Month: December 2023

Smokestacks will remain as brownfield funds pave way for trails, housing in Summit County Shannon Coan Akron Beacon Journal

Eleven brownfield sites ranging from cornerstones of Akron’s history as a rubber capital to locations with names familiar to generations of Summit County families will get millions of state dollars for clean-up and redevelopment.

In Akron, parts of the first rubber business in the city — the former B.F. Goodrich power plant located in downtown Akron — are set to be remediated by removing asbestos and demolishing unsafe buildings.

Portions of Building 59, an older building on the west side of the canal next to the smokestacks, are slated for demolition.

“Right now, it’s very unsafe in there,” said Brad Beckert of Akron’s Office of Integrated Development. “We can’t do a whole lot inside because the building is in such a bad shape. We don’t want people to get hurt doing anything in there.”

The two iconic B.F. Goodrich brick smokestacks in downtown Akron are safe, though, for now.

Beckert said the city will probably have to take the smokestacks down eventually, but that it wasn’t in the plans for this project and there wasn’t a timeline for when it might happen.

“Those are something that eventually we would have to take a look at because they’re not in great shape either,” he said.

Changing skyline:B.F. Goodrich smokestack getting cut in half to ‘RICH’

The efforts are part of the Ohio Brownfield Remediation Program, which provides funds for the remediation of brownfield sites in Ohio that are underutilized due to a known or potential release of hazardous substances. A brownfield is any previously developed land that is not currently in use.

The program will provide nearly $350 million in grants across the state. Almost $20 million has been distributed to projects in Summit County so far.

“We’re not creating any new land anymore, so we have to reutilize land. A lot of these brownfield areas — which are in the central city — are prime locations for, as I’ve described, for residential or commercial structures,” Beckert said. “It’s very important for us to be able to clean these up and to make them usable for developers to commit to reuse the property within the city.”

Akron received nearly $5 million from the state for remediation at the former power plant. The city currently does not have a specific plan for what the site will be used for once it’s cleaned up, but Beckert said there are multiple developers interested in the property and it could be turned into a residential or commercial structure.

Demolition of Building 59 will hopefully start at the end of this year or the beginning of next, Beckert said. The property will likely not be ready for redevelopment until the middle of 2024.

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Black River Ghost Ship Lorain, Ohio A former Canadian automobile ferry mysteriously appeared in the Black River 20 years ago, and now it quietly rusts away.

UNDERNEATH THE LOFTON HENDERSON MEMORIAL Bridge on the banks of the Black River outside of Cleveland, lies a bit of a nautical mystery for the residents of Lorain, Ohio. Slowly sinking into the muddy water along the shore and listing to one side, rusting away a little more each season, is the “ghost ship,” a 90-foot long Canadian automobile ferry that mysteriously appeared docked under the bridge sometime around 2003.

Though rumors abound, no one in the city government has been able to locate the person who owns this beautiful piece of history, and so, for the last 20 years, the ship has remained where it dropped anchor all those years ago.

In peeling white paint across the ship’s bow, one can still read the name “Upper Canada,” and records exist of the ship being active from her construction in 1949 (under the name the “Romeo and Annette”) to the late 1990s in various ports in Canada. But no one has been able to locate her final owner.

When the ship first appeared sometime around 2003, the Coast Guard inspected the ship to make sure that it did not pose any environmental issues, such as ensuring it wasn’t leaking oil or other hazardous chemicals.  Since that initial inspection back in the early 2000s, the boat has begun taking on water, which has led to gasoline and oil seeping into the Black River.

In January 2023, the Coast Guard put floating booms around the decrepit vessel to ensure that nothing floated out of the sinking hull to contaminate the river.

No one knows what will happen to the ship. But, for now, it serves as a decaying piece of maritime history that is well worth the walk to the top of the bridge in Lorain to view!

Know Before You Go

Parking is available in an empty lot below the approach to the Lofton Henderson Memorial Bridge. Sidewalks lining the bridge offer views of the ship below. Be careful; traffic here is plentiful and brisk. Plenty of overhead photographic opportunities can be had from the bridge above the ship as well as fantastic views of the Black River.

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Redstone Coke Ovens Carbondale, Colorado Once owned by the largest employer in Colorado, these ovens have been abandoned for over a century.

COKE IS A NEARLY PURE carbon product made from coal that is critical in many industrial processes, steel-making in particular. It is made by carefully heating coal in an oxygen-poor environment to drive off volatiles, all while not igniting the carbon. Typically the coal is placed in an enclosed chamber, a so-called coke oven, to smolder for about a day. Then the finished coke is doused with cold water to stop any further combustion, at which point it can then be shipped to the ultimate market.

These ovens were built in 1899 by Colorado Fuel and Iron to process high-quality, almost ash-free coal that was ideal for coke manufacture. The deposit was in Coal Basin, some 2,200 feet higher, and the raw coal was brought down by a narrow gauge railroad, while the finished coke was shipped out by standard gauge.  The adjacent Crystal River provided abundant cold water for quenching the hot coke.

Some 249 ovens were built and peak production briefly reached 6 million tons annually in the first years of the 20th century. In fact, some 10 percent of workers in Colorado at that time worked here. The large scale of operation was very short-lived, however; the company had financial problems by 1904, and then transportation to the intended end-use at the mill in Pueblo proved to be too expensive. The operation completely shut down in 1908.

The abandoned ovens immediately began to deteriorate, and their deterioration was worsened by pillaging for materials. The steel supports were also salvaged in the scrap drives of World War II, which further hastened the destruction.

Not till 1990 were the coke ovens belatedly recognized as a historic site. At present 90 ovens survive reasonably intact, and in recent years several have been restored.

Know Before You Go

The ovens are off Colorado State Route 133 across from the village of Redstone, originally the old company town. There is parking right off the highway.

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Matz Farmstead Ruins Cross Plains, Wisconsin Picturesque and haunting, these 160-year-old stone ruins on top of a bluff are the only remains of a settler’s legacy.

FIRST SETTLED IN 1840, CROSS Plains, Wisconsin is a small town approximately 15 miles west of Madison, the state capital city. A 1920 edition of the Wisconsin State Journal described the town as “nestled in a narrow valley, hemmed in by frowning bluffs.” Situated atop part of these frowning bluffs are the remnants of the Matz Farmstead, which consists of two desolate stone structures, the only remains of German-born settler Friedrich Matz’s built legacy.

Located in the Dane County Halfway Prairie Wildlife Area, these two structures are evidence of early Cross Plains history. In 1842, the village had a total of 13 people. Ten years later, the Matz farmstead was first homesteaded. In the interim years, the village of Cross Plains evolved tremendously.

Spatially, the village was once part of the then-fledgling town of Madison until 1847, when it broke off to become its own town. Built on Ho-Chunk Nation land, the early settler history of Cross Plains is described as being a confluence of Native American, German, Irish, Norwegian, Hungarian, and Mormon cultures. As more people converged upon the territory of Wisconsin, Cross Plains, too, grew. Borders, farmers, hunters and trappers, blacksmiths, and other occupations formed the commercial underpinnings of the town. A governmental system was established with the elections of the first officers in 1847. In 1857, a flour mill was built, receiving a 50-horsepower steam engine in 1875.

It was amidst this context that Matz set down his roots on the Cross Plains bluffs. Ten years after returning from the Civil War, Matz built the house. He lived there with his wife, Katherina, their son and daughter-in-law, and their grandchildren. Unfortunately, the house burned down in 1949, leaving only the stone parts of the house. Pictures of it show a house built in a traditional vernacular style with two stories. The other extant structure on the former farmstead is an agricultural outbuilding, an astylistic but utilitarian structure likely built for storage. Like many Cross Plains settlers at the time, the Matz family lived off of the land, growing produce such as corn and potatoes, raising oxen, and harvesting hay.

Know Before You Go

You can walk the entire site along the fence line, but there is no official path. Not handicapped accessible. Parking just below the ruins.

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Veteran’s Memorial Bridge Ozark, Alabama Now abandoned, the first reinforced concrete bridge in Alabama still stands over the Pea River.

THOUGHT TO BE THE FIRST in the state, this reinforced concrete river bridge was erected in 1921 over the Pea River and dedicated as a memorial to the 57 Dale Country veterans who lost their lives during World War I. The bridge was used until 1970, when two new bridges were built across the river.

In 1979, the Historic Chattahoochee Commission and the Dale County Historical Society erected a historic marker by the north side of the bridge. The marker was replaced and rededicated on Wednesday, February 2011, by members of Brundidge VFW Post 7055.

The bridge now sits abandoned next to a busy U.S. Highway 231N.  but the location remains a popular river to float with either a small flat-bottom boat or a canoe.

Know Before You Go

Located 9 miles (14.5 km) from Ozark on U.S. Highway 231N. There is parking at the end of the bridge.

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Old Zoo Nature Trails Cisco, Texas Hike the ruins of a zoo that was shut down by an unsolved murder.

THE CISCO ZOO OPENED IN the 1920s, to the delight of residents in rural central Texas. Situated in the shadow of a dam, this small zoo offered visitors a chance to see flamingos, monkeys, bears, and many other animals. Although its selection of animals would have been quotidian by modern standards, the Cisco Zoo was a thrilling experience to visitors.

The fun came to a grinding halt when the menagerie became a murder mystery. A bear was poisoned in an unsolved crime, and a deer died under conspicuous circumstances as well. These and other factors saw the zoo fully abandoned in the 1930s.

Almost a hundred years later, the long-abandoned ruins were repurposed as a hiking trail by the local nonprofit Students, Athletics, Families and Education. Visitors can walk through the rusted enclosures and concrete shelters where the animals were once kept, and even find the remains of what were once offices used by zoo staff. The ruins form an eerie backdrop to an otherwise tranquil 1.5-mile track still in the shadow of the dam.

Know Before You Go

The Old Zoo nature trail doesn’t have a street address listed on most navigation websites and apps. Admission is free, though donations are accepted.

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Step 6: Break Curses Off Of Your Ancestry

SAY THIS:

In the name of Jesus Christ, I remit the sins of all of my ancestors whether by blood or by marriage. I repent for myself and for all family members who have carried curses caused by any chosen or unawares actions. I now renounce all curses from the use of charms, hexes, spells, jinxes, psychic powers, sorcery, witchcraft, love potions, psychic prayers, and divination, in my blood family on the mother and father’s side going all the way back to Adam and Eve.

I also remit the sins, bind and cast underfoot all curses and demonic attachments related to ancestral or childhood violence, trauma, physical bondages, mental bondages, incest, illegitimacy, abandonment, rejection, torture and any ungodly, abominable ritual.

I loose myself and my family from any ungodly vows made by any person or by any occult or psychic sources. And I bind and cast out any demons that came through my family bloodline. I repent for and nullify any and all invitations that any of us made erroneously or purposefully to unclean spirits, demons and evil angels of light.

Father, I repent for and remit our sins related to associations with lodges, fraternities, clubs, sexual partners, close friends, relatives, engagements, cults, occult objects, dolls, figurines, junk food, cigarettes, drugs, movies, anime, TV shows, computer games, gambling, porn, masturbation, fornication and secular music. I renounce all these ties and declare them destroyed in the name of Jesus.

I repent for and remit the sins related to our associations with Christian Denominations, Roman Catholicism, Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Mormonism, Scientology, Jehovah’s Witness, Mysticism, New Age, Atheism, Satanism (Thelema), Shamanism, Luciferianism (Illuminism), Paganism, Voodoo, Witchcraft, and Sex Magic. I also repent for and remit our collective family unbelief, doubt, lies, fear, hatred and malice. I bind and cast out all related spirits in Jesus’ name.

I personally repent for obeying the people in my life who urged me to go against what I knew was the will of God. This includes obeying the unbiblical suggestions, instructions, and commands of parents, grandparents, siblings, pastors, priests, nuns, bosses, doctors, nurses, counselors, practitioners, spouse, partners, or any other human being who ever led me astray.

Father, in Jesus’ name, I remit my sin and the sin of any of my family members who ever bowed to images, saints, statues, Mary (Diana), church leaders, or took part in any other abominable worship of creation over the Creator. I thank you for giving myself and my family a chance to repent, turn from our sins and to love and serve you with our lives going forward!


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  • Step 7: Break Off All Forces Working Against Your Love for the Risen Jesus Christ  

Rev. 12:11: And they overcame him (antichrist) by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

SAY THIS:

Father, I command every foul, unclean spirit that may have attached itself to me, to loose me, to leave me and my property, to seek dry ground and never return, in Jesus Christ’s name. In the name of Jesus Christ and through His shed blood, I bind, root out and cast out all evil spirits, including astral projected spirits sent my way. By the power and authority given to me to trample over serpents and scorpions and all powers of the enemy (Luke 10:19), I loose myself from any other residual holds that Satan has had on me. I renounce them permanently by the power of God through Jesus Christ. 

Proverbs 6:31
But if he (the robber) be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house.

Mighty God, I call forth the sevenfold return of what the robber stole from me through soul ties, evil prayers, hexes, spells, plots, and evil schemes that have been placed against me and my family. Also, by Joel 2:25 Lord you say you have restored the years the locusts have eaten, so I call forth a mighty restoration in my family of what is rightly ours through the blessings of Jesus. I call every lost blessing forth to manifest in my life right now. I decree and declare that this day I take back all ground I have given over to satan by my sins and the sins of my ancestors in the name of Jesus Christ.

Father I am committed to becoming free from the willful sin that leads to soul ties with the demonic world system. I trust your provision that who the Son sets free is free indeed. This is why I understand the necessity of crucifying my desires of the flesh with all its affections and lusts that the world encourages today (Gal 5:24). I also hold to what you say in Matthew 17:21 that some spirits can only go out by prayer and fasting. So I will pray and fast as necessary as I go on through my deliverance process.

Gal. 5:24: And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

Matthew 17:21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

I dedicate my life to serving the Kingdom of God to glorify my risen Savior. I yield by faith every area of my life over to the Lordship of Yeshua the Messiah and His new testament commandments. I dedicate my spirit, soul, and body to Jesus Christ and claim by faith that I am filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.


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  • Step 8: Break the Most Invisible Roots of Bloodline Curses and Soul Ties

SAY THIS:

Thank you Lord, for your redemptive power. I confess all of my sins and I ask for forgiveness. I release myself and my family from all connections that do not give life to me, but rather take it, in the name of Jesus. I loose myself and my family from any controlling people or controlling spirits in the name of Jesus. I bind, cast down and trample underfoot all mind control soul ties between myself and any victimizers, abusers, programmers, stalkers, swindlers, handlers, or other agents of the dark, known or unknown.

I bind, cast down and throw down the dark powers which work through … (mention the name of person) to harm me. I break their powers over my life, in the name of Jesus. I bind, root out and cast down all demonic authorities which motivated and controlled my relationship with… (mention the name of the person) and I break their authority and power over my affections, in the name of Jesus.

I break all soul ties binding me to any ungodly, untrue voice, report, news source, agenda, broadcast medium, political charade, celebrity decoy or culture creator in the name of Jesus. Let all evil affections directed towards me by evil forces be loosed in Jesus’ name, especially through… (mention the name of all suspected persons). I command all evil monitoring spirits, watchers and ‘remote controllers’ to loose their hold from my emotions, mind, will, and affections, in the name of Jesus.

From my place seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, above all powers, principalities, rulers and agents of darkness, I loose the hold of every bewitched relationship off of myself and my family, in the name of Jesus. I loose every strange authority from myself and my family in Jesus’ name. I loose myself and my family from all evil soul-ties and affections, in the name of Jesus. I root out and destroy every desire and expectation of the enemy to engage me or my family in any ungodly conversation, act or relationship, in the name of Jesus. I break every ungodly covenant, oath, pact, agreement and contract made for me or by me, whether spoken, written or spiritual in the name of Jesus.

I break and renounce all ungodly, emotional or prideful soul-ties I have had or may have had with:

a. All Secret Societies or other Cults
b. My Parents, Siblings and Children
c. My Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins
d. My Pets, Other Animals or Token (Spirit) Animals
e. My Former Spouse, Lovers and Partners (Name ALL)
f. Any Political Organizations, Mega Charities, and Charitable Foundations
g. Favorite TV Shows/Movies, Worldly Music (including Unbiblical Christian songs), Sports Affiliations
h. Favorite Places, Land, Buildings, Homes, Parks, Cities
i. Favorite Books, Authors, Leaders, Icons, Singers, Stars, Prominent Figures
j. Scouts or Greek Organizations
k. Past or Current Therapists, Counselors, Psychologists, or Psychiatrists
l. Former or Current Doctors or Surgeons
m. Famous or High Ranking Family Members or Ancestors
n. Religious or Spiritual Leaders or Gurus
o. In-Laws or Former In-Laws
p. Local Preachers
q. Occult Practitioners
r. New Age Experiences
s. Fantasy, Memories, Emotional Escape, Nostalgia
t. Sexual Partners in Dreams, Strange Visitations and Strange Spouses in Dreams
u. Anything Other You Need to Break

Father God, I yield to YOU ONLY as Lord over my soul — my mind, my will and my emotions, from this day forward in Jesus’ name. I claim full deliverance from all ungodly soul ties, in the name of Jesus. 


  • Step 9: PRAISE AND WORSHIP THE LORD FOR YOUR FREEDOM!

SAY THIS:

Most High Father God, you are the King of kings and Lord of lords. You are the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, The First and the Last, You are my Restorer, my Deliverer, the Creator of ALL. I love you, I praise you, I honor you, I glorify Your Holy Name. Your Name is Holy and You are Holy. Thank you for saving me. Thank you for restoring my life. Pull me close to you and keep my eyes and mind fixed on You and your Word.

Bring me to love you with ALL my heart, soul, mind and strength. Let me form perfect soul ties to you Lord God. Let me be bound to you who is the Great Physician and Healer. Let me prosper to glorify your name here on earth. Let my freedom from soul ties be my testimony of your greatness and grace. Thank you Lord. All things are possible with God. Jesus came to free me from captivity and He paid my ransom so I can be free. I receive my freedom in the Name of Jesus Christ my savior. I receive a new life.  Amen!

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Step 5: Renounce and Repent for Past Involvement in Other Faiths, Traditions, Rituals or Beliefs

Acts 7:42
But God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the sun, moon and stars. This agrees with what is written in the book of the prophets: “Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the wilderness, people of Israel?

(I recommend that you pray a series of repentance prayers, depending on the involvement of you or your ancestors in the Catholic Church, Mormonism, Scientology, Buddhism, Hinduism, Paganism, Freemasonry, etc. I really like the website truthinreality.com for deliverance prayers and information on getting and staying free. This prayer is a good beginning prayer for this step of renouncing other beliefs.)

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Step 4: Renounce Pride, Rebellion and Self-Centeredness

SAY THIS:

Lord God, I know that pride is an abomination to you. I repent for and renounce pride, rebellion, disobedience, stubbornness and self-centeredness. I humble myself and come to You as a little child and ask for forgiveness and deliverance. Father God, I reject all of the pride that keeps me from seeing you clearly. Also, as your word says that new converts must not teach, (1 Timothy 3:6) I come against all lingering pride in my life that would lead me to turn around and teach as a brand new convert.

1 Tim 3:6 – He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil.

I break all pride off of my soul that would lead me onto more deceptive paths and away from quiet study of the scriptures, fasting, deliverance and prayer. I break all curses of pride and the spirit of leviathan from my life in the name of Jesus. I bind leviathan and all proud spirits arrayed against my life (Job 41:5). Lord, in the Name of Jesus Christ, I bring down the proud demons that have exalted themselves against Your people. In Jesus Name, I rip the scales of leviathan (Job 41:15), I release the sword of the Lord against leviathan (Isaiah 27:1), I break the strength of leviathan’s neck (Psalm 18:40), I break the stony heart of leviathan and crush it to pieces (Job 41:24).

God, you resist the proud. Your power is against the high ones who have rebelled against You. Lord God, scatter the proud in the imagination of their hearts. Let not the foot of pride come against me (Psalm 36:11). Lord, I break the crown of pride (Isaiah 28:1) in Jesus Christ’s Mighty Name. Lord God, let not leviathan oppress me (Psalm 119:122). Lord, raise up a watch over leviathan (Job 7:12). I bind and cast out all mind control spirits of the octopus and squid in the name of Christ Jesus. Let the waters of the pride of the deep be dried up, and destroy every spirit of leviathan (Job 41:31, Isaiah 44:27). I call for a drought upon leviathan’s waters (Jeremiah 50:38, Jeremiah 51:36) in Jesus’ Mighty Name! Amen.

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Step 3: Confess Sins Then Forgive Those Who Have Harmed You

Matthew 6:14
For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

SAY THIS:

Father I understand the necessity of forgiving others so that you can offer me forgiveness. I also understand that the spiritual war is not with flesh and blood, but with principalities, powers, rulers of darkness and wickedness in heavenly places. So I choose to forgive all those who have harmed me. You say to bless and not curse Lord, and it says in your Word that YOU have cursed those who curse your people. I shall continue forgiving ALL abusers, slanderers, accusers and anyone causing me harm and I will not take offense nor punish others in retribution in Jesus’ name. 

Vengeance belongs to you God, not me. I forgive everyone who has hurt me and pray that they come to bow their knees to you and come to know the knowledge of the Truth that will set them free. In Jesus’ name, I loose myself from all pain, betrayal, rejection, abuse, trauma, shame, guilt and abandonment, as it is not mine to carry. It has already been nailed to the cross at Calvary!

I now take hold of the power given to me by Jesus Christ to loose myself from all yokes of resentment, hatred, desire for revenge and every other malicious thought. And I bind myself to the bundle of life with the Lord my redeemer, my sanctifier, my deliverer, the strong One who sees, my victory banner, my Dayspring.

Father, as I forgive myself and others, thank you that you forgive me. For in Matthew 6:14 it says, if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

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