SEAGRAVE BUILDING TORCHED IN WEE HOURS

The Seagrave building, a familiar sight on Walker Road between Niagra and Richmond streets was deliberately set ablaze between 2:00 and 3:00 A.M. this morning. When firefighters arrived on the scene more than 50% of the first floor and parts of the second floor at the north end were fully engulfed. Several late model vehicles in various states of repair were completely destroyed. It is not known if this repair operation was legal or not. One bystander said that the operation was not insured. Residential neighbours from nearby Monmouth Road have filed continuous complaints with the city over various illegal activities in the building including vehicle repair, auto body operations, welding and band rehearsals. Illegal outside dumping and storage of vehicles and equipment has always been a problem.
Accelerant was used to start the fire at several locations. When fire crews arrived, many of the buildings exterior doors on both floors were found open. Someone mentioned that door number 70 on the second floor was recently locked up. It is not clear if this meant that a tennant was evicted or not. This morning Parker Construction was busy boarding up and securing the site.

Ashok Sood, CEO of Champion Paper Supplies and other operations on the East side of Walker Road recently bought the building. Fire officials told him that the building is still very structurally sound. Mr. Sood knows the historical and architectural relevance of this building. He said the city has suggested that low income housing would be a possible use. Mr. Sood is of the mind that this is probably not a good solution at all. In larger urban centers this sort of building would probably be snapped up for converting into fashionable condos, studios, boutiques or a combination thereof. He is very open to suggestions for potential use.

For history buffs, this building was erected in 1904 and it is where the modern fire truck was first concieved and built. The Company was called the W.E. Seagrave Fire Apparatus Company. Parts were shipped here from it's parent company in Ohio and assembled in this plant. The company was closed for competitive reasons in 1923. Windsor Fire Department still has a couple of newer Seagrave Pumpers which it purchased in the early 1990's. Fire investigators have been on the scene all day.

Rear garage entrance

Late model minivan

Door Number 70

Seagrave Building from Walker Road

Original pumper pic sent in from DI

Back in the day. Trees sure make a difference don't they? Pic sent in by JB.

Old Walkerville BIA on a Roll

This Business Improvement Association is taking care of business. Last week the tree grates were all cleaned out and adjusted to tree growth and this week the period light standards are getting spruced up. A new lamp standard was even installed at the corner of Devonshire and Wyandotte (the original was sheared off in a car accident last year). These small improvements have already made a huge difference in the appeal of the district. Hopefully the Parks Department will come through with some trees to replace the dead ash trees and others which were broken off due to being small caliber. Hats off to our BIA! Keep on workin it.

This is the stump of what was a lamp standard at Devonshire and Wyandotte. Our painter above is painting it's replacement.

This old girl finally got some breathing space. Pheeeuw!

Sprint Becomes Poster Child for Bad Service

In the news today, wireless provider Sprint has decided to call a spade a spade. Ranked as Americas worst for support and service they have decided that the best fix for them is to eliminate all customers who complain. Here is a the letter which they sent to all such customers:
PLEASE CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE


Many people have had issues with many providers but it seems that Sprint is notorious for leaving their customers on the dangle. http://community.livejournal.com/bad_service/1284877.html

We are not immune to this on our side of the border either. Recently Rogers has taken over Sprint Canada and many familiar with Rogers can report a variety of horror stories. One local blog reader recanted a story about purchasing a service package from Rogers via Radio Shack for her retired mother. Her mom decided that she was not going to get involved with the wireless revolution so the daughter returned the phone within 24 hours but Radio Shack said they would not give a refund even though the box was clearly never opened. "Take it up with Rogers" was the answer. Rogers wouldn't let her out of the contract either. They suggested that the daughter put the service in her name but to do so would require the conscent of her mother who never ever used a cellphone in her life. Also, since she wasn't the original purchaser of the package she did not qualify for the same promotion and therefore had to pay a higher monthly fee. This was enough. The daughter marched back to the Radio shack where she purchased the package and demanded that something be done. She did so at the top of her lungs and in front of a store full of customers; some even pawing over the same bundle she was talking about. The nervous clerk brought in the store manager who in turn made a couple of calls and before long the whole problem was fixed. Here are other such stories:

http://www.rogersandme.ca/consumer_exp.html

http://www.complaints.com/directory/2005/march/8/26.htm

It's very interesting that Rogers now owns Telus and Sprint. One might think that the CRTC would regulate against such mergers to avert a potential monopoly. Oh well...The lesson to be learned in all of this is that we need to be vigilant at making the right choices. Research our purchases and buy smart. Avoid companies with bad customer support ratings such as Sprint at all costs. They obviously do not want to change their ways.



The following poll has to do with false roaming charges which some of us get because of our proximity to the U.S. border. Maybe you have noticed, maybe you haven't. Please check the appropriate box so that we can get a snapshot of whats going on out there:

There you have it. This brief poll suggests that there is a significant segment which is experiencing roaming charges (54%). The question then becomes: Are you adjusting your phone bills to have the roaming charges removed? It is doable and providers do recognize the problem which we experience as a border town. To eliminate the roaming hastle there is a fix which you can do within the menus of your cell phone. As follows:

Click on "Menu", Select "Settings", open up "setup" or "roaming", choose "set mode" and finally select "home only".

This will eleiminate your phones tendancy to search out the most powerful towers which around here are in Detroit. Call your provider to have your charge history corrected and adjust your cell phone. Money in the bank.