics at the Boston Medical Center, explains that oxymetazoline clears the sinus by tightening the small blood vessels in the nasal passages. It can also tighten the arteries that lead to the uterus, reducing the supply of blood and oxygen to your baby. In addition, over-the-counter nasal sprays tend to make your congestion worse if you use them for more than three consecutive days, a condition called “rebound congestion.”

In “I’m Pregnant & I Have A Cold,” Dr. Craig Towers states that an over-the-counter drug called Nasalcrom, which contains the chemical cromolyn sodium, may provide some welcome relief. It is an anti-inflammatory nasal inhaler that prevents your respiratory symptoms from occurring in the first place. Antihistamines work by blocking the effects of histamine after it has been released. Cromolyn sodium prevents the release of histamine, before it gets the chance to cause symptoms.

This drug is poorly absorbed into the bloodstream, so the risk to your baby is minimal. Several studies have shown no increase in major birth defects when pregnant women use it as directed. Again, it is important to discuss this drug with your doctor before using it.

Allergy shots, also known as immunotherapy, are another option. If you are already receiving allergy shots, you may continue this therapy with careful monitoring from your doctor. Immunotherapy usually takes several months to become effective, so starting it after you become pregnant will not do much good.

According to the ACAAI, asthma and allergies are often connected. Asthma is an inflammation of the lung airways that causes coughing, shortened breath and a feeling of tightness in the chest. Allergy triggers, as well as exercise, infections and stress usually cause it. It affects up to 15 million Americans, and 7 percent of expectant mothers.

For about a third of pregnant women who already had asthma, the problem becomes worse. Another third actually improve during pregnancy. The final third see no difference at all. Statistics from the American Medical Association show that asthma symptoms usually become most severe between the 29th and 36th weeks of pregnancy. About 1 in 10 women with asthma experience it during labor and delivery.

If severe asthma is uncontrolled during pregnancy, an expectant mother may suffer from high blood pressure, hypoxemia (low oxygen) or pre-eclampsia. Risks to the baby include premature birth and low birth weight.

“Women are often told to eliminate or restrict the use of many things during pregnancy, including many over-the-counter and prescription medications,” said Michael Schatz, M.D., co-chair of the ACAAI’s pregnancy committee. “In the case of asthma, the potential benefits of using the appropriate medication to control asthma outweigh the potential risks of the medication and uncontrolled asthma.”

According to ACAAI, most asthma medications are not harmful to unborn babies. Inhaled medications are preferred because they have a localized effect, with only small amounts entering the bloodstream.

Inhaled beta2-agonists, sometimes called rescue medications, may help control acute asthma symptoms, especially at night when asthma can make sleeping difficult. Anti-inflammatory medications, or asthma controllers, help prevent the symptoms, and are usually used daily.

An influenza (flu) vaccine may help expectant mothers who suffer from severe asthma. These injections generally pose no risk to the baby.

Original Vizianagram Hall tile to help in restoration work

Even as the Allahabad University authorities have shown their commitment for the restoration of historical Vizianagram Hall of the Science faculty and its magnificent dome, the work has been hindered in the absence of any specimen of the original broken tiles that were removed to fix the present tiles on the dome. However, now a piece of the tile has been found that may help in restoring the glory of the building.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) in its Xth Five Year Plan sanctioned an amount of Rs 10 crore to AU and three other old universities of the country -- Bombay, Madras and Calcutta varsities -- for restoration of heritage buildings on their campuses. UGC had allocated an amount of Rs 3 crore in the Xth Plan for the purpose, rest was to be given once the amount was utilized.

Later, AU authorities asked the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) to prepare a detailed report for restoring four heritage buildings at AU, including Vizianagram Hall, in 2008-09. But after submission of the report, varsity remaining silent and finally asked RITES to undertake the restoration work of Vizianagram Hall and the dome.

Later, a three-member committee of conservation experts was formed by the AU authorities. Its members included convenor of INTACH (Delhi Chapter) Prof A G K Menon, conservation architect Vikas Vedprakash Dilawari of Mumbai and director, Conservation and World Heritage, JanhwijSharma of ASI. It was to give its recommendation on the viability of such ambitious projects. This high-powered committee visited AU in the last week of March and gave its approval to AU V-C Prof Anil Kumar Singh for going ahead with the restoration work.

However, although RITES has been assigned the work for restoration of the dome and the hall, neither the AU authorities nor people from RITES were able to locate any of the broken or intact pieces of the original tile that was removed in 1985 when Prof R P Mishra was the AU V-C.

"Any specimen of the original tile would have been of immense help for the restoration work as we could have then done the chemical analysis of the tile and the material used to plaster the dome which held the tiles for many decades. But unfortunately, we do not have any specimen making our work so difficult," said one of the higher officials of RITES.

In this backdrop, a small piece of the original tile of turquoise blue shade has been found to be in possession of Prof Manas Mukul Das, a former faculty member of the Department of English. "When we witnessed the desecration of AU's heritage, i.e., the dome of the Vizianagram Hall, we collected some broken tiles from the debris and send those pieces to INTACH," said Prof Das. He even handed over one piece of the original tile to TOI.

Quoting from records, Prof Das said: "After the formal opening of the building on April 8, 1886, Sir Alfred Lyall, the Governor of the Province, said in his speech -- 'Now that we have taken to erecting for our students a hall like this in which we are assembled, with cool colonnades, domes, and towers, spacious lecture rooms and libraries, we have set up an external visible sign of the spirit in which our generation regards education'."

Prof Das said the dome tiles of the Vizianagram Hall were glazed by craftsmen of Rajasthan guilds. In Islamic architecture, there is a centuries old history of the art of lustre painting on tiles and the craft of making ceramic bodies of quartz and other glossy material. The art was perhaps imported from Egypt, he added.

About the colour of the tiles, Prof Das said, "The colours mainly used on the tiles were turquoise, cobalt blue and white, and less frequently, green." When Sir W Emerson, who designed the Muir Central College in "a modified Saracenic style", thought of tiles to decorate the Vizianagram Dome, he naturally chose the glazed blue-and-white tiles. "Rai Bahadur Bipin Bihari Chakravarti, Government Executive Engineer, was in charge of the construction work. His papers, now in possession of Ajoy Chakravarti, his great grandson, show that 14 Rajasthani Guilds wore contacted, and some of them entrusted with the task of glazing the tiles brought from England," the professor added.