Saturday, February 28, 2009
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GULFPORT — The street sweeper truck was invented by C.B Brooks, a black man, in the late 1800s.
This was one of many facts learned at the Katie Booth Community Center in Gulfport Thursday night celebrating Black History Month. The Gulfport Department of Leisure Services presented “Reflections of African-American Culture through Art, Music and Movement.” The event featured local artists, a jazz band and dancing.
The keynote speaker was Rip Daniels, owner of WJZD radio station and founder of American Blues Network, a nationally syndicated radio program.
Daniels spoke of the rich cultural background that the blues has played in shaping the Delta region, from its inception in the African continent to the economic contribution that lures musicians brought to the areas where they lived, worked and played their music.
“Did you ever love a girl and didn’t know why? — that’s the blues” is how Daniel’s father best described a genre of music that many have a hard time describing.
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Devon, UK - Road sweeper and fund raiser Peter Vickery has fallen foul of his council bosses — by sticking a Comic Relief red nose on his van.
South Hams Council did not see the funny side of his efforts to support the national charity event and told him he must take it off his road sweeper's van.
Pete had shelled out £2 for the large metallic red nose the size of a plate and thought he was making a Comic Relief statement and raising cash for needy causes at the same time.
But it was no joke when his council depot bosses spotted it and told him it had to go.
The authority says its vehicles cannot be personalised and cannot be seen to favour one charity over another.
Now Pete has been forced to transfer the sticker to his own car.
But he is furious that South Hams Council would not let him display it on the council-owned van he uses when he travels around Kingsbridge and the surrounding villages to carry out his street sweeping work.
"I was called into the office and told basically to take it off," said Peter, who lives in Kingsbridge, as he accused the authority of being too 'politically correct'.
"They said you couldn't have anything on the vans – no Union Jacks, not anything, even if it was for charity. I think that the council needs to humanise itself a bit more. It's lost contact and got too politically correct."
In the past workers at South Hams Council's Follaton House headquarters in Totnes have raised up to £200 taking part in sponsored events for Comic Relief.
On Comic Relief Day — Friday, March 13 — staff are staging a 'Wear Something Silly on Your Head' day to raise yet more cash.
Meanwhile, Pete claims he has had his red nose put out of joint as he added: "It seems all wrong. I had to take the red nose off and put it on my car which sits around in the depot all day so no one will see it.
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Friday, February 27, 2009
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A bare majority of Town Council members voted to continue allowing new construction in the old part of town and North Florence to be exempt from the "impact fees" charged in other parts of town.
This was despite the fact that it was the council that asked town staff to bring the issue to them for reconsideration. On the agenda was an ordinance to assess impact fees equitably throughout the town. Voting "yes" at last week's regular meeting were Vallarie Woolridge, Barbara Brown and Tom Celaya. Voting no were Bill Hawkins, Arnie Raasch, Vice Mayor Tom Smith and Mayor Vicki Kilvinger.
The town's total impact fee on a typical single-family home is currently $11,833. Water and sewer account for just over half the total fee. The fee is intended to help absorb new residents' "impacts" on a variety of town services including utilities, streets, libraries, parks, police, fire/EMS and public works, so that growth pays for itself.
The ordinance under consideration at last week's regular meeting would have eliminated the exempt areas, but would have allowed for proportional credits for construction on lots that had already received town services, Town Manager Himanshu Patel said.
In "call to the public," Tom Rankin told the council that the current ordinance "needs to be left alone." The majority of these areas already have town utility lines and streets, and new charges will harm the potential for development, Rankin said.
"I hope tonight you remember why we put it in. ... to put traffic downtown and have a vibrant Main Street. The economy is down. We do not need an increase in impact fees at this time."
Art Buckley of Florence Gardens said the people of Florence Gardens bonded themselves, with the help of the town's credit, and bought the sewer and water companies. "I don't see what services they're going to get that they haven't already paid for."
Aside from fairness, practicality should also be considered, Buckley said. "The money you'll get from infill lots is very small."
In the council's discussion, Hawkins noted the economy and said, "I don't think this is the time to be doing this. ... If the economy turns around and we get swamped, we can look at it again."
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On Tuesday residents approved a proposal to use money from the undesignated fund balance to pay for public works equipment that would otherwise be purchased during the next fiscal year, therefore taking advantage of the market and removing the expense from the 2010 budget.
Other changes proposed by Town Manager Mitchell Berkowitz to decrease expenditures include reducing staff at the transfer station by one position and either moving assessing in-house or reducing staff at the Municipal Center by one full-time position.
The town currently pays John O'Donnell $30,000 a year for assessing, and Berkowitz said having the assessing clerk and code enforcement officer take that over would create significant savings. The other option Berkowitz was looking at was decreasing the Municipal Office staff by one full-time position, which would save $30,000 in 2010.
By matter of good timing, the budget is lower because a police cruiser was replaced with insurance money after being involved in an accident and no new police officers will have to attend the police academy.
Berkowitz said he was also exploring the possibility of switching to Cumberland County Dispatch services, which would mean shutting down the local dispatching center and laying off employees. The dispatch budget is more than $200,000, and Berkowitz said that after initial costs to make the switch, there could be substantial savings.
Other area towns, such as Casco, Naples and Raymond, have recently switched to county dispatch, in some cases halving their dispatch budget.
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Wayne Sweepers, LLC debuted its new Centurion full-size, highly automated street sweeper at NPE 2009.
Several enhancements were made to the new Centurion included a new rear air suspension system, a large touch screen with one-touch controls, and a floating broom that adjusts to any road surface. The Centurion's StreetSmart sweeping system automatically adjusts the broom and conveyor performance to sweeping conditions.
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Thursday, February 26, 2009
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Bayonne, NJ - A diesel fuel spill closed the intersection of Route 440 and Pulaski Street in Bayonne from 7 p.m. Monday night to 1 a.m. yesterday morning, police said.
Police and fire officials found a "massive" amount of fuel on the road, making it slippery and impassable.
Fire Chief Gregory Rogers said the fuel went from Pulaski Street onto Route 440 and up the entrance ramp to the Turnpike, with the most significant pooling at the intersection of Pulaski Street and Route 440.
Firefighters initially tried to clean the spill with 300 pounds of Speedy Dry, an oil absorbent, but their supply proved inadequate and the Hudson Regional Health Commission was called in, Rogers said.
Hudson Regional Health notified the state Department of Environmental Protection, which brought in a contractor who used 2,200 pounds of Speedy Dry to absorb the spill, Rogers said.
The Turnpike Authority also contributed sand to help absorb the oil and the Bayonne Municipal Utilities Authority lent a street sweeper.
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The Mardi Gras party on Fat Tuesday means a massive clean-up project on Ash Wednesday.
Many Mardi Gras revelers were likely still in bed when the early morning clean-up workers hit the streets. Street cleaners and trash pick-up crews got started at seven o'clock in downtown Biloxi.
As usual, there were plenty of unwanted leftovers along the parade route. It is the ugly side of Mardi Gras. City clean-up crews get the annual chore of picking-up after the parade.
"We're moving along pretty good here today," said city worker Anthony Gazzo.
You might call them the "Krewe of Clean-up." As workers hit the streets with shovels and rakes and trash bags, the city's motorized street sweeper begins making the rounds.
By late morning, city workers are putting a serious dent in the post-Mardi Gras mess.
"We're picking up Mardi Gras leftovers. Cans, bottles, debris. Everything you can think of down here today," said Gazzo, who has been picking trash off the parade route for seven years.
Now that there's just one Fat Tuesday parade in Biloxi there's noticeably less litter.
"I'd say it's not as bad as it has been. After Katrina there it kind of mellowed out with just one parade instead of three parades. Everything's a lot different now, not too bad," he said.
A strong stomach is a good asset for facing the post-parade mess.
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Wednesday, February 25, 2009
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Lawmakers and environmentalists want an oil fee to pay for stormwater pollution in Washington State.
A new bill would levy a pollution fee of $1.50 per barrel on petroleum products, including gasoline, diesel, asphalt, road oil, and lubricants to pay for projects that help curb the flow of pollutants into Puget Sound and other waters. Local governments would compete for a portion of the petroleum tax to help them manage stormwater to meet federal guidelines.
Surface runoff is the primary source of water pollution in Puget Sound and for the state’s waterways in general. It is believed that petroleum products make up a significant portion of stormwater pollution. The bill requires the Department of Ecology to develop criteria for administering the program and ranking projects for funding. In developing these criteria, the department shall consult with the Puget Sound partnership. The department shall endeavor to distribute the monies within each geographic region of the state in proportion to the severity. The Senate Committee on Environment, Water, and Energy were presented a similar bill last week and referred it to the Senate Ways and Means Committee.
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A BUDGET to beat the economic slowdown has been agreed by South Gloucestershire Council.
All three political parties have signed up to the recession-proof budget, the second lowest in the history of South Gloucestershire with a council tax rise of 3.9 percent.
The rise will mean the average band D property in South Gloucestershire will pay tax of £1,214.89.
Leader of the Conservative-led council, Cllr John Calway, said: "Our budget proposals are designed to help South Gloucestershire better withstand the tough economic times we are now in.
"Our households are expecting their council to tighten its belt, just as they are."
The package for 2009/10 includes: - a £5million reserve of £5M to protect frontline council services and withstand pressure during the recession - a £5million ‘invest to save’ fund to fund investments needed to achieve future efficiency savings - an additional £2million a year investment in highways maintenance, taking the total spent on the region’s roads to £3.8million - an additional £150,000 a year to fund more domestic energy efficiency measures.
- £150,000 to fund five extra police community support officers - £800,000 extra to help divert waste from landfill Added Cllr Calway: "The administration has built up reserves in the good times to allow us to protect services during the bad times.
"We are, therefore, ring-fencing a special reserve designed to withstand the pressures that will be put on some budgets during this depression."
Last year, the council agreed a three-year budget programme to provide stability and security.
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Tuesday, February 24, 2009
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OCALA, FL - Police Department and Sheriff's Office investigators are looking into a series of break-ins that occurred early Monday morning at four businesses, all within roughly the same time frame.
Two of the burglaries were at separate Lorenzo's Kuchina locations: at the Winn-Dixie Plaza at 8400 S.W. State Road 200 and at the Quail Meadow Plaza on North Highway 27.
Also burglarized were the New China restaurant at 5400 S.W. College Road and the Lee's Nails salon at 2400 S.W. College Road.
All four businesses had their front glass doors smashed in. Stolen from the Lorenzo's on SR 200 was a cash register on the counter.
The cash register, which only held eight dollars, was found beside SR 200 at Southwest 69th Court Road around 6 a.m. by a Marion County sheriff's deputy.
The other businesses did not report anything missing or stolen.
Ocala police Cpl. Michael Diesso, who inspected New China restaurant's video surveillance footage, observed that around 1:30 a.m., a white male wearing a dark hoodie and blue jeans emerged from a Chrysler New Yorker that had pulled up to the restaurant. He smashed the glass door with a blunt object.
The male entered the store, ran to the register and fled the store after discovering it contained nothing.
A street sweeper with A-1 Lawn and Sweeper Service told Ocala police Officer Andrew Ritz that he also noticed a male dressed in dark clothing hanging around Lee's Nails shortly before it was burglarized.
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Monday, February 23, 2009
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The first suspects investigators considered in the 1999 murder of Kathleen Cotton were Jason Scott Dew and Billy Ray Aaron, two North Carolina men later convicted of theft and breaking and entering in connection with break-ins at several homes in the region, according to Star-News archives.
Dew and Aaron later were convicted in the murder of Donald Barton, 39, a street sweeper in Ormond Beach, Fla. According to former Florida state attorney John Tanner, who spoke to the Star-News in 1999, Dew told Wilmington detectives that he shot Barton in the head behind a Kmart in Florida and stole his credit cards and driver’s license.
In 2001, Dew, then 18, was sentenced to life without parole, and Aaron, then 20, was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment for his involvement in the Barton murder, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reported.
Both men are still incarcerated in Florida. They were never charged in Cotton’s death.
Further into the Cotton investigation during 1999, the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office sought to question Thomas Gordon Roundtree, then 43, about his possible involvement in the murder, according to news reports from that year. Roundtree also was wanted on criminal charges for failure to appear in court and probation violation.
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Saturday, February 21, 2009
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Huntingdon, UK - Bricks and mud falling from a lorry caused lengthy tailbacks and a lane closure on the A14.
Police were called at 8.30am this morning (Friday, February 20) after motorists altered them to debris falling from a lorry on the westbound carriageway.
The debris affected the stretch of road between Godmanchester and the Spittals Interchange.
One lane was closed and police set up a rolling roadblock while officers picked up the bricks and swept mud off the road. A road sweeper was sent to the scene to help with the clean-up.
Officers are trying to locate the vehicle that shed part of its load.
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Peterborough, UK - More than 2,400 litter louts have been fined on the spot for dropping rubbish in Peterborough as part of a zero-tolerance crackdown to keep the streets clean which has earned Peterborough City Council almost £80,000 this year.
Peterborough's eagle-eyed "green police" patrol the streets seven days a week, handing out on-the-spot £75 fines to anyone caught casually dropping sweet papers, fast food wrappers and even cigarette ends.
Figures obtained through a Freedom of Information request from Peterborough City Council reveal a staggering 2,439 fixed penalty notices were issued from April last year to 15 January , 2009 – and that number is expected to rise with the financial year not coming to an end until March 31.
Of those fines, 1,491 have already been paid – generating a whopping £79,055. This amounts to an almost 50 per cent rise from the 1,641 penalties issued in 2007/08, which earned the council £58,525.
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Friday, February 20, 2009
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A jury has awarded nearly $3 million to a Duluth woman after finding that a state street sweeper was moving too slowly and was to blame for an auto accident on Interstate 35.
It is one of the largest monetary awards issued by a jury in Duluth history.
The six-woman, two-man St. Louis County jury deliberated about 5½ hours before returning a verdict at about 11 p.m. Wednesday in favor of plaintiff Bobbie Wakefield, 29. She was driving a van for Glory Shine Janitorial Cleaning when the Sept. 17, 2002, accident occurred near Thompson Hill.
Jurors determined that the Minnesota Department of Transportation street-sweeping crew was negligent and a direct cause of Wakefield’s accident. They also found Wakefield negligent but said her negligence was not a direct cause of the accident.
Wakefield was awarded $1.25 million for future health-care expenses; $675,000 for future pain, disability, and emotional distress; $650,000 for future loss of earning capacity; $200,000 for past pain, disability and emotional distress; $158,000 for past health-care expenses; and $28,000 for past wage loss.
The total award against Auto Owners Insurance Co. is $2,961,000.
“Bobbie is very grateful to the jury for its extraordinary service,’’ said Duluth lawyer Stephanie Ball, who represented the plaintiff in the six-day trial before Judge Eric Hylden.
“The size of the verdict is a reflection of the jury recognizing the severity of Bobbie’s injuries, including a mild traumatic brain injury, and the ef
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Some things are synonymous with winter. Snowflakes, freezing temperatures, icy roads, skiing and the holiday season are just a few.
For drivers, besides the obvious hazards posed by the slippery season, there is another phenomenon of winter that can incapacitate a vehicle in an instant: those annoying potholes.
"Potholes are unfortunately inevitable in winter weather states, and the only thing you can do is reactively patch them up," said Kevin Nursick, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation. "You don't see the signs in many cases that a pothole is going to appear."
Potholes form when water seeps into cracks of a road's surface and then freezes. "When water freezes it expands and pushes things around," he said.
Pressure from the expanding water also softens the crack, making it easier for chunks of the asphalt to break off when cars and trucks drive over the fissures.
Nursick said the DOT has seen a typical number of potholes so far this year, compared to past years. However, some area public works officials say they have seen a larger crop of potholes this winter, the result of several freeze-thaw-freeze cycles over the last several months.
Ray Chrzanowski, assistant director of public works in Shelton, said a recent stretch of below-zero temperatures, followed by last week's warmer weather, triggered an eruption of potholes in that city.
"We fill them on a regular basis. We address them as they come," Chrzanowski said. While potholes have broken open on main roads like Beardsley and Booth Hill roads, they seem to be more prevalent on side streets, he said.
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Thursday, February 19, 2009
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TIGARD, Ore. -- The driver of a Waste Management truck inadvertently hit the wrong button and opened the rear hatch as the truck was in motion Wednesday, leaving a 100 foot trail of garbage on SW Coral St in Tigard.
Waste Management responded quickly, sending five trucks and an army of workers to get the trash scooped up into a dumpster, which was then hauled away.
They also brought in a street sweeper and left the area cleaner than before the accident.
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El Campo, TX - With spring rapidly approaching, it is once again time for your City Council and staff to begin structuring next year's fiscal budget by reassessing the core directives adopted in our 2008 Comprehensive Plan Update.
Our restructured plan categorizes your City Council's primary directives into three operational timetables: 1-5, 6-10 and 11+ years. Entering into the updated plan's 2nd year, a council committee of Ed Erwin, Richard Young, nd Phillip Spenrath recently met with city department heads to begin evaluating projects, scoring progress, and prioritizing recommendations.
After reviewing all of the projects and objectives submitted in 2008, our exploratory committee ascertained that the following council directives have or are currently being completed:
Parks - Improved walk-way bridge, parking lot and soccer fields at Willie Bell Park; upgraded city park playground equipment and restrooms; hired additional code enforcement offi- cer to eradicate weedy lots and junked cars; and significantly reduced costs while increasing revenue at our Aquatic Center through the implementation of new programs, energy efficient upgrades and hiring responsible progressive administrators.
Buildings - Sold the old library on Hillje Street and began significant renovations to our Civic Center (including roof and air-conditioner), Emergency Services Building (including new roofing over fire truck parking bays and EMS building), and Animal Control Shelter.
Roads - Assisted TxDOT in improving traffic flow at FM 2765 and Hwy. 71 (new middle school); continued street sign upgrades; completed strip paving of Beach, Socha, College/Empire (alley), Palm, Highland and Delta streets; and planted wildflowers for enhancing entrance corridors.
Major Equipment Replacement - Purchased a sewer jetter/camera; tractor and boom mower; five SUV police units, two fire command SUVs; street sweeper; animal control truck; Inspection Department vehicle; new generator for City Hall and EMS building; dump truck, two three-quarter ton pickups and mini-excavator for Public Works; and a Velocity custom triplecombination pumper fire truck.
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Globe, AZ - Early Tuesday morning the Globe Fire Department was dispatched to a reported fire in the downtown area at Ortega's Shoes at 4:41 a.m. The first arriving unit found smoke and fire in the front showcase area. One section of the large glass was removed to make access to the fire. The fire was quickly extinguished and contained to the showcase area only. There was some residual smoke inside the main store both downstairs and upstairs that had to be evacuated with an exhaust fan.
The fire was initially reported by a City of Globe employee, John Aungulo, while driving the street sweeper in the downtown area. Through a small hole in the glass, he was able to discharge a fire extinguisher that may have slowed the fire down.
His early notification and quick actions may have saved the fire from becoming larger and extending into the main store.
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Wednesday, February 18, 2009
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Stormwater is now available in an optional, digital format. Still free, the new digital edition is an exact copy of our print publication without all the paper. In addition, articles link back to the Stormwater Web site, and you can quickly find more information on products, equipment, and services with the click of a button.
You can demo the March/April 2009 digital edition and subscribe through the Subscription Services section of StormH20.com.
If you're already a subscriber to the print publication you will need to "renew" your account and have your account number which can be found on the label of a publication that was sent to you. Choose to receive both the print and digital editions, or the digital edition only.
Once subscribed, we encourage you to add “forester.net” to your email “safe list” to ensure that notifications of new editions don’t end up in your spam box.
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Tuesday, February 17, 2009
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Dozens of cities surrounding Puget Sound should encourage more eco-friendly development that better controls toxic stormwater, but they don’t need rules as stringent as big cities’, such as Seattle and Tacoma’s, according to a new state ruling.
The Seattle Times reports that a new state ruling for cities surrounding Puget Sound encourages eco-friendly development that better controls toxic stormwater, but they don’t need to meet the same standard as larger cities’.
The board, known as the Pollution Control Hearings Board, had previously endorsed environmentalists’ demands for tougher stormwater rules for Seattle, Tacoma, King, Snohomish, and Pierce counties. According to the Pollution Control Hearings Board, ecology made a mistake in not requiring cities and counties to move deliberately toward adopting standards to reduce or eliminate surface water runoff.
In a decision issued in September 2008, the board decided that the largest cities and counties needed to require low-impact methods whenever site conditions allow.
In this most recent decision, the board said smaller jurisdictions need to “identify barriers to implementation” of low-impact development, and to set up a time schedule to take action to remove those barriers.
The hearings board recognized that big cities and counties have more resources to develop and enforce sophisticated stormwater programs, including requirements for low-impact development wherever feasible.
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Huntington Mayor Kim Wolfe has asked the City Council to consider a $1-a-week increase in the city user fee, now at $2 per week. The idea has merit if the fee increase is used for the stated purpose and if the public can see that it is.
In his State of the City speech on Friday, Wolfe said the user fee increase would yield about $1.6 million. The new revenue would go toward hiring four police officers and purchasing three cruisers, he said. It also would allow the city to budget $300,000 for street paving, or enough for about three miles of resurfacing, according to Wolfe's administration. In addition, the city would hire a street sweeper operator, giving it the flexibility it needs to run two street sweepers at the same time.
"I know the user fee increase will be a controversial issue, although I think people don't mind paying a bit more if they know they will see results," Wolfe said. "I'm putting my reputation on this. I'm a fiscal conservative, but these monies will be spent directly on making Huntington a cleaner, safer city. In the past, it was used in a way in which people really didn't see results."
Wolfe is right about that last part. One problem with the existing fee is that it goes into the pot of money known as the general fund and disappears. It is mixed in with money from the business and occupation tax and other revenue sources. Once there, it's used to help pay employee salaries, purchase equipment, pay employee insurance costs and retirement expenses.
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Monday, February 16, 2009
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As of December 1, 2008, the North American Power Sweeping Association (NAPSA) has moved to a new location!
NAPSA
15000 Commerce Parkway Suite C
Mount Laurel, NJ 08054
Phone: 856-380-6845 Fax: 856-439-0525
Email: napsainfo@napsaonline.com
Our new website will launch by mid-2009. If you are not already a member of NAPSA, what are you waiting for? It’s a new era of a new NAPSA!
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Saturday, February 14, 2009
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The City of Sealy, Texas wants its streets to sparkle, and on Wednesday, approved its city manager to move forward with plans for a street sweeper lease-purchase agreement at $179,726.
The agreement with TYMCO to lease the regenerative air sweeper would span six years, coming out to roughly $30,789 a year, after a down payment is made. The city would own the equipment at the end of its lease.
“We budget $28 (thousand) to $30,000 every year for contracts so that the streets can be swept,” City Manager Chris Coffman explained to council members. “I think we can end up purchasing the necessary maintenance items that go along with it for less than that.”
Historically, the city has budgeted and contracted with a private company for street sweeping services.
The city budgeted $28,000 for the service this year, down from last year’s $30,000 budget.
“The contractor we had is not in business so we haven’t had our streets swept since May,” Coffman said. “This serves as a priority for me. I think we need to keep our streets clean. It provides for drainage. It provides for longer life of our streets and it also gives a good appearance when people come to town.”
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Friday, February 13, 2009
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Saugus, MA - Traffic was backed up on Route 1 South for about 30 minutes Thursday morning while firefighters put out a fire in a street sweeper parked in a shopping center lot near Forest Street.
Chief James Blanchard said Ladder 1 and Engine 3 responded to a call at 8:15 a.m.
“The entire vehicle was fully engulfed,” Blanchard said.
No one was injured and firefighters are investigating how it started. Blanchard said the sweeper is owned by a private firm contracted to sweep the lot serving Starbuck's and other stores in the center.
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The borough of Towanda is trying to take advantage of the recent warmer weather by organizing a clean-up of the downtown sidewalks and doing street sweeping in that section of the borough.
Towanda Borough Manager Tom Fairchild Jr. is asking property owners and shopkeepers in the downtown to “sweep cinders, dust, etc.” from the sidewalks into the street gutters so that a street sweeper can pick them up in the early morning hours on Friday, Feb. 13.
The street sweeper will clean the streets in the downtown area from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. this Friday, he said.
“Let’s do what we can to keep the downtown clean and welcoming!” Central Bradford Chamber of Commerce Administrator Sharon Kaminsky wrote in an e-mail that announced the sidewalk-cleaning plan to chamber of commerce members.
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Wilmington, NC - One million dollars. For a street-sweeper garage. The initial reaction - or shock - on the part of some taxpayers is to be expected. And construction of Wilmington's new "green" home for its street sweeper fleet certainly is a victim of poor timing, coming just as the economy is forcing the city and its residents to tighten their belts.
The city will take some heat, pardon the pun. There will be snickering and outright contempt about spending so much to keep a few machines warm during the few below-freezing nights Wilmington.
Yet the concept - designing municipal buildings to save electricity and make use of "green" technology - is something local governments should be exploring.
If city officials and the designers are right, this building will generate most if not all of its own electricity and may even have some left over to sell back to Progress Energy. It will take nearly eight years to save enough on electricity bills to recoup the cost of the solar panels, but the garage on South 17th Street also could serve as an example for future public and private construction projects.
That is, if the added up-front costs end up saving on overhead costs as well as providing a more environmentally friendly building. An alert Star-News letter writer wasted no time in suggesting that the city and/or UNCW business students track the operating costs to see if and how much the city saves on electricity.
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Thursday, February 12, 2009
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OMAHA, Neb. -- Jobless people looking for work are finding long lines and jammed phones at unemployment offices throughout the region.
"I had to wait on hold because you can't get through," said job seeker Henry Porter, 78. "You have to wait and wait and wait and wait."
As a seasonal worker who drives a sweeper truck for the city of Omaha, Porter collects unemployment insurance during the winter. He said that for the first time, he must wait up to an hour on a long-distance phone call just to file his claim.
He said the sorrowful music that the office phones play while he was on hold is depressing.
"They make you feel like you're at the undertaker's shop," he said.
If the music wasn't bad enough, he said the $27 phone bill for all that time on hold is even worse.
"It's hard for me to pay my bills as it is," he said.
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UTICA, NY - The city blew it in 2007 by buying an $85,000 snow blower vehicle that has never been used, some Utica officials said. Now, the city is listing the vehicle for sale on the Web site eBay through Oneida County’s page, according to the Observer-Dispatch.
The minimum sale price isn’t listed on the Web site, but the Utica Common Council approved a resolution to sell the vehicle for no less than $60,000.
Richard Conte, Department of Public Works (DPW) commissioner, said the vehicle hasn’t been used other than to move it into storage. The large vehicle can blow snow 150 feet and isn’t meant for a city setting, he said. Conte said this type of vehicle typically is only used in rural areas. The state uses them mainly only for blowing snow into the canal, he said. Buying it “definitely” was a mistake, he said.“If I didn’t use it this winter, I don’t know when I would ever use it,” he said. “It’s just not something we really have a use for.
”The eBay listing describes the vehicle as an 8-foot, 170-horsepower Snocrete snowblower purchased as new in December 2007 and never used. There have been several bids on the item, but the highest bid was $13,300, which doesn’t meet the minimum bid or “reserve price” that would require the city to sell the item, according to the Web site. In 2007, Timothy Julian was the mayor, and Bill Schrader was the DPW commissioner. The Utica Common Council also approved the purchase, officials said. Julian said he doesn’t know why current officials can’t use the vehicle, but the idea was to make it simpler and quicker to clear snow by using the vehicle to blow snow into dump trucks.
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Wednesday, February 11, 2009
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Ziggy Dust, the Polish dancing street sweeper from Chiswick who sparked a YouTube phenomenon, has left the country after allegedly receiving death threats.
In a post on a local internet forum on Wednesday, he bid farewell to the residents whose hearts he had captured in dramatic style.
"I'm outside of England because someone wanted to kill me before new year," he wrote. "I feel very sad. Not everyone was happy, someone hates me very much, me and my dancing job. I miss Chiswick. I left England without choice. All the best, Zig."
Ziggy, 47, who lived in Loring Road, Isleworth, moved to England from his home town Torun after he started struggling in his career as a watchmaker.
He lived in the area for three years but was thrust into the limelight last year when videos of his spinning, sliding and Michael Jackson-esque moves were posted on YouTube.
His message sparked a flurry of sympathetic replies but also speculation about the veracity of his claims.
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CEDAR FALLS, IA - Wayne Sweepers, LLC is showing the new Centurion full-size, highly automated street sweeper for the first time at the National Pavement Expo.
As one of several new enhancements since the Centurion has been manufactured by Wayne, a new rear air suspension system is being showcased on the sweeper at NPE. The Centurion also features a large touch screen with one-touch controls and a floating broom that adjusts to any road surface. Its StreetSmart sweeping system automatically adjusts broom and conveyor performance to sweeping conditions.
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Boston, MA - Imagine a street in the winter without crusty grime from melting snow, that residue of salt, sand, and crud that clings to cars and shoes.
Meet the Waterless Eagle, a new breed of street sweeper that has both environmental and public works officials giddy. With enclosed brushes and a powerful vacuum, the machine sucks up the grit and dust that most machines miss. It increases efficiency, advocates say, and because it uses no water, toxins are not washed down catch basins and into rivers and bays.
City officials demonstrated the Waterless Eagle on American Legion Highway today for reporters. The city has not bought any of the $235,000 machines, but it was clear that they were impressed by a gutter so clean that the black asphalt almost looked new.
"This is state of the art," said Dennis Royer, chief of public works and transportation.
Boston's current fleet of seven sweepers each can use more than 800 gallons of water a day. The three private companies that sweep major city streets at night and neighborhoods from spring to fall also deploy machines that rely on water.
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TOWANDA -- A county highway worker fled a fiery blaze Monday after his truck was hit from behind and caught fire on the Delco Road overpass connecting to Towanda's Interstate 55 exit.
A southbound sport utility vehicle driven by Chester Morgan, 63, rural Towanda, rear-ended a McLean County Highway Department pickup truck driven by Francis Tharp, 62, rural Farmer City, at 2:13 p.m. Monday, said McLean County sheriff’s police.
The collision apparently forced a street sweeper the truck was towing into the back of the truck, causing a gasoline tank in the truck bed to explode. Flames shot up 20 feet in heavy black smoke seen for miles, said Towanda Assistant Fire Chief Michael Donald.
Fire engulfed most of the truck, leaving the cab a burned shell. The rear tires were melted.
The SUV landed on its driver’s side.
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Tuesday, February 10, 2009
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Wilmington, NC - They may spend their days in muck and grime, but Wilmington’s street sweepers are getting a plush new place to spend the nights.
Soon, the sweepers will be housed in the city’s most aggressive stab at “green” technology to date – a $1 million garage under construction at South 17th and Marstellar streets.
When it opens this spring, the environmentally-friendly Downtown Street Sweeper Facility will house four, three-wheel sweepers. They’re used downtown because they can better maneuver among parked cars than their four-wheel counterparts.
But the 6,000-square-foot building also will generate its own heat and electricity via solar panels mounted to the roof. The panels cost the city about $82,000 initially, but will save an estimated $11,000 a year in energy costs, said Dave Mayes, the city’s stormwater services manager.
Mayes said he hoped the sweeper facility would serve as an example for the future of “green” building in the Cape Fear region.
“Why shouldn’t we do it?” Mayes said. “We were trying to set the stage for this to happen more often, not only for city projects but for other projects in this area.”
The new facility – on a site formerly used by the city public utilities department – was designed by John Sawyer Architects and is being built by Waldkirch & Saunders Co. Both companies are based in Wilmington.
The city’s $1 million contract with Waldkirch & Saunders is paying for some demolition, extensive renovation of the existing structures on the site, the solar heating and electric systems, a chain-link fence around the perimeter, landscaping and a wash bay for daily sweeper cleaning.
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The agenda for Tuesday’s Cleburne City Council meeting includes a proposal to begin two major water projects for the city.
The projects include expansion of the existing water treatment plant and construction of a water supply line from Lake Whitney. A vote on the construction of the projects remains in the future.
Council members will vote Tuesday on whether to approve funding to hire Freese and Nichols Engineering to carry out planning, design and permitting work on both projects.
Fees for both projects are not to exceed $5,311,000. Cleburne recently obtained funding assistance in the form of low-interest loans from the state to pay for the projects.
Council members will also vote on the purchase of several vehicles. They include a garbage truck, street sweeper, ambulance for the fire department and fleet vehicles.
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Sunday, February 8, 2009
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Hero street sweeper Barry Snowdon has received another award - live on national TV on Saturday evening.
Barry was surprised with a free holiday to Orlando in the USA and passes to the Disneyworld theme parks on Sky One programme Noel's HQ - presented by Noel Edmonds.
The programme features public heroes from around the UK and Barry (41), of Forest Town, was nominated for the surprise treat by Mansfield mayor Tony Egginton - but attended the show thinking he was just a member of the audience before being surprised by famous presenter Noel Edmonds.
Barry twice hit the headlines for his bravery while working as a Mansfield District Council street cleaner in Warsop.
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Friday, February 6, 2009
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Hempstead Town Councilman Anthony Santino claims the county has gone back on its end of the deal, resulting in the accumulation of litter on one of Baldwin's main roads.
The arrangement, in which the town suspended parking on Grand Avenue from 4-7 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays so that a county street sweeper could clean from the Southern State Parkway to Atlantic Avenue without a problem, has been ignored as of late, says Santino. In a letter written to County Executive Tom Suozzi, Santino expressed his concern that the county’ss sweepers were cleaning on an irregular schedule that often took place during hours when cars were parked on Grand Avenue, making it difficult for the sweepers to do their jobs.
According to letters obtained by the Herald outlining communication between the town and the county on the issue, Suozzi asked Ray Ribeiro, commissioner of the county Department of Public Works, to look into the matter. A letter written back to the town from Ribeiro stated that the county had investigated the complaint and that "the street will be swept as weather and schedules permit."
Santino said he was "appalled" when he heard Ribeiro's response to the town’s request. The whole point of the designated sweeping times, Santino said, is so the trucks can do their jobs while cars aren’t parked on the street.
"That's a totally unacceptable answer," said Santino. "This is definitely going to have an impact on the tidiness and cleanliness of Grand Avenue. It runs counter to everything we're trying to do in Baldwin."
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Thursday, February 5, 2009
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JEFFERSON, WI - In addition to approving a resolution granting conceptual approval for a proposed Jefferson Renewable Energy Park Tuesday evening the Jefferson Common Council approved the hiring of a new city engineer/director of public works and provided conceptual approval to a redevelopment plan for the Burger Corner property.
The city council approved the hiring of Jill Zalar as new city engineer and director of public works. Zalar will begin her work with the city no later than March 2. She comes to Jefferson from a Madison-based engineering firm. She has already taken up residence in the city. City officials noted Zalar's energy and enthusiasm stood out above the other candidates for the position.
It appears there will be a bright future after all for one of the properties flooded out last summer in the city's southern downtown business district - that being the property occupied by Jim's Burger Corner.
In late 2008, the owners of Jim's Burger Corner on South Main Street proposed to the Jefferson Redevelopment Authority that he be permitted to relocate to a property immediately adjacent, to the north of his current property at the corner of Main Street and Whitewater Avenue. With council action Tuesday that move may now take place.
The council approved a resolution granting the conceptual approval to the Burger Corner Redevelopment Project.
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Wednesday, February 4, 2009
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Schwarze Industries is pleased to announce the appointment of Robert ("Bob") Faulhaber as company president of Schwarze Industries, Inc in Huntsville Alabama.
Bob has over 30 years of manufacturing experience and was most recently President of Mid-South Industries, a manufacturing company serving a variety of industries including automotive, telecom and industrial controls. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Technology from Kean University and has served in numerous capacities during his career in...
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A GREAT Harwood grime-buster is offering to clean up East Lancashire, UK grot spots free of charge after buying his own road sweeper.
Steve Watkins said he had become so fed-up of untidy streets that he was willing to take out his road sweeper and get rid of the rubbish.
Mr Watkins runs roller shutter door firm Mendore, in Alan Ramsbotton Way, Great Harwood, and originally bought the sweeper because of a gap in the market for cleaning up industrial sites.
But he said he was so appalled by the state of many streets that he wants to do something about it.
He said: “I don’t like clutter and untidiness but there are so many places that are so scruffy.
“If readers of the Lancashire Telegraph want to take some photos of untidy areas I could take a look and see what I could do about it.
“Mess on streets or in back alleys is something that really bugs me, and now I can do something about it I want to help people out.”
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Sunday, February 1, 2009
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Minnesota may have one of the biggest budget shortfalls in the area. South Dakota's 134 million dollar deficit and Iowa's 600 million dollar shortfall are pennies compared to the five billion dollar hole that Minnesota is going to have to climb out of. But Minnesota towns are going to do their best to minimize the cuts.
Luverne is one Minnesota town that is keeping a close eye on the state's multi-billion dollar budget deficit.
"We've been watching it over the last year, and we know a deficit was coming, of course on the heels of the recession we didn't quite know it was going to be in the four to five billion number," Luverne city administrator John Call said.
City officials are already taking steps to cut costs. They are putting off some street projects, delaying the purchase of a street sweeper this year, and trying to save money in several other areas.
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Liverpool, UK - Former street sweeper Jimmy Rice, 78, was hit while crossing Cumber Lane, Whiston, on September 23 last year. Mr Rice was on his way to catch the 8.30pm 248 bus to Whiston Labour club when the accident happened. He was taken to hospital but died from his injuries.
A 63 year old woman has been charged in connection with the death of the pensioner in an alleged hit-and-run and has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving.
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