“Thieves break into RVs in Coldwater - WWMT” plus 4 more

Thieves break into RVs in Coldwater - WWMT
August 2009 - Watertown Daily Times
Full-time RVing - Seattle Post Intelligencer
Bank robbery gives way to chase, crash - WLS
From school bus to 'cool bus' - Worcester County Times

Thieves break into RVs in Coldwater - WWMT

Posted: 02 Oct 2009 02:55 PM PDT

COLDWATER, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) – Police say thieves are getting creative, not only are they breaking into home, they're breaking into homes on wheels.

Now, RV dealers are beefing up security after thieves walked into an RV dealership in the middle of the night, broke into nearly a dozen RVs and walked off the lot with tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment.

Haylett's North Country County Auto and RV sales in Coldwater has seen better days.

On Thursday morning, employees at the dealership discovered something wasn't right. On one RV the window was broken and a look inside revealed an empty frame that once housed a flat-screen TV.

"You're looking at about $1,500 a trailer in damage," said Sales Manager Jeff Knapp.

According to Knapp, it wasn't just one trailer on the well-lit lot that was struck.

"Usually when you see one there is a whole bunch more," said Knapp.

After inspecting the inventory, Knapp discovered that thieves had broken into a total of eleven RVs, taking TVs from each one.

"It just shows you that people will go to any measure if they need to," said Knapp.

Knapp told Newschannel 3 that if you were to add up the price of the TVs, the broken cabinetry and the windows, the damage totals 20 to 30 thousand dollars.

"It's personal," said Knapp. "Everybody is doing everything they can to catch these guys. We don't want this to happen to others."

For the first time in over 20 years, employees at Haylett are finding themselves looking over their shoulders.

"When I drive by I look at the parking lot now," said Haylett employee Josh Winters. "You look at everybody with a touch of suspicion."

Police in Coldwater say they are collecting as much information on the case as they can, but so far none of the stolen TVs or the suspects have turned up.

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August 2009 - Watertown Daily Times

Posted: 02 Oct 2009 06:19 AM PDT

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Full-time RVing - Seattle Post Intelligencer

Posted: 02 Oct 2009 07:09 AM PDT

My old motorhome had a crank-up device for raising and lowering the tv antenna. I never watch regular television so I threw away my tv antenna and attached Mary's and my WiFi antennas. The manufacturer says they can pull in a WiFi signal up to a mile. Over the three years that I've had mine, I've found about one-half mile to be more realistic. Two antennas are necessary because Mary's computer uses Vista while mine uses XP and they are not inter-changable in their use.

I find it much more to convenient to do my Internet work in the motorhome rather than going into a library or the family lodge at a Thousand Trails RV Resort, etc...so these antennas are handy in that respect. However, because our new motorhome has a central air conditioning system (meaning duct work between the ceiling and the roof), it has no crank-up antenna system. It uses a small 360 degree radar-looking-like dome to which our WiFi antennas could not be connected. So what to do about that situation?

I came up with the idea of using a telescoping painter's rod. The antennas are attached to the top and the rod collapses for storage when underway. It attaches to the motorhome with a spring clip and a bungee cord around the mirror arm. In theory, it should work. While not as convenient as a crank-up device on the roof, this unit can be put up or down in less than five minutes. The antenna cords will be fed into the motorhome through the driver's window screen area.

Mary and I have discussed getting a Verizon Air Card (for $60 a month) but haven't done so as of yet because Mary already pays in excess of $60 a month for her home tv, phone and Internet service. In addition the Verizon Air Card has a 5 GB monthly limit and we are both on the Internet a lot and unsure if we could stay within that limit. Finally...there are times when we get so far out that the is no cellphone service available and hence the Verizon Air Card would be useless. Two days ago I ordered, and expect to receive tomorrow, a cell phone amplifier system that will greatly increase our cell phone signal range.

Most RVers deal with these on-the-road Internet connection problems. This is my current solution which we will try for while and if it doesn't work out all that well...I'll scratch my head and figure out something different to try!

All original material Copyright - Jim Jaillet 2009
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.panamaorbust.com

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Bank robbery gives way to chase, crash - WLS

Posted: 01 Oct 2009 08:47 PM PDT

October 1, 2009 (SOUTH HOLLAND, Ill.) (WLS) -- Bank robbery suspects were chased by police through the south suburbs.

The pursuit ended with a crash.

A bomb squad was called in; they blew up a duffle bag found in the suspects' van.

Authorities were looking for explosives because of the bomb threat called into the bank targeted by the robbers.

At one point during the robbery, chase and crash, streets in one suburb and a section of highway in another were shut down.

The police drama started Thursday morning around 10 a.m. at a bank in South Holland and ended with the crash at the intersection of Sauk Trail and Route 394 near Sauk Village.

A South Holland Bank robbery and apparent police chase ended on I-394 near Sauk Trail Road in Sauk Trail.

Federal authorities say they caught two suspects.

The multi-car pile up involved the suspect's red vehicle, a luxury RV, and two south suburban police cars.

Both cop cars appeared damaged. The entire front end of one vehicle was smashed and authorities say the Sauk Village officer was injured during the crash.

A passenger in the suspect's red vehicle was also injured.

Police do not believe the injuries are life threatening.

It all started around 10 on Thursday morning. The FBI reports that someone called in a bomb threat to First National Bank.

Shortly thereafter, a lone robber attempted to rob the bank - essentially shutting down 162nd, one of the major thoroughfares through South Holland.

"My employees called me on the phone because across the street from my shop. They had just robbed the bank," said Rafoo Johnson, auto shop owner.

FBI officials say the robber disarmed a security guard and held some of the bank employees hostage. The robber brought his own bag and demanded that it be filled with cash.

After that, the feds say he took off in vehicle that was waiting outside the bank and that's when the high-speed chase started.

Several blocks in South Holland were shut down throughout the morning and afternoon.

"It's difficult because we have vendors who have parts...we have customers who have been sitting waiting to leave but nobody can leave or do anything this time," said Johnson.

"They should definitely put out information of what's going on. We live out here too. We want to know what's going on in our community too," said Shakayshia Perry, auto Shop customer.

Back at the crash scene late Thursday afternoon a bomb squad suited up to detonate an object. At this point, it's unclear what they discovered and destroyed at that scene.

The two suspects are expected to be charged on Friday.

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From school bus to 'cool bus' - Worcester County Times

Posted: 01 Oct 2009 11:57 AM PDT

BERLIN -- When is a yellow school bus not yellow? When it's green.

Berlin residents Josh and Tina Koch are stripping a 1993 Blue Bird school bus and turning it into a personalized recreational vehicle powered by used cooking oil and solar panels. When it's finished, they'll take their three home-schooled children to the Grand Canyon.

Before the kids came along, Tina and Josh used to take long trips to the southwest states. She wanted to take the trip again, this time with the kids -- 10-year old Zoe, 7-year-old Zach and 4-year-old Zane -- but without the expense of an RV. She also wanted to make the trip in a diesel engine vehicle running on used fryer grease, to raise awareness of nonpetroleum alternative fuel sources.

"I thought it would be a great experience for them to travel the country, and that it would be ironic if they did it in a school bus -- if we made it not a school bus, but a 'cool bus,' and they got their learning through experience, instead of regular school," said Tina, 39. "It's less expensive to buy a school bus and convert it rather than buy an RV big enough for five of us to travel comfortably."

"I don't know if it would be any cheaper, but it's more fun," said Josh, 40. "There's a coolness factor to it."

The project was Tina's idea. She read about the concept of converted school buses -- or "schoolies," as she called them -- on the Internet. They bought their bus last month for $5,500 from Holloway Transit in Salisbury. It was showing about 108,000 miles and had reached its 15-year limit as a passenger vehicle for students. The flat-front steel behemoth, weighing in around 15 tons, would prove much sturdier than any RV with a fiberglass body, Josh noted.

The first thing they did was remove objects no longer essential to the bus in its new life, like brown vinyl seats, heavy linoleum mats, aluminum pieces, wiring, heating and cooling components.

"Pile after pile started coming out the back door," Josh said. "Basically, gut it down to nothing."

They also had to remove flashing lights and re-paint it a different color. According to Maryland law, no other vehicle designed for carrying passengers can be "national school bus yellow."

Josh says Tina has her own scheme in mind. "She's going terra cotta with turquoise accent, kind of a southwest theme. Whatever she wants. I'm just building the bus," he said.

Josh owns the Berlin auto repair shop O.C. Imports, and Tina works their nearby used car lot. He said his experience of being around cars most of his life gives him the experience and tools for the job.

"You're a plumber, you're an electrician, you're a machinist, you're an interior repairman -- being a mechanic has so many specialties," he said. "Just from working on cars, you learn all the basics of everything. Actually, I've become very good at everything."

Plans for the interior of the bus include a bedroom in back with a futon and flat-screen TV. Four bunk beds will line the middle, beside a toilet and shower. They'll also install a propane stove, sink, refrigerator and microwave. Josh will build benches, cabinetry and a small dining table.

Out back, he'll install a rear-view video monitor. On the roof, a safari rack will share space with solar panels that re-charge massive batteries that run the bus and interior mechanisms. In true RV style, they'll also add a retractable awning to the side.

On a custom-made wooden dashboard, Josh will install a button where he can switch from diesel fuel to fryer grease. He expects that grease, which he says they'll be able to get for free from restaurants along the way, to get him 10 miles to the gallon. With a 100-gallon tank strapped to the rear of the bus, that's 1,000 miles of free fuel.

"Free is definitely better than $3 a gallon," Josh said.

Tina says their maiden voyage will likely come this winter to visit friends in New Hampshire. The two-week trip to Arizona will come soon afterwards, with further "cool bus" adventures beyond that, maybe into Canada or Mexico.

Tina wants the project done by January or February. Not so fast, Josh says.

"That's not going to happen," he said. "Every time I take one step forward you find something that you didn't count on."

Two more family members will join the Kochs on their voyage: dogs Ozzie and Lucy, a Retriever mutt and Great Dane-mastiff mix. Staying home for the journey, unfortunately, will be Wilbur, their pet pig.

"The pig's going to have to fend for himself," Tina said.

bshane@dmg.gannett.com

410-213-9442, ext. 14