A small caravan park in the relatively unknown fishing village of Kurrimine Beach has just out shone some of the states biggest tourism operators winning the Tourism Queensland campaign to find the states best tourism customer service ambassadors.
Park owners Kay and Marcus Kitchen - and managers Corey and Tracey Patterson - wowed the judges with their diary of a typical week.
"The way Kurrimine goes above and beyond for guests ... shows how they are striving for excellence on every occasion," said TQ executive director Steve McRoberts, a member of the judging panel which awarded the $10,000 prize.
Kay Kitchen, owner of the Kurrimine Beach Holiday Park accredits the award winning service to "creating a fun and friendly environment and remembering to treat guests as you would like to be treated".
Winning the award has been a tonic for the park at the end of a tough year, which started when Cyclone Yasi blew through, damaging cabins and taking out gardens and fences.
The park was operational again within weeks, but Marcus Kitchen then broke his arm whilst cleaning up. There was worse to come - using his bobcat to put out a fire down the road, a hydraulic hose broke spraying him with burning fluid, resulting in burns to 35 per cent of his body.
With Mr and Mrs Kitchen travelling regularly to the burns unit in Brisbane, they brought in Mr and Mrs Patterson to help run the park.
We are at the southern end of Kurrimine Beach, a quiet fishing village untouched by major development. Our Holiday Park, set in lush tropical gardens, is the ideal place for a relaxing holiday, lots of fun for the kids and a perfect base to explore the beautiful Cassowary Coast.
Kurrimine Beach is an unspoilt tropical holiday destination with the Great Barrier Reef on its doorstep. The spirit and hospitality of old North Queensland is still alive in the picturesque fishing hamlet. It has become a haven for those who appreciate the laid back style of holidaying and relaxation.
2011年12月4日星期日
2011年9月22日星期四
Southern Weaving buys Jones Products
CEO Ron Mohling announced that Greenville-based Southern Weaving Company, manufacturer of narrow webbing, has expanded its manufacturing capabilities through the acquisition of Jones Products, a company specializing in coatings for webbing.
This purchase will give Southern Weaving the ability to add value to its products. Coatings can enhance the performance of webbing, making it more abrasion-resistant, durable, waterproof, and cleanable, among other characteristics.
"The former Jones Products has actually been a valued Southern Weaving customer for many years, and we are pleased to combine forces with them to offer the market coated webbing," Mohling said. Mohling indicated that, within the next few months, the equipment will be transitioned from the Chicago area to Southern Weaving's Anderson, South Carolina facility.
Darryl King, Anderson plant manager, will lead the transition team. Some key personnel from the former Jones Products will relocate to South Carolina, and Southern Weaving anticipates adding up to six new employees as the coating business grows.
Southern Weaving has been in business since 1924 and has led the launch of technical textiles into many arenas, from brakepads for the Model T Ford, to composite layers for the shell of inflatable space structures. Its operation includes manufacturing facilities in Greenville, S.C., Anderson, S.C., and Collingwood Canada.
The company makes narrow webbing that serves various markets such as industrial slings, fall protection body harnesses, sporting equipment, and hydraulic hose sleeves. The coating capability will add value in those current markets, and allow Southern Weaving to enter some new markets.
This purchase will give Southern Weaving the ability to add value to its products. Coatings can enhance the performance of webbing, making it more abrasion-resistant, durable, waterproof, and cleanable, among other characteristics.
"The former Jones Products has actually been a valued Southern Weaving customer for many years, and we are pleased to combine forces with them to offer the market coated webbing," Mohling said. Mohling indicated that, within the next few months, the equipment will be transitioned from the Chicago area to Southern Weaving's Anderson, South Carolina facility.
Darryl King, Anderson plant manager, will lead the transition team. Some key personnel from the former Jones Products will relocate to South Carolina, and Southern Weaving anticipates adding up to six new employees as the coating business grows.
Southern Weaving has been in business since 1924 and has led the launch of technical textiles into many arenas, from brakepads for the Model T Ford, to composite layers for the shell of inflatable space structures. Its operation includes manufacturing facilities in Greenville, S.C., Anderson, S.C., and Collingwood Canada.
The company makes narrow webbing that serves various markets such as industrial slings, fall protection body harnesses, sporting equipment, and hydraulic hose sleeves. The coating capability will add value in those current markets, and allow Southern Weaving to enter some new markets.
2011年8月14日星期日
Shale gas exploration gets nod
Two companies have been granted a licence to explore for shale gas near Casterton in Victoria's far south-west.
The State Government granted the licence to explore the almost 2,000 square kilometre area, on the condition that Beach Energy and Somerton Energy are given permission by the area's native title holders.
The managing director of Somerton Energy, Hector Gordon, says it could be up to two years before any drilling occurs.
He says extracting the gas would not necessarily require the controversial hydraulic fracturing process to be used.
"There could be some hydraulic fracturing proposed at some stage but that's a fair way off at the moment," he said.
"It may well be that we just find conventional oil and gas and there's no fracturing required."
The State Government granted the licence to explore the almost 2,000 square kilometre area, on the condition that Beach Energy and Somerton Energy are given permission by the area's native title holders.
The managing director of Somerton Energy, Hector Gordon, says it could be up to two years before any drilling occurs.
He says extracting the gas would not necessarily require the controversial hydraulic fracturing process to be used.
"There could be some hydraulic fracturing proposed at some stage but that's a fair way off at the moment," he said.
"It may well be that we just find conventional oil and gas and there's no fracturing required."
2011年7月28日星期四
County liability insurance rates remain stable
A representative of the county’s insurance provider, KCAMP, told the commission Monday the county has a higher than average loss ratio.
In 2007, the county’s loss ratio was a little more than 100 percent, in 2008, it was 247 percent, in 2009, it was 48 percent, and last year, it was 126 percent.
The county’s four-year average loss ratio is 134 percent.
If KCAMP was a commercial insurer, it would need its insured clients to have a loss ratio of about 60 percent to make money. A loss ration more than 100 percent means the county filed more in claims than it paid in premiums.
The county’s largest loss last year was a fire than destroyed a scrapper. A hydraulic hose burst, spewed hydraulic fluid on the engine, and the piece of equipment caught fire.
John Waltner, county administrator, said the equipment had recently been serviced, and he did not know what the county could have done to prevent the fire. That claim was for $150,000.
The county pays about $146,000 per year for insurance. That covers everything except worker’s compensation.
Despite having a loss ratio higher than some other counties in the state, the county’s insurance rate drooped last year by 1.3 percent.
Larry Sharp, KCAMP
representative, attributed this to a soft insurance market.
In other business, the county:
In 2007, the county’s loss ratio was a little more than 100 percent, in 2008, it was 247 percent, in 2009, it was 48 percent, and last year, it was 126 percent.
The county’s four-year average loss ratio is 134 percent.
If KCAMP was a commercial insurer, it would need its insured clients to have a loss ratio of about 60 percent to make money. A loss ration more than 100 percent means the county filed more in claims than it paid in premiums.
The county’s largest loss last year was a fire than destroyed a scrapper. A hydraulic hose burst, spewed hydraulic fluid on the engine, and the piece of equipment caught fire.
John Waltner, county administrator, said the equipment had recently been serviced, and he did not know what the county could have done to prevent the fire. That claim was for $150,000.
The county pays about $146,000 per year for insurance. That covers everything except worker’s compensation.
Despite having a loss ratio higher than some other counties in the state, the county’s insurance rate drooped last year by 1.3 percent.
Larry Sharp, KCAMP
representative, attributed this to a soft insurance market.
In other business, the county:
- Approved the purchase of four $20 road signs to designate the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail through Harvey County.
- Approved a memorandum of understanding between the Harvey County Health Department and the Health Ministries on the coordinating of care between the two entities. Health Ministries will serve as the medical primary care provider for clients both entities serve.
- Appointed Tim Johnson and Richard Denno to the Public Building Commission.
- Reappointed Neva Frey and Dorothy Kennedy to the Harvey County Council on Aging.
- Approved a memorandum that would give emergency management access to a list of residents with special needs in case of a disaster.
- Approved bylaws for the Kansas Local Emergency Planning Committee.
- Approved a Harvey County Emergency Operations Plan.
- Approved the adoption of a resolution that would allow the emergency management director to make minor changes or corrections as needed to the emergency plan without the commission’s approval.
2011年5月22日星期日
Marcellus Shale motherlode brings world of change
Earlier this year, Phillip Whalen packed his bags, left his home in Louisiana and set up shop in western Pennsylvania.
The 15-year oil and gas industry veteran said work has dried up around the Gulf of Mexico, in part because of the fallout from the BP PLC oil spill last year. In what has become a kind of reverse national oil rush, Mr. Whalen said, his motivation for heading north to this small community 20 miles south of Pittsburgh was simple.
“I’m doing what I have to do to keep a roof over the head and pay the bills,” the grizzled family man said early one morning. He was dressed in a blue jumpsuit and was smoking a last cigarette outside his hotel before heading off to work.
His company, T3 Energy Services, sent him to Washington, the economic epicenter for exploiting what many think is the nation’s path away from dangerous dependence on foreign oil.
Big energy companies have set up shop here to tap the Marcellus Shale, a massive chunk of marine sedimentary rock stretching from the Finger Lakes region of New York as far south as Kentucky and Tennessee, holding within its subterranean grip vast deposits of natural gas.
Technology that essentially uses extreme water pressure to crack open the rock and liberate the natural gas within so that it can be pumped to waiting pipelines has given mining and energy companies access to the plentiful supply of shale oil and gas in recent years.
Proponents tout so-called “hydraulic fracturing” or “fracking” as the key to satisfying the nation’s booming energy appetite — using reliable, domestic sources — for a century or more. Critics warn that the procedure is dangerous, an untested technology that opens the way for mysterious chemicals to seep into water supplies, while leaving unsuspecting residents of small towns and rural hamlets vulnerable to environmental and economic disruption.
The 15-year oil and gas industry veteran said work has dried up around the Gulf of Mexico, in part because of the fallout from the BP PLC oil spill last year. In what has become a kind of reverse national oil rush, Mr. Whalen said, his motivation for heading north to this small community 20 miles south of Pittsburgh was simple.
“I’m doing what I have to do to keep a roof over the head and pay the bills,” the grizzled family man said early one morning. He was dressed in a blue jumpsuit and was smoking a last cigarette outside his hotel before heading off to work.
His company, T3 Energy Services, sent him to Washington, the economic epicenter for exploiting what many think is the nation’s path away from dangerous dependence on foreign oil.
Big energy companies have set up shop here to tap the Marcellus Shale, a massive chunk of marine sedimentary rock stretching from the Finger Lakes region of New York as far south as Kentucky and Tennessee, holding within its subterranean grip vast deposits of natural gas.
Technology that essentially uses extreme water pressure to crack open the rock and liberate the natural gas within so that it can be pumped to waiting pipelines has given mining and energy companies access to the plentiful supply of shale oil and gas in recent years.
Proponents tout so-called “hydraulic fracturing” or “fracking” as the key to satisfying the nation’s booming energy appetite — using reliable, domestic sources — for a century or more. Critics warn that the procedure is dangerous, an untested technology that opens the way for mysterious chemicals to seep into water supplies, while leaving unsuspecting residents of small towns and rural hamlets vulnerable to environmental and economic disruption.
2011年4月17日星期日
Oil, Gas Companies Injected Toxic Chemicals Into Ground, U.S. Report Shows
Fourteen oil and gas companies used 780 million gallons of hydraulic-fracturing products from 2005 and 2009, including toxic substances like benzene and lead, to extract gas from shale rock, according to a report by Democrats in the U.S. Congress.
More than 2,500 products containing 750 chemicals and other components were used, Representatives Henry Waxman, Edward Markey and Diana DeGette wrote in the report.
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a technique that involves injecting a mix of water, sand and chemicals into the ground to extract oil or gas. From 2005 and 2009, the 14 companies used fracking products containing 29 chemicals that are known or possible human carcinogens, regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act for their risks to human health or listed as hazardous air pollutants, according to the report.
“In many instances, the oil and gas service companies were unable to identify these proprietary chemicals, suggesting that the companies are injecting fluids containing chemicals that they themselves cannot identify,” Democrats on the Energy and Commerce Committee said in an e-mailed statement yesterday.
The most widely used chemical in fracking during this period was methanol, a hazardous air pollutant, the report shows. The Democratic study was reported earlier by the New York Times.
“Hydraulic fracturing has opened access to vast domestic reserves of natural gas that could provide an important stepping stone to a clean energy future,” according to the report. “Yet questions about the safety of hydraulic fracturing persist, which are compounded by the secrecy surrounding the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing fluids.”
Shale-Gas Output
Shale-gas output in the U.S. rose more than eightfold in the last decade as operators started fields in Pennsylvania, Arkansas, Louisiana, Montana and North Dakota. Increased supplies could help reduce the amount of energy the U.S. imports, the Energy Information Administration said in December.
President Barack Obama said last month the U.S. should tap its shale-gas deposits as part of a long-term plan to guarantee energy security. Shale gas may account for 45 percent of total U.S. gas output by 2035 compared with 14 percent in 2009, EIA data show.
More than 2,500 products containing 750 chemicals and other components were used, Representatives Henry Waxman, Edward Markey and Diana DeGette wrote in the report.
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a technique that involves injecting a mix of water, sand and chemicals into the ground to extract oil or gas. From 2005 and 2009, the 14 companies used fracking products containing 29 chemicals that are known or possible human carcinogens, regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act for their risks to human health or listed as hazardous air pollutants, according to the report.
“In many instances, the oil and gas service companies were unable to identify these proprietary chemicals, suggesting that the companies are injecting fluids containing chemicals that they themselves cannot identify,” Democrats on the Energy and Commerce Committee said in an e-mailed statement yesterday.
The most widely used chemical in fracking during this period was methanol, a hazardous air pollutant, the report shows. The Democratic study was reported earlier by the New York Times.
“Hydraulic fracturing has opened access to vast domestic reserves of natural gas that could provide an important stepping stone to a clean energy future,” according to the report. “Yet questions about the safety of hydraulic fracturing persist, which are compounded by the secrecy surrounding the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing fluids.”
Shale-Gas Output
Shale-gas output in the U.S. rose more than eightfold in the last decade as operators started fields in Pennsylvania, Arkansas, Louisiana, Montana and North Dakota. Increased supplies could help reduce the amount of energy the U.S. imports, the Energy Information Administration said in December.
President Barack Obama said last month the U.S. should tap its shale-gas deposits as part of a long-term plan to guarantee energy security. Shale gas may account for 45 percent of total U.S. gas output by 2035 compared with 14 percent in 2009, EIA data show.
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