CSS errors in Netscape 7.2 & Opera 8.51

[jbweb04]

Hello!
I've created the following web site (http://www.vanpratthomes.com) and have found that the background in the right hand column and the bottom row with the company address, phone, etc. are not displaying as intended in Netscape 7.2 and Opera 8.51. Everything looks as it should in IE 6. (I realize I'm not using the latest version in all these browsers, but figure many other people aren't either.)

This is the code used in the right column table cell:

<td id="rightcolumn" width="125" valign="top"><img id="rtcolumnpicstop" src="images/home-exterior-125.jpg" width="125" height="155" alt="custom built homes" /><img id="rtcolumnpics" src="images/family.jpg" width="125" height="105" /><img id="rtcolumnpics" src="images/table-right.jpg" width="125" height="275" alt="custom woodworking" /><img src="images/spacer-trans.gif" width="1" height="100%" /></td>
 
This is the style for #rightcolumn:
#rightcolumn {
    background: #415821 url(images/right-green-stripes.jpg) repeat-y;
    border-right: 5px solid #FFF;
    }
 
The green striped background is not appearing in the right column below the pictures.
 
The bottom row of the page has the following code:
<td id="footer" valign="top" colspan="3">2007 Van Pratt & Company, LLC. All rights reserved.<br />
P.O. Box 221, Pine City, NY 14871 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Phone: [phone]<br />Web Site Design by <a href="http://www.julieburgess.com" target="_blank">Julie Burgess Web Design</a></td>
 
This is the style for #footer:
#footer {
    layered-background-color: #F8D163;
    background-color: #F8D163;
    border-top: 4px solid #FFF;
    border-bottom: 4px solid #FFF;
    border-right: 5px solid #FFF;
    border-left: 5px solid #FFF;
    padding: 5px 5px 5px 10px;
    }
 

I've done a lot of digging but haven't been able to find a solution that works. I read that Netscape only recognizes the property "border" and not "border-top, border-bottom, etc." I also read about the "border-collapse" property and tried some things with both of these. I'm just stumped! Any help someone can offer would be greatly appreciated!

[drhowarddrfine]

Your most serious errors are using the same id name more than once. You are only allowed one per page. If you must use the same style for multiple elements, use 'class'.

You have declared xhtml yet you are using deprecated elements. Validate your code for that list of errors.

Also, you can't use the ampersand in xhtml, technically. You should use & But you aren't serving true xhtml so only the validator complains about it.

Never, ever use IE as your initial test case. Always, always use a modern browser, such as Firefox or Opera to check your pages. Then adjust for IEs quirks and bugs.

[jbweb04]

I appreciate your feedback as you have shown me where I need to do some more learning! I have done some validation tests and am working on cleaning up my code and css. I still haven't solved the problem of the right column background not appearing but perhaps will get there as I continue to work on things. Thanks again!