Bangor Parish Church damaged in fire - BBC News
A passing police patrol prevented the landmark Bangor Parish Church from being destroyed in a fire, a senior detective has said.
The fire was started at about 02:00 BST in its roof, which was badly damaged
The inside of the 130-year-old Church of Ireland building on Hamilton Road was badly smoke-logged.
Chief Inspector Michael McDonald said his officers quickly alerted the Fire Service who managed to stop it from spreading further.
"They detected fire coming from the church and quickly sealed off roads and alerted the fire service," he said.
"I am convinced that their swift action saved the building from major damage."
'Saddened'Reverend Nigel Parker said parishioners were shocked by the damage caused to the church.
"We are just very thankful that no-one was injured and that it was brought under control so quickly," he said.
"It is a very special place of worship and it is very saddening to see what has happened."
He said it could take several months for repairs to be carried out.
Fire station commander James McAllister praised the fast response of the police and fire crews.
"Within minutes they had got the fire on the roof of the church out," he said.
"The breathing apparatus teams were faced with intense heat. But because of the speed of the response from the crews, there has been a limitation to the damage."
Police are working to establish how the fire started.
Advocaat's two big calls - UEFA
Dick Advocaat said he has "a full squad to choose from" as Russia held their final training session before Friday's UEFA EURO 2012 game against the Czech Republic.
The 64-year-old gave very little away and also commented that the team "aren't feeling nervous" ahead of their opening game. There had been injury concerns about Igor Akinfeev, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Marat Izmailov, but all three seemed to move easily and without any noticeable problems.
The vast majority of the Russia team picks itself, but there are two positions that will give the Dutchman something to think over tonight. Perhaps the toughest is who will play in goal, with Akinfeev and Vyacheslav Malafeev two candidates who have both had to overcome adversity in recent times.
Fifteen months ago, Malafeev lost his wife in a car crash and was left to care for his two children alone. However, rather than let himself be overcome by grief, the FC Zenit St Petersburg keeper produced the form of his life and excelled for both the national team and his club in the UEFA Champions League.
Dick Advocaat addresses his squad during training on Thursday
The other quandary for Advocaat is who to play on the right-hand side of attack, with Alan Dzagoev, the incumbent, up against Izmailov. Dzagoev was Russia's joint top scorer in qualifying, but the 21-year-old only recently recovered from a broken bone in his foot and is now under pressure from a rejuvenated Izmailov. The Sporting Clube de Portugal winger is no stranger to injuries himself, though he has battled back to full fitness and was impressive in his country's warm-up games after six years in the international wilderness.
It's a nice headache for Advocaat to have going into the game with the Czech Republic and he has the luxury of knowing that whoever he chooses is likely to cause their opponents a number of problems.
BJP chief gets an earful from RSS - deccanchronicle.com
RSS bigwigs reportedly gave BJP state president K.S. Eshwarappa an earful for his remarks that the BJP government rode to power in 2008 relying on money and caste power. The BJP chief had ignited a fresh controversy in the ruling party with loyalists of former CM B.S. Yeddyurappa—many of whom had shifted from the Congress and JD(S) to the BJP— expressing outrage over his remarks.
The BJP president had said that the Yeddyurappa government was formed by launching Operation Kamala with money and caste playing a prime role. With the BJP just having emerged from a severe crisis, RSS functionaries reportedly advised Eshwarappa to focus on balancing the interests of different groups instead of raking up controversies. Soon after the rebuke, Eshwarappa denied making the statement attributed to him.
Former criminals invited to 'Clean Slate Day' in Concord - San Jose Mercury News
For the second year in a row, Contra Costa County is hosting a "Clean Slate Day" to help county residents rebuild their lives after criminal convictions.
Organized by the office of Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, the event is sponsored by several East Bay politicians and planned to run 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 14 at Concord's Willow Pass Center, 2748 East Olivera Road.
The event is free and offers several services. People with past convictions can consult with experts to see if they're eligible to have convictions wiped from their records, felonies reduced to misdemeanors, and probation terms relaxed.
"Our purpose," Skinner said, "is to help those who have served their time and who are now trying to be productive citizens, to help them clear their records so that their past does not stand in the way of their ability to get decent jobs or education."
Counselors will also advise participants on their employment rights and what can be reported on a commercial consumer background check.
People will even be able to get a haircut if they need one, access veterans services, or receive vision and dental screenings, Skinner said.
"The kind of people that we serve at Clean Slate Day are people who are really trying to get on track," Skinner said. "The whole thing is to really cut back those recidivism rates. If we can help people not go back into the justice system, let them get jobs and such, then we benefit everybody.
... The kind of person that is going to head back into the justice system, commit a crime again because that's just their character, that sort of person doesn't even show up to this kind of program."Participants will only be eligible to have a conviction dismissed if they are no longer on probation or parole, have no warrants and are not currently being charged with a crime.
Partners in the event include Rubicon Programs, Bay Area Legal Aid, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, Contra Costa Health Services and the county public defender's office.
A similar program was held last year in Richmond. About 800 people attended that, and of those about 100 got legal help, Skinner said. She said she's hoping for similar numbers this year.
Anyone interested in attending or getting more information can call Skinner's district office at 510-286-1400.
Contact Sean Maher at 925-943-8013. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/OneSeanMaher.
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