LaPaz Garden Court Progress

by

 

LaPaz Garden Court site 1-31-10
LaPaz Garden Court Site Under Snow and Concrete Blankets January 31, 2010

We struggled with this project through the winter when just a couple of more good weeks would have kept us going.  Then with the wet weather this Spring, our progress on the site was further impeded.  The site soils have a lot of clay, so when it gets wet, it stays wet, it’s not workable and doesn’t want to dry out.  Despite covering the site with concrete blankets, the underlying ground became saturated and frozen. 

Utilities have been an issue too as both the Town of LaPaz and AEP have vacillated on what they wanted regarding the sewer and electric service respectively.  The sewer situation has been settled and is in the ground.  We believe that the Town of LaPaz made good decisions for both themselves and LaPaz Garden Court.  The revised solution provides gravity service to the site and also provides capacity for future expansion in the area.  The electric service has basically gone back to the original design after exploring multiple scenarios.  We think this just clarified the best route in both cases.

LaPaz Garden Court NE Corner July 2010
LaPaz Garden Court - View of the Northeast Corner

We’ve made some great strides forward this Spring and early Summer though!  We are gaining on our schedule and the project is really coming together.  Siding installation has just been completed bringing exterior finishes on the building to about 95% complete.  Site work is proceeding.  The detention ponds are roughed in and nearly complete.  The walks and curbs are in place and the driveways should be started any day.

Inside, all infrastructure rough-in is complete and drywall is complete.  Painting and other finishes will be starting within the week.  Things are coming together nicely!

Unfortunately we had a break-in , but for whatever reason, the resulting damages and missing materials were minimal.  We have secured the building further against similar assaults and have been assured of additional patrols by the State Police.  We don’t anticipate this being a problem again as the building is secure and well patrolled.

This is our 7th Garden Court facility (See others here) and we continue to enjoy our relationship with the Garden Court team of B.A. Martin Architect, P.C., Hughes & Associates, Real Estate Management Corp. and Dr. Ronald Liechty representing the Garden Court, Inc. organization.  We continue to look forward to Culver Garden Court starting later this year.

Culver Academies Boy Scout Headquarters

by
CEF Boy Scout Headquarters Under Construction
Culver Educational Foundation Boy Scout Headquarters under construction at the Culver Academies Woodcraft Camp

This year is the 100 year anniversary of Scouting in America and as a tribute Culver Educational Foundation has contracted Easterday Construction Co., Inc. to build a new Boy Scout Headquarters in the Woodcraft Camp at Culver Academies.  The structure is a scaled down version of a woodcraft camp cabin.  It is a modified post and beam construction built nearly entirely out of cedar.  The original cabins were designed to sit on piers so that they could be moved if necessary.  There are historical pictures of the original cabin being moved from one location to another on campus.

CEF Woodcraft Camp Craft Pavillion
Culver Academies Woodcraft Camp Craft Pavilion under construction in 2008

Easterday Construction has been responsible for the construction of many projects at Culver Academies over the years and family legend has it that our founder, my great grandfather, Russell L. Easterday, began his construction career with James I. Barnes Construction on a project for the Culver Academies back in the 1920’s.

CEF Woodcraft Camp Counselor's Cabin under construction
CEF Woodcraft Camp Counselor's Cabin near completion of construction in 2008

In recent years at the Culver Academies Woodcraft Camp we built the new Boys’ Showers, renovated both the old girls’ showers and the old boys’ showers, built the new Craft Pavilion and a new Counselor’s Cabin.  All of these have had coordination issues due to accelerated time schedules, environmental preservation regarding site requirements, aesthetics necessary to fit the existing facilities and sensitivity to the safety, security and needs of the young children the camp serves.

On this project as well as the Counselor’s Cabin and Craft Pavilion pictured, we were assisted by Scearce Rudisel Architects with design issues and obtaining the State Plan Releases.  Mary Ellen Rudisel Jordan and her staff have been helpful and responsive on these projects and the fact that she has a former Woodcraft Camper a Chipmunk from the last graduating class of Woodcraft Chipmunks on her staff hasn’t hurt!

Abraham Lincoln Quote on Thomas Jefferson

by

“Jefferson had the coolness, forecast and capacity to introduce into a merely revolutionary document an abstract truth applicable to all men and all times, and so to embalm it there that today and in all coming days it shall be a rebuke and a stumbling block to the very harbingers of reappearing tyranny.”   –  Abraham Lincoln

From an essay by John W. Whitehead of The Rutherford Institute.  The article can be found here.

The Destinies of Those Who Signed…

by
The Destinies of Those Who Signed (click to Enlarge)

We see the romanticized portraits of those who signed the Declaration of Independence and really don’t consider what they risked to bring us the liberties that we enjoy.  They might well shudder with rage to see how easily we consider giving up those rights when it seems expedient to us.

Take a look at the excerpt (upper right) which lists some of the lessor known patriots who were signatory to the Declaration of Independence and the not so pleasant fates they met after signing the document that marked the birth of our nation.  Some lost their lives, some lost the lives of their families and some lost fortunes, all of which they pledged to the cause of Independence.

As July 4th rolls around on the calendar, all Americans should be cognizant of the sacrifices of the past as well as the sacrifices of those currently serving in our military to protect the rights and liberties we enjoy.  It did not end with declaring independence.  No, our independence had to be forcibly taken and now, just as they did then, we need to cherish it and fight to maintain it.

The except in the captioned box is taken from an essay on the signers of the Declaration of Independence by Rush H. Limbaugh Jr., distributed by the Federalist Magazine.