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‘Orchid Lady’ provided modern hospital in 1921
May 17th
With all the medical machinery and marvels of the 21st century, it’s hard to Tiffany Pendants that an electrical light could be a breakthrough in local health care.
But when Orange’s Frances Ann Lutcher, the widow of a timber baron, built and dedicated one of the most modern hospitals in America, the special electrical lighting in the surgery room was something to brag about.
A bound booklet with professional photographs and descriptions of the hospital when it opened in 1921 reports the “Noshado light” was bright enough so that “emergency operations at night or on a cloudy day can be carried on with perfect safety.”
Orange’s previous hospital had an operating room witha skylight with doctors using
sunlight as illumination.
The hospital was named Frances Ann Lutcher in honor of the benefactress, Tiffany Earrings was also known as “The Orchid Lady.”
The name came because she took the exotic flowers from her greenhouse and handed them to World War I soldiers passing through Orange.
In the booklet for the hospital opening, her portrait is next to a cascade of orchids.
Mrs. Lutcher was married to Henry Jacob Lutcher of the Lutcher and Moore Lumber Co. based in Orange with vast holdings across East Texas and Louisiana.
She built the grand First Presbyterian Church in Orange, which opened in 1912, the year her husband died.
The hospital opened in the year she turned 80.
The Orange Public Library has two copies of the booklet issued for the hospital dedication in the reference section.
To give a reference for Mrs. Lutcher’s age, the booklet reported that she could remember when a trip to Houston on the Southern Pacific Railroad took all day. Mrs. Lutcher visited hospitals around the country to make sure the Orange one was first-class with modern equipment, though the words “state-of-Tiffany Necklaces-art” were never mentioned.
“The Frances Ann Lutcher Hospital is not the whim of a rich woman; it is the culmination of a dream begun long ago when as a real helpmate to her beloved young husband, Henry J. Lutcher, they saw terrible accidents among their small mill family and only emergency treatment was at hand,” the booklet said.
“In this way, Mrs. Lutcher grew familiar with the needs of others less fortunate. The years passed and the mantle of responsibility and good fortune fell on this little silver- haired woman and the hospital is the realization of a lifelong desire.”
The four-story hospital had hollow tile walls on the inside and brick on the outside. Inside rooms didn’t have corners, but curves instead, so “germ-ridden dust could not accumulate.”
The hospital had room for 60 patients, specified in those days of segregation as 44 rooms for whites and 16 for “colored.”
All beds had Sealy mattresses and two down pillows. The booklet said the linens for the “colored” were embroidered in red to distinguish them from the sheets used for the whites.
All floors had a glassed-in sun porch with wicker furniture and wicker bird cages. Even the “colored” ward had a sun porch with wicker furniture.
The grounds were landscaped and had a sunken garden. A residence for the director of physicians was on the grounds, along with a two-story, Victorian-style house for nurses and nursing students.
The kitchen was referred to as the “culinary” department. Physicians had their own Tiffany Rings dining room with china and silverware to use with their gourmet meals.
The doctors also had a place to shower before and after surgery.
The hospital took up a block north of Pine Avenue between Second and Third streets across from where the post office is today.
By the late 1960s, the hospital was no longer modern and closed. It was demolished in 1972 to make way for a private nursing home that is still on the site.
Huge live oak trees today drape their heavy limbs over the streets. The oak trees were planted along the borders of the hospital and are reminder of the past.
Southeast Texas Tales is a weekly Enterprise feature that examines regional history.
Diamonds poised for derivative polish
Jan 21st
Until now, the only way that a lovestruck Romeo could fix the future cost of buying a diamond ring was to purchase a stone at the price he liked – and then stick it in the drawer.
But the financial markets may soon be able to offer diamond buyers a new option – irrespective of whether they are purchasing the gemstones for industrial purposes or to turn intotrinkets.
Next week, two sets of meetings will take place in Antwerp, the Belgian city that is a global centre of gemstone trading, at which bankers and diamond experts will discuss initiatives to create the world’s first set of diamond derivatives.
The launch of such a market will finally allow investors and diamond buyers to bet on future prices and erode the pricing power held by a handful of industry incumbents.
One of these gatherings has been organized by Martin Rapaport, who runs a prominent brokerage company based out of New York, which is the leading source of consumer diamond prices.
The other is sponsored by PolishedPrices.com, a specialist diamond information provider, which is talking to powerful financial operators such as ABN Amro.
It remains to be seen which of these rival groups will be the first to produce an actual derivatives contract, or where this contract will be based and how it might be structured.
The Rapaport group is already talking to American regulators about creating a New York-based diamond futures market – mindful of the fact that the US is the world’s biggest single consumer of diamonds.
However, the PolishedPrices group is holding talks with leading operators in the commodities and futures market, such as the London Metal Exchange and ICAP, the interdealer group, as well as the Chicago Board of Trade and Cargill.
Taken together, this marks a potential revolution for the industry. In other commodity sectors, such as gold or silver, financiers have already created the type of transparent, efficient financial markets and pricing indices that can support the use of derivatives.
However, the diamond world has hitherto been dominated by opaque, bilateral dealmaking.
Although groups such as Mr Rapaport’s offer some price data, this remains relatively limited.
This opacity partly reflects the fact that diamonds – unlike gold – vary wildly in quality and price. However, powerful producers in the industry have wanted to control prices too while retailers and brokers have feared that greater transparency would hurt their margins. “People in the diamond industry have always been terrified of transparency because if consumers saw all the prices, how could anyone get their mark-ups?” chuckles Mr Rapaport. However, a new set of imperatives are coming into play, which have paved the way for next week’s meetings in Antwerp.
One is that the banking industry is become increasingly adept at applying derivatives technology to unconventional fields. Thus, while bankers used to assume that derivatives could only be created with products that are homogenous and fungible, they are now developing derivatives in highly fragmented sectors, such as property.
At the same time, banks have become eager to hedge their swelling exposure to the diamond industry.
“The commercial funding being done by banks to (the) diamond industry has doubled in the past five years . . . The interest of banks (in promoting derivatives) is that it will mitigate some of the risks and will allow our clients to have a more rational behaviour,” says Loet Kniphorst, global head of the international diamond and jewellery group at ABN Amro, the world’s biggest lender to the diamond industry.
Even within that industry, there is now a growing – albeit grudging – acceptance that more price transparency is inevitable.
That is partly because the internet is already undercutting the power of the middlemen. Legislation in the US and Europe to counter money laundering and the trade in “conflict diamonds” from war-torn African countries is adding another trigger for transparency.
Meanwhile, producers such as De Beers have seen their control decline sharply over the past decade, undercutting their power over how prices are determined.
De Beers’ market share has fallen from about 90 per cent in the mid-1980s to today’s 50 per cent, due to the arrival of new competitors, both large and small.
“The fact that anyone is even talking about derivatives shows just how much control De Beers has lost,” says one diamond expert.
De Beers, for its part, says it is agnostic about the derivatives proposal – but stresses that the initiative faces problems. “Whether there could be advantages for the diamond industry remains to be seen – but itis an academic question because there are very real challenges with implementation given the need for extensive and robust pricing trend data,” says Stephen Lussier, communications director of De Beers.
Others share this caution. “We have spent a lot of time talking to people about diamond derivatives but have heard a lot of reluctance from people in the trade,” Colin Griffith, chairman of the Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange, told a conference in London yesterday.
Nevertheless, such doubts are not deterring the bankers from trying to mine this new frontier. ABN Amro’s Mr Kniphurst, for example, thinks that the first step would be to create over-the- counter derivatives for polished diamonds – before eventually creating basket or index products that might cover rough stones too.
“The big difference between gold and diamonds is that (gold) is pretty standardised – the only parallel we have tried to draw is steel,” he says.
Meanwhile, Mr Rapaport’s group plans to create a traded cash index and a related futures contract for one-carat diamonds later this year before latermoving into other diamondsectors.
“Nobody is saying we can do this overnight – there is a huge difference between diamonds sold in Tiffany’s and Wal-Mart,” he says. “But once we go towards using financial markets (for futures pricing), we are moving towards real free markets. I hope even dealers will eventually recognise that is a good thing.”
Turn Your Old Wireless Phone Into a Gift of Hope This Valentine’s Day
Dec 28th
For most couples, Valentine’s Day is a time to celebrate relationships. However, some relationships may also include abuse. Studies show 23.6 percent of women and 11.5 percent of men reported at least one lifetime episode of intimate-partner violence. That is why Verizon Wireless’ long-standing HopeLine program puts the nation’s most reliable wireless network to work by turning unused wireless phones into support for individuals who have experienced unhealthy relationships (see also <http://www.newsrx.com/library/topics/Verizon-Wireless.html> Verizon Wireless).
Customers can join with Verizon Wireless to help make a difference this Valentine’s Day tiffany jewellery and year-round by donating their no-longer-used wireless phones to HopeLine. For survivors of domestic violence, a wireless phone can be a vital link to emergency or support services in a time of crisis or a reliable, safe connection to employers, family and friends.
HopeLine accepts no-longer-used wireless phones, batteries and accessories in any condition from any service provider. Phones that can be refurbished are sold for reuse and those without value are disposed of in an environmentally sound way. Proceeds from the HopeLine program are used to provide wireless phones and cash grants to local shelters and non-profit organizations that focus on domestic violence prevention and awareness.
Since the October 2001 launch of Verizon Wireless’ national recycling program, the company has collected more silver bangles than 5.6 million phones, preventing those phones from being deposited in landfills. HopeLine has also distributed more than 76,000 phones with more than 228 million minutes of free wireless service to victims of domestic violence and awarded cash grants of more than $6.3 million to organizations working to prevent and end domestic violence.
For additional information on Verizon Wireless’ HopeLine program and store locations, visit www.verizonwireless.com/hopeline.
Defying the Bracelet Code
Dec 18th
In the latest twist on hotel service, some guests are better than others.
While luxury resorts have always offered pricey room options like a presidential suite tiffany and co, service outside the room has generally been the same. Now some resorts are rolling out fancier service tiers that come with benefits blatantly visible to other guests, from private pools and beach areas in the middle of the grounds to guaranteed spots at crowded restaurants. Elite guests — who pay an additional $40 to $900 or more per night — also get nicer rooms and full access to the main resort. To distinguish them from the regular guests, many of whom are paying hefty rates of $400 to $1,000 a night, they sometimes get special bracelets or towels.
At eight all-inclusive Paradisus Resorts in Mexico and the Caribbean, higher-tier guests get extras like air-conditioned restaurants and private beach and pool areas for about $100 more daily per person. In February, the Phoenician in Scottsdale, Ariz., reopened its 60-room Canyon Building, just off the main building, as an “exclusive resort-within-a-resort.” The $75 to $380 nightly premium includes access to a separate pool and guaranteed dinner reservations and tee times. At the two-year-old Wynn Las Vegas, Tower Suites guests have the sole use of two pools overlooking the main pool and more food options than down below.
Jacob and Susan Rooksby got a peek at the subtle class distinctions during their January honeymoon at the Paradisus Playa Conchal in Costa Rica, where they paid $800 a night for a junior suite. When they first visited the resort’s main pool, dozens of sunbathers clogged the chairs, a volleyball game was under way in the water and a Latin-style band played American hits by the bar. Two days later, they stumbled on a quieter pool, where an attendant was circling with cold towels among the 14 or so guests. But as soon as the couple set down their towels, the attendant asked them to leave. “He said, ‘Oh. I’m sorry but this pool is only for Royal Service guests,’” says Mr. Rooksby, a 25-year- old law student at the University of Virginia. “You don’t expect, for that kind of money, to be treated like a second-class citizen.”
The hotels are taking a cue from the success of club floors, which first appeared a few decades ago on silver cufflinks the top floors of urban hotels and were geared at business travelers. The floors generally offered the same quality rooms as the rest of the hotel but included extras like a faster check-in, fancier bathroom amenities and lounges with complimentary food. Fairmont Hotels & Resorts offers “Gold floors” at 22 properties. Those rooms, which cost about $50 to $100 more a night, have occupancy rates an average nine to 10 percentage points higher than rooms on other floors.
Hotels are also responding to higher demand, thanks to the strong economy, the unprecedented number of U.S. millionaires and the growing number of retiring baby boomers. Average luxury room rates rose about 9% in 2006 over the year before, according to Smith Travel Research. Adding more expensive enclaves allows hotels to increase profits without having to build a whole new luxury property, which takes an average of five years. “They are observing that even at the upper levels, you can dissect the guests even more,” says Rogerio Basso, senior manager with Ernst & Young’s Hospitality Advisory Group. He expects more hotels to pick up the concept over the next five years.
But as resorts serve two tiers of guests on one site — akin to throwing aside the curtain between coach and first class — some regular guests are resisting the treatment. They’re crashing the pools, posing as the elite and leaving their low-rank signifiers behind.
Barbara Watters, who paid about $500 a night for an ocean-view room at the El Dorado Royale on the Riviera Maya in Mexico last month, was constantly reminded of her lesser standing during her two-night stay. Guests in the resort’s Casita suites, which cost about 50% more, have private pools, exclusive use of certain beds on the beach and restaurant reservation priority. For identification, Casita guests get beige-striped towels, while regular guests have green-striped towels.
One day, Ms. Watters — who says she could never get dinner reservations before 8:30 p.m., despite asking for 5:30 or 6 — and her boyfriend left their towels in their rooms and walked into the nicer pool. After swimming, they “dried off in the sun,” says the 40-year- old executive secretary from Grand Rapids, Mich. “If you were staying in a Casita, you were treated like royalty. If you weren’t in a Casita, you didn’t count.”
Pamela Johnston, a spokeswoman for El Dorado Royale, says, “All of our guests are important to us and we silver money clips aim to exceed all of their expectations.”
At the El Conquistador Resort in Puerto Rico, Claudine Caro infiltrated the infinity pool during her four-night stay last August. The pool is meant for use by guests of Las Casitas Village, a small complex adjacent to the main building. (There, current peak-season room rates start at $269 a night — about $40 more than a room in the main resort. One-bedrooms start at $485.) Ms. Caro, a 33-year-old in South Brunswick, N.J., who develops educational courses for a pharmaceutical company, and her cousin visited the pool twice around dinnertime, when there weren’t any attendants around. “We walked in like we owned the place,” she says.
Hotels are trying to enforce the boundaries. “It is an issue,” says Stan Soroka, managing director of El Conquistador and Las Casitas Village. The hotel has tried measures to keep the uninvited out of the Las Casitas infinity pool, like asking people for their key or room number every hour and a half. That didn’t go over too well. “A lot of people would say, ‘I didn’t bring my key and I don’t want to answer those questions,’” he says. Mr. Soroka expects to launch another solution later this spring: a gate around the pool with a key-swipe system. He’s not sure it will be fail-safe, though. “It’s going to be a very short gate,” he says — and people could jump over it.
“I think if you are going to have a resort, everybody should be treated equally,” says Sandra Jarvis, a 36-year-old commercial real- estate broker from Indianapolis who went with her boyfriend to the Paradisus Riviera Cancun last October. After she was asked to leave the less-crowded Royal Service pool she had walked into one afternoon, Ms. Jarvis went to the front desk to complain and received an explanation of the upper-tier perks. She returned to the main pool, still unsatisfied. “We have our own private plane and they are telling me to leave the pool?” she says. Later that day, she ripped off her white standard-guest bracelet and carried it in her pocket for the rest of the trip.
Her boyfriend, lawyer Tom Bedsole, 42, says he didn’t book Royal Service because when he visited the Web site, he thought the hotel was touting service given to all guests. “I didn’t realize the royals were a separate class,” he says.
While many acknowledge it’s a balancing act, hotels say they do try to keep everyone happy. Andre Gerondeau, an silver pendants executive vice president for Sol Melia Hotels & Resorts, which owns the Paradisus Resorts, says Royal Service pool attendants wouldn’t ask regular guests to leave unless the pool was full, and that Royal Service areas are more set apart at larger properties. Guests can upgrade if space is available.
In late 2005, the Puntacana Resort & Club in the Dominican Republic added the 35-suite Tortuga Bay hotel to its property, between its existing 355-room hotel and the golf course. Guests there get guaranteed golf carts for roaming the property, mobile phones for calling a personal concierge, and restaurant and golf reservation priority. Rooms currently start at $590 for a double-occupancy suite, more than twice the entry-level room rate at the bigger resort. “You are paying more so you are supposed to be getting more,” says spokeswoman Paola Rainieri de Diaz. She adds that hotel staff will ask “refined” customers — for example, those who arrive on a private plane or who have an American Express black card — or those who look like they have been to the Caribbean if they want to upgrade at check- in.
The idea that others might be more important can spark a little vacation insecurity. During her weeklong visit to the 49-room Anse Chastanet Resort on St. Lucia last fall, at $475 a night, Rosaria Davies could see the five-month-old Jade Mountain extension every time she went for a swim on the beach. Guests there get their own restaurant, spa and pools, plus access to the main resort; nightly rates this season start at $1,150. “It looked great from afar,” says the 37-year-old from London. When she and her husband had to wait an hour between the appetizers and main course at dinner one night, they wondered if Jade Mountain guests were being served more quickly. During the trip, the couple joked, “Are we chopped liver?” The hotel says it treats all of its guests equally.
Service distinctions are cropping up in other vacation areas, including amusement parks and cruises. On Norwegian Cruise Line’s new Norwegian Pearl, guests staying in one of the 10 courtyard villas or two deluxe owner’s suites get perks like a private courtyard with pool, hot tub and sundeck.
At hotels, guests who can swing the premium say they’re just trying to maximize their vacation. Larry Hughes and his wife, Susan, opted for the Phoenician’s new Canyon Suites earlier this month, at about $1,800 a night for six nights, for some extra privacy. “I am willing to pay more because essentially we are going there to relax,” says the 60-year-old staffing company franchise owner from Magnolia, Texas.
Inmate bracelet program is working
Dec 18th
ELKHORN-In an effort to reduce the population of the Walworth tiffany jewelry County Jail, the sheriff’s department started using electronic home monitoring bracelets last July.
So far, it’s worked.
Of the 37 inmates who have used the system, four have had their privileges revoked and were returned to jail, Jail Administrator Mike Schmitz said.
“If I remember, there was one alcohol violation of all those people, which was a major concern when we instituted the program,” Schmitz said.
The bracelet and home monitoring equipment the sheriff’s department uses cufflinks requires the inmate to stay within range of a base unit at required times and to submit breath tests.
Only non-violent offenders are allowed electronic monitoring. Types of crimes include second-offense drunk driving, theft, identity theft, not paying child support, fleeing an officer and drunken driving that caused injury.
“We’ve turned down 82 people due to the criteria that we’ve developed,” Schmitz said. “We’ll screen them if they can or can’t (use electronic monitoring). It is not as high a demand as I thought it would be, but we still have enough people to continue to run the program.”
The program is self-sustaining because electronic monitoring inmates pay Huber fees money clips without being in the jail, Schmitz said. Inmates do need to spend at least one week in the Huber dormitory before being considered for a bracelet.
The sheriff’s department can now have up to 13 inmates on bracelets but is looking to expand the program to 20 to 25 inmates, Schmitz said.
“I’m satisfied with our results,” he said. “We’ve had no major violations, really. We haven’t had pendants anyone do any other crime. I attribute that to our screening process. We’re very careful in monitoring who we put out on it right now.”
British Bracelet Mania on The Poker Show Next Week
Dec 13th
As the World Series of Poker Main Event Approaches and John Kabbaj tiffany and co Lifts the Pot-Limit Hold’em World Championship, The Poker Show Talks to Some of the UK’s Hottest Prospects in “The Big One”
This week The Poker Show gears up for ‘The Big One’ – the World Series of Poker main event. Presenters Jesse May and Matt Broughton will catch up with a host of British hopefuls including recent pot-limit hold’em bracelet winner John Kabbaj, Dave “Devilfish” Ulliott, Ian Frazer, serial staker Neil Channing, and comedian and ‘triple crown’ victor Roland De Wolfe.
Flying the Irish flag is co-presenter Padraig Parkinson, who recently finished 14th in the pot-limit Omaha world championship. He makes his daily call to the show with all the news and gossip from the Rio hotel and casino in Las Vegas. Fellow countryman John O’Shea will also drop in for a chat.
Tuesday sees the return of the weekly Poker Show Live turbo bounty tournament on Boylepoker.com silver money clips which has $250 added, with guests, presenters and listeners vying for supremacy in this password-only tournament. Last week the winner of the turbo tournament was “Faughballagh” who is none other than Boylepoker pro and World Series of Poker main event finalist Scott Gray.
Last week’s shows have been archived in full at http://www.boylesports.com/sections/poker/d.asp?show=ThePokerShow_Archives and included Daniel Negreanu, Isaac Haxton, and Marty Smyth.
Fans can grab the individual interviews at http://thepokershowlive.com/listenagain.htm and also check out the controversial interviews with Tom “Durrrr” Dwan and Luke “_FullFlush1_” Schwartz which are still proving wildly popular downloads.
Guests on the show so far read like a who’s who of poker with Greg Raymer, Peter Eastgate, Steve Sung, Doyle Brunson, Annette Obrestad, J.C. Tran, Marty Smyth, Michael Keiner, Theo Jorgensen, Neil Channing, Vicky Coren, Tom Hanlon, Maria Demetriou, Andrew Feldman, Dan Harrington, Roland De Wolfe, Phil Hellmuth, Mike Sexton, Phil Laak, Rory Liffey, Liam Flood, ‘Mad’ Marty Wilson, Kara Scott, Donnacha O’Dea, Barny Boatman, and John Duthie.
The all-new radio show sees the experienced broadcast team on air each Sunday, Monday and Tuesday night silver pendants from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. at http://www.thepokershowlive.com where they will discuss, debate, and decipher the technicolour world of live and online poker with a series of special guests, contributors, and phone-in questions and commentary from members of the poker playing public.
Poker players are actively encouraged to get involved in each show – if only to be in with a shot of winning some of the cash the show gives away each night. Players can call the show directly on 0208 123 7820, add ThePokerShow to Skype or, for MSN users: thepokershow@live.co.uk. The presenters can then chat to participants before or during the show, live on air.
Listeners can also email comments or contact details to chat@thepokershowlive.com.
About Boylepoker
Boylepoker is part of the biggest European poker network – iPoker. Players have access to a huge range of tournaments running around the clock with massive guaranteed prize pools and the opportunity to qualify for prestigious live events. The company does not accept players from the U.S.
About Matchroom Sport
Matchroom Sport, producer of The Poker Show, is one of the world’s largest suppliers of sports programming. Since 1982 silver earrings, it has grown year-on-year and established relationships with virtually every major broadcaster of sports in the world. The company is a world leader in poker, snooker, bowls, boxing, darts, fishing, golf, and pool TV programming.
For further details and photographs please contact: brendan.murray@pokermediaconsulting.com +353-863057469 or pspillane@boylepoker.com.
W-B drug ring boss gets 12 years
Dec 10th
The leader of a major drug ring that operated in the Wilkes-Barre area tiffany jewelry was sentenced Monday to 12 years in federal prison.
The sentence imposed against Gregory Woods comes more than four years after he and 30 other people, including Woods’ son and wife, were charged in connection with the “Operation Main Street” drug bust.
Woods, 48, formerly of Academy Street, Wilkes-Barre, pleaded guilty in January to a single count of intent to silver bracelets distribute more than 50 grams of crack cocaine. He later sought to withdraw the plea, arguing his defense counsel had not properly represented him. U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo denied the motion in October.
Federal prosecutors allege Woods was the leader of a drug ring that sold up to $200,000 worth of crack cocaine, powder cocaine and marijuana per week in Luzerne County. Agents with a drug task force broke up the ring in October 2005.
At his sentencing Monday, Woods disputed that he was the leader of the ring. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert O’Hara said investigators had audiotapes of phone conversations in which Woods discussed pricing with others involved in the ring. That proves he held a supervisory role, O’Hara said.
The sentence was part of a negotiated plea in which prosecutors agreed to drop numerous silver bangles other charges. Caputo was not obligated to accept the plea, however.
Woods’ attorney, Carl Poveromo, asked Caputo to consider Woods’ troubled upbringing in considering whether to accept the plea and negotiated sentence.
Poveromo said Woods was one of 11 children. Both his parents were dead by the time he was age 7 and he was raised primarily by his sisters.
“He’s the product of very tragic circumstances,” Poveromo said. “He developed a drug problem at an early age and was drug dependent his entire life.”
Caputo acknowledged Woods had a troubled life and that it likely played a role in his criminal conduct silver rings. The judge said he felt the 12-year sentence was appropriate given the seriousness of the case and Woods’ background, which included three prior drug convictions.
The majority of defendants in the case were prosecuted by state authorities. Woods, his wife, Carmen Tinson, and their son, Bashir Woods, were among five defendants whose cases were taken over by federal authorities.
Bashir Woods was sentenced in August to six years and eight months in federal prison. Two other co-defendants who were charged federally, David Savage and Dominic Wilkins, also pleaded guilty. Savage was sentenced in August to eight years and four months in prison; Wilkins was sentenced in June to 11 years and eight months.
Tinson was scheduled to go on trial today, but her attorney sought a continuance,silver cufflinks saying she is negotiating with prosecutors and might enter a guilty plea.
Terrie Morgan-Besecker, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 570-829-7179.
EternityDiamonds.com provides customers up to three replica rings at no cost, and return shipping is prepaid
Dec 8th
As its name implies, EternityDiamonds.com has a staff that understands how important – tiffany jewelry and lasting – a diamond ring is to a couple. With that in mind, EternityDiamonds.com offers its online customers a chance to see what a ring looks like before making a purchase decision.
EternityDiamonds.com’s “Try It Before You Buy It” service is just that: a way for consumers to see – and try on – up to three replica rings with no obligation. For example, a silver and cubic zirconium look-alike would be sent as a replica for a white gold and diamond engagement ring.
“It’s a whole new way to buy products online,” said CEO Eli Rendler. “It’s exciting and hassle-free for the customer. ‘Try It Before You Buy It’ is a courtesy to our customers; we simply ask shoppers to return the samples within seven days in the prepaid envelope provided.”
Rendler said the “Try It Before You Buy It” service is especially helpful for customers who don’t cufflinks live near a jewelry store or who want options beyond what local stores offer: “We’re bringing the store to the customer. It’s truly a virtual store.”
“We’re extremely dedicated to customer service,” Rendler continued. “We want to make sure people are happy.” Toward that end, EternityDiamonds.com is willing to custom design any ring and has a 30-day return policy. The company also will not only match a competitor’s price and refund 100% of the price differential, but will also refund an additional 10 percent.
In addition to exemplary customer service, Rendler said what distinguishes EternityDiamonds.com from its competitors is their new and up-to-date styles. Rendler explained, “Because our company sells to bridal jewelry stores across the country, we know the pulse of the marketplace.”
Other customer-oriented features of EternityDiamonds.com include free FedEx overnight shipping and educational resources providing information on diamond shape, cut, color, clarity and weight. They offer thousands of diamonds to choose from and a ring builder to customize your perfect engagement ring.
In addition to the try-at-home service, for a limited time EternityDiamonds.com is offering a free pearl necklace money clips with your diamond ring purchase. To find out more, visit http://www.eternitydiamonds.com or call 888-348-4245.
About EternityDiamonds.com
As third-generation jewelers, EternityDiamonds.com’s parent company has been in the jewelry business for over 35 years. EternityDiamonds.com manufactures and sells directly to the consumer. Its diamonds are certified by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA).
Online Retailers Fear a Quiet Christmas Because of Postal Strikes
Dec 3rd
Nadeem Azam, marketing manager of http://www.eDealsUK.com said: “It is important to silver jewelry stress that online retailers use a number of different ways to deliver items to the customers, such as couriers and alternative postal companies.
“However Christmas is obviously a very busy period for retailers, so we do advise customers to not leave purchases till the last minute.”
When purchasing online, people are entitled to a refund if goods are not provided by the agreed date.
If no date was agreed then they can claim a refund if goods and services are not provided within 30 days.
Nadeem added: “The Office of Fair Trading offers fantastic protection to shoppers so there is a silver bracelets greater incentive for retailers to ensure that purchased items are delivered within the agreed time period.”
eDealsUK.com now has 600,000 members across its network of 200 sites, buying from 2,000 mainstream retailers.
Cashback is a very simple concept that is experiencing extraordinary growth during the recession.
Customers log into the cashback site before visiting any of 2,000 mainstream retailers and buying goods and services as normal.
A portion of the referral fee paid by online retailers is returned to the consumer – this is the cashback.
Because it can monitor purchases from more than 2,000 retailers, eDealsUK.com has access to more silver cufflinks UK online sales information than any single retailer.
The network is operated by V A C Media, the biggest operator of customer loyalty websites in the UK.
Northside Baptist Christmas pageant tickets available Monday
Nov 30th
Tickets will be available beginning at 8:30 a.m. silver jewellery Monday.
The pageant will run Dec. 7-13 with performances at 6:30 p.m. and 8:15 p.m.
For more information contact Northside Baptist Church at 361-578-1568.
Chur
Northside Baptist Church’s annual Christmas pageant, known for its rings elaborate scenery and live animals, is turning 25.
“Silver Bells” is the theme for this year’s pageant, which tells the story of Jesus and will include modern-day holiday song and dance scenes.
“It’s what Christmas is all about,” said Sylvia Manning, who does publicity for the event. “It’s the birth, death and resurrection of Christ and friendship and fellowship and love.”
Manning said the event is suitable for all ages and anticipates available tickets to bracelets quickly run out. Although the project involves nearly 500 church members and is expensive to produce, tickets are free.
“It’s presented as a Christmas gift to Victoria,” Manning said.
More than 9,000 people attended the pageant last year, and similar crowds are expected for the 11 presentations scheduled for this season.
Tickets will be available beginning at 8:30 a.m. Monday. The pageant will run Dec. 7-13 with performances cufflinks at 6:30 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. For more information contact Northside Baptist Church at 361-578-1568.