MERRIMAC — Merrimack Valley Housing Authority Director Bob Mazzone appeared before the Board of Selectmen Monday to garner support for the authority’s newest project — breathing new life into the empty wood frame building at 8-10 Green St. The plan, estimated to cost $500,000, would transform the three-story, pre-Civil War structure into transitional housing for handicapped veterans.
Plum Island architect Eric Griebling presented schematic drawings of the MVHA’s design for the renovation and conversion. Although the exterior would remain largely unchanged in appearance, extensive interior renovations would enable the house to accommodate five handicapped persons.
Drawings and photographs presented to the board showed how the home would appear with handicapped access ramps. The renovation would employ a semi-circular outdoor stairway to fulfill the legal requirement for a second exit from the third floor, which is currently closed off.
Reopening the third floor — which would include three bedrooms and a bathroom — would turn the antique single-family home into a two-family, high-accessibility unit for handicapped veterans.
Selectman Laura Mailman asked whether it wouldn’t be cheaper to build it somewhere else instead of undertaking such an extensive, expensive renovation.
“A half-million dollars is a lot of money,” said Mailman.
“We looked at every way to bring the cost down,” Mazzone replied, adding, “If you build it somewhere else, you’ll have to buy a building lot, too.”
“This isn’t long-term housing,” explained Mazzone. “This is meant to be short-term, transitional housing to enable disabled veterans to get back on their own. Let’s get our vets back to being contributing members of the local economy, instead of always a burden.”
Mazzone asked for a verbal and written statement of support for the project, and the board gave it to him.
“I’m absolutely in favor of this kind of affordable housing,” said Mailman, who made a motion for the board to put its weight and influence behind the project via a home-rule petition. The board voted unanimously to accept the language of the proposed statement that Mazzone had supplied.
As director of both the Merrimac and Amesbury housing authorities, Mazzone also explained the difficulty of managing maintenance with an apparently modest budget.
“There’s been so little funding for maintenance and modernization, and half of what we received went to pay for the repair of two elevators. The authority’s cash reserve is just $43,000.
“They built a Ferrari, but it has no gas tank,” said Mazzone, adding that “There’s not a lot of fluff in our budget.”
Source: www.newburyportnews.com
Auction-goers get chance to stake claim on antique vampire slaying kit (From The Northern Echo) - The Northern Echo
Auction-goers get chance to stake claim on antique vampire slaying kit
11:30am Friday 22nd June 2012 in News 
AN ANTIQUE vampire-slaying kit goes up for auction today - after being discovered by the vendor in a cellar of a deceased relative.
The macabre Victorian casket has been designed to offer protection against any potential creatures of the night.
Carefully encased in the mahogany box is a mallet and four stakes, an ornate pistol, rosary beads, a prayer book, holy water, holy earth, garlic and a crucifix.
It is due to go under the hammer at Tennants Auctioneers in Leyburn, North Yorkshire, later this afternoon.
According to the autioneers, it wasn’t discovered until after the death of the seller’s uncle, when his family found it at his Leeds home along with two other vampire-slaying kits.
Mystery still surrounds why and who created it, but it is thought to date towards the end of the 19th Century after Bram Stoker wrote Dracula.
There has already been a huge amount of interest in the kit, with the auction house receiving queries from around the world.
It is estimated to sell for between £1,500 and £2,000, but auctioneers say it could fetch much more with live internet bidding.
Source: www.thenorthernecho.co.uk
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