Uploaded by ModelAirports on
Youtube
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Inquest probes worker’s electrocution
A second county worker narrowly missed electrocution when a truck hit a power line, killing 48-year-old Peter Szabo in July 2006, a coroner’s inquest heard in Sarnia Monday.
“I’d be dead too,” said Dave Sheppard, who was driving a road grader that was pushing a gravel spreader Szabo was operating. Sheppard, 55, was preparing to get out of the grader when another worker told him to stay inside. Szabo, 48, died of electrocution after stepping off his machine.
The ground was energized after a raised, 30-foot dump truck trailer connected to the spreader hit the overhead line. The grader operator and the truck driver were protected from the shock because both vehicles had rubber tires, the inquest was told. The inquest is gathering facts about Szabo’s death when he was part of a crew using the new gravel spreader on the road shoulders of Petrolia Line.
Szabo had received some brief training on it’s use the previous month. Szabo’s wife and two sons have standing at the inquest, entitling them to question witnesses. Sheppard said he saw Szabo walk off the spreader, but didn’t see what happened to him.
Don St. Denis, who was driving a road sweeper behind the gravel spreading machinery, ran past Sheppard, telling him to stay in the grader. St. Denis saw Szabo on the ground but didn’t approach him, concerned the ground around him might be energized. St. Denis gave directions to the truck driver and Sheppard so the truck could be moved away from the power line. That allowed him to get to Szabo, a man he called a “good friend.” St. Denis couldn’t find a pulse, but along with another worker began CPR. Szabo did not have any vital signs when paramedics took over. St. Denis was part of a health and safety committee obligated to investigate his friend’s death. The investigation began the day after his friend’s funeral.
One of the committee’s key recommendations, which has already been implemented by the county, is to have an employee dedicated to guiding machinery under power lines.
Lambton County pleaded guilty in July 2008 to a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act for failing to have a worker designated as a signaler at the site and was fined $135,000. St. Denis testified Monday no manager had assigned him to act as a signaler, but fellow workers told him a previous sweeper operator had acted as a signaler whenever possible. “I tried my damnedest (to act as the signaler),” said St. Denis, a mechanic who was filling in on the road crew.
His primary function was to clear the roadway of any spilled gravel and he was occupied with that when he looked up to see the gravel machinery getting close to the power line.
Read Full Article
“I’d be dead too,” said Dave Sheppard, who was driving a road grader that was pushing a gravel spreader Szabo was operating. Sheppard, 55, was preparing to get out of the grader when another worker told him to stay inside. Szabo, 48, died of electrocution after stepping off his machine.
The ground was energized after a raised, 30-foot dump truck trailer connected to the spreader hit the overhead line. The grader operator and the truck driver were protected from the shock because both vehicles had rubber tires, the inquest was told. The inquest is gathering facts about Szabo’s death when he was part of a crew using the new gravel spreader on the road shoulders of Petrolia Line.
Szabo had received some brief training on it’s use the previous month. Szabo’s wife and two sons have standing at the inquest, entitling them to question witnesses. Sheppard said he saw Szabo walk off the spreader, but didn’t see what happened to him.
Don St. Denis, who was driving a road sweeper behind the gravel spreading machinery, ran past Sheppard, telling him to stay in the grader. St. Denis saw Szabo on the ground but didn’t approach him, concerned the ground around him might be energized. St. Denis gave directions to the truck driver and Sheppard so the truck could be moved away from the power line. That allowed him to get to Szabo, a man he called a “good friend.” St. Denis couldn’t find a pulse, but along with another worker began CPR. Szabo did not have any vital signs when paramedics took over. St. Denis was part of a health and safety committee obligated to investigate his friend’s death. The investigation began the day after his friend’s funeral.
One of the committee’s key recommendations, which has already been implemented by the county, is to have an employee dedicated to guiding machinery under power lines.
Lambton County pleaded guilty in July 2008 to a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act for failing to have a worker designated as a signaler at the site and was fined $135,000. St. Denis testified Monday no manager had assigned him to act as a signaler, but fellow workers told him a previous sweeper operator had acted as a signaler whenever possible. “I tried my damnedest (to act as the signaler),” said St. Denis, a mechanic who was filling in on the road crew.
His primary function was to clear the roadway of any spilled gravel and he was occupied with that when he looked up to see the gravel machinery getting close to the power line.
Read Full Article
City encourages street cleanup
HERMISTON, OR - The Hermiston street department is asking its residents to prepare for spring by cleaning up their sidewalks. The department issued a letter this week encouraging citizens to sweep red sanding rock off sidewalks and into the gutter so street-sweeper trucks can pick it up.
The city also included a reminder that throwing garbage or dirt into the street from one's property is a violation of the Hermiston's Code of Ordinances.
Read Full Article
The city also included a reminder that throwing garbage or dirt into the street from one's property is a violation of the Hermiston's Code of Ordinances.
Read Full Article
Friday, March 27, 2009
Idaho Museum of Clean almost ready to sparkle
POCATELLO, Idaho (AP) - A proposed cleaning museum with hundreds of antique vacuums has sucked up more cash than expected, delaying its opening.
Don Aslett says the cost to open his Museum of Clean in eastern Idaho has doubled and it will take $6 million before he can start pulling in customers.
Aslett says the museum will likely open later this year after missing expected openings the last several years.
Work is continuing on a 70,000-square-foot building in Pocatello and some of the 6,000 historical cleaning devices are being moved in.
He says a two-ton horse-drawn street sweeper will be among the exhibits.
Aslett runs a janitorial business and says he's convinced the level of clean dictates everything in a person's life.
Information from: Idaho State Journal, http://www.journalnet.com
Don Aslett says the cost to open his Museum of Clean in eastern Idaho has doubled and it will take $6 million before he can start pulling in customers.
Aslett says the museum will likely open later this year after missing expected openings the last several years.
Work is continuing on a 70,000-square-foot building in Pocatello and some of the 6,000 historical cleaning devices are being moved in.
He says a two-ton horse-drawn street sweeper will be among the exhibits.
Aslett runs a janitorial business and says he's convinced the level of clean dictates everything in a person's life.
Information from: Idaho State Journal, http://www.journalnet.com
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Cover-up" on UK horror crash
An out-of-control Leeds road sweeper driver's 18-ton truck crashed head-on into an oncoming car, killing a woman passenger, a court heard.
Robert Bolam's faulty truck careered on to the opposite carriageway of the A650 at Drighlington and smashed into a Peugeot 106.
Front-seat passenger Yasmin Nazir, 30, of Wakefield, was killed instantly in a the car being driven by husband Mohammed. He was seriously injured though their daughter Isha escaped relatively unharmed.
The court heard that Bolam's boss took part in an attempt to cover up the fault that led to the crash.
It was claimed in court that Bolam was had been talking on his phone, which was open in his lap at the time of the crash, just after midday on October 5, 2006.
Prosecutors claim Bolam, 44, of Topcliffe Lane, Morley, had to brake sharply when faced with a queue at temporary traffic lights. He is alleged to have lost control because the anti-lock braking system (ABS) failed.
The jury was told Bolam, who worked for Angus Heron Ltd, had known of the fault because a brake fault light had lit up in his cab on 127 previous occasions.
Read Full Article
Robert Bolam's faulty truck careered on to the opposite carriageway of the A650 at Drighlington and smashed into a Peugeot 106.
Front-seat passenger Yasmin Nazir, 30, of Wakefield, was killed instantly in a the car being driven by husband Mohammed. He was seriously injured though their daughter Isha escaped relatively unharmed.
The court heard that Bolam's boss took part in an attempt to cover up the fault that led to the crash.
It was claimed in court that Bolam was had been talking on his phone, which was open in his lap at the time of the crash, just after midday on October 5, 2006.
Prosecutors claim Bolam, 44, of Topcliffe Lane, Morley, had to brake sharply when faced with a queue at temporary traffic lights. He is alleged to have lost control because the anti-lock braking system (ABS) failed.
The jury was told Bolam, who worked for Angus Heron Ltd, had known of the fault because a brake fault light had lit up in his cab on 127 previous occasions.
Read Full Article
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Woman injured when her car struck a street sweeper.
CHARLESTON TOWNSHIP -- A 70-year-old woman was injured Monday when her car collided with a Kalamazoo County Road Commission street sweeper southeast of Galesburg, police said.
Judith Erk, of East Leroy, was driving east on MN Avenue near 38th Street at 12:30 p.m. when her Cadillac DeVille rear-ended the street sweeper which was sweeping loose dirt off of the road, said Lt. Robert Phillips, of the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office.
Phillips said the collision caused significant damage to Erk's Cadillac and she was taken to a local hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. The driver of the street sweeper, who police did not name, was not hurt in the crash, Phillips said.
Read Full Article
Judith Erk, of East Leroy, was driving east on MN Avenue near 38th Street at 12:30 p.m. when her Cadillac DeVille rear-ended the street sweeper which was sweeping loose dirt off of the road, said Lt. Robert Phillips, of the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office.
Phillips said the collision caused significant damage to Erk's Cadillac and she was taken to a local hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. The driver of the street sweeper, who police did not name, was not hurt in the crash, Phillips said.
Read Full Article
Anti-lock braking system not working, court told
The transport manager of a plant machinery firm tried to cover up vital evidence after one of the company’s road sweeping lorries was involved in a fatal crash, a jury heard.
The lorry had crashed on the Drighlington bypass causing the death of 30-year-old Yasmin Nazir, who died at the scene, and seriously injuring her husband Mohammed, Leeds Crown Court was told yesterday.
The couple’s young daughter Isha, who was a passenger in the family’s white Peugeot 106, also suffered injuries in the accident on October 5, 2006.
The family had been travelling towards Bradford on the A650 when the 18-tonne Volvo road sweeper, which had a braking fault, spun across the carriageway, through a central reservation barrier and into the path of the family’s car before smashing down a fence and coming to rest in a field.
The lorry driver, Robert Bolam, 44, of Topcliffe Lane, Morley, had been driving too fast and had known the vehicle’s Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) was not working properly, prosecutor Paul Greaney told the jury.
He had his mobile phone flipped open on his lap and had been distracted as he approached traffic queuing at a set of temporary lights, Mr Greaney said.
Andrew Pinder, 41, of Round Hill Close, Clayton Heights, Bradford, the transport manager at Cleckheaton-based Angus Heron Ltd, drove to the scene and took his mobile phone from him after the crash, the jury heard. Police later found the LG mobile wrapped in foil in the glove box of Bolam’s car.
Read Full Article
The lorry had crashed on the Drighlington bypass causing the death of 30-year-old Yasmin Nazir, who died at the scene, and seriously injuring her husband Mohammed, Leeds Crown Court was told yesterday.
The couple’s young daughter Isha, who was a passenger in the family’s white Peugeot 106, also suffered injuries in the accident on October 5, 2006.
The family had been travelling towards Bradford on the A650 when the 18-tonne Volvo road sweeper, which had a braking fault, spun across the carriageway, through a central reservation barrier and into the path of the family’s car before smashing down a fence and coming to rest in a field.
The lorry driver, Robert Bolam, 44, of Topcliffe Lane, Morley, had been driving too fast and had known the vehicle’s Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) was not working properly, prosecutor Paul Greaney told the jury.
He had his mobile phone flipped open on his lap and had been distracted as he approached traffic queuing at a set of temporary lights, Mr Greaney said.
Andrew Pinder, 41, of Round Hill Close, Clayton Heights, Bradford, the transport manager at Cleckheaton-based Angus Heron Ltd, drove to the scene and took his mobile phone from him after the crash, the jury heard. Police later found the LG mobile wrapped in foil in the glove box of Bolam’s car.
Read Full Article
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Pensions: Bankers retire rich, we're ignored
Former workers of collapsed steel company Allied Steel and Wire marched on the Welsh Assembly headquarters in Cardiff last week to demand a fairer pension deal.
They were campaigning for their pensions to rise in line with inflation and protect their incomes over future years of retirement.
Fighting for pension rights is nothing new for these men and women.
The 2002 collapse of ASW - whose pension scheme was not adequately funded - meant that long-serving workers faced the terrifying thought of a retirement with no pension at all.
The company had steelworks in Cardiff, Belfast and Sheerness, Kent.
As Financial Mail documented in a long campaign on the issue, these and other workers in a similar position fought for years for compensation from the Government.
It was eventually forthcoming, at least in part, through two 'lifeboats' - the Financial Assistance Scheme and the Pension Protection Fund.
The FAS is for victims of failed company pensions where the business folded before April 2005. The PPF is for those whose firms collapse after that April 2005 cut-off.
Both schemes typically limit benefits to 90% of the expected pension.
Entitlements accumulated before April 1997 do not benefit from index-linking to inflation while entitlements built up after that date will be index-linked up to a maximum inflation rate of 2.5%.
Among Tuesday's protest- ers was Tony Atkinson, 61, of Cardiff, who suffered a heart attack two months after being told his pension pot had collapsed along with ASW in July 2002.
'The stress at the time was awful and the doctor said this was a contributing factor to the attack,' he says.
Read Full Article
They were campaigning for their pensions to rise in line with inflation and protect their incomes over future years of retirement.
Fighting for pension rights is nothing new for these men and women.
The 2002 collapse of ASW - whose pension scheme was not adequately funded - meant that long-serving workers faced the terrifying thought of a retirement with no pension at all.
The company had steelworks in Cardiff, Belfast and Sheerness, Kent.
As Financial Mail documented in a long campaign on the issue, these and other workers in a similar position fought for years for compensation from the Government.
It was eventually forthcoming, at least in part, through two 'lifeboats' - the Financial Assistance Scheme and the Pension Protection Fund.
The FAS is for victims of failed company pensions where the business folded before April 2005. The PPF is for those whose firms collapse after that April 2005 cut-off.
Both schemes typically limit benefits to 90% of the expected pension.
Entitlements accumulated before April 1997 do not benefit from index-linking to inflation while entitlements built up after that date will be index-linked up to a maximum inflation rate of 2.5%.
Among Tuesday's protest- ers was Tony Atkinson, 61, of Cardiff, who suffered a heart attack two months after being told his pension pot had collapsed along with ASW in July 2002.
'The stress at the time was awful and the doctor said this was a contributing factor to the attack,' he says.
Read Full Article
Monday, March 23, 2009
Scrubbing away winter
Fifty-one inches of snow buried streets and sidewalks. For 24 days, the temperature never crawled above freezing. Clouds obscured the sun 65 days during the winter. The city scattered 135,000 tons of salt and sand.
The thaw reduced all that misery to a thick, black grit that clogged gutters and catch basins along with cigarettes butts, plastic bottles, and hubcaps left behind by winter.
Yesterday, spring officially swept in. Perhaps not in the 36-degree wind or the barren Public Garden, where the sprouts of crocuses and tulips had barely cracked through the muddy earth. But on the streets of the South End, a dusty rumbling brought one of the most faithful harbingers of warm weather: an orange street sweeper.
"It's been a tough winter," said Mayor Thomas M. Menino, mentioning the grime and the stock market slide in the same thought. "Spring is [here]. Summer is coming. Better days are ahead."
Clean streets, Menino said, are "part of the psyche of the city."
The city launched its residential street sweeping campaign 10 days ahead of the typical April 1 start date to get a jump on removing the debris, which has already totaled 255 tons this month. The cleaning will be done according to the neighborhood's regular sweeping schedule, which is posted on street signs.
The Boston Transportation Department will ask residents to voluntarily move cars for the early street sweeping program, but parking violations will not be issued. Ticketing and towing will begin April 1.
To highlight the need, public works chief Dennis Royer stood in a gutter on West Newton Street and kicked at the grime with the bottom of his black, tasseled loafer.
Read Full Article
The thaw reduced all that misery to a thick, black grit that clogged gutters and catch basins along with cigarettes butts, plastic bottles, and hubcaps left behind by winter.
Yesterday, spring officially swept in. Perhaps not in the 36-degree wind or the barren Public Garden, where the sprouts of crocuses and tulips had barely cracked through the muddy earth. But on the streets of the South End, a dusty rumbling brought one of the most faithful harbingers of warm weather: an orange street sweeper.
"It's been a tough winter," said Mayor Thomas M. Menino, mentioning the grime and the stock market slide in the same thought. "Spring is [here]. Summer is coming. Better days are ahead."
Clean streets, Menino said, are "part of the psyche of the city."
The city launched its residential street sweeping campaign 10 days ahead of the typical April 1 start date to get a jump on removing the debris, which has already totaled 255 tons this month. The cleaning will be done according to the neighborhood's regular sweeping schedule, which is posted on street signs.
The Boston Transportation Department will ask residents to voluntarily move cars for the early street sweeping program, but parking violations will not be issued. Ticketing and towing will begin April 1.
To highlight the need, public works chief Dennis Royer stood in a gutter on West Newton Street and kicked at the grime with the bottom of his black, tasseled loafer.
Read Full Article
Friday, March 20, 2009
Border drain was open before crossers got trapped
SAN DIEGO -- A rat-infested storm drain where eight Mexicans were discovered 20 hours after trying to enter the U.S. illegally had been left open for hours by U.S. authorities at the nation's busiest border crossing.
The Mexicans had entered the drain within about 50 yards of border inspectors. The entry was caught on surveillance tape but went undetected until a motorist reported it, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
None of the six males and two females were seriously injured in the 30-inch-wide pipe, but they were dehydrated and hungry after the ordeal.
Giobardo Andrade Villanueva, a rescued 16-year-old boy, said he agreed to pay a smuggler $2,500 to lead him through a drain surrounded by orange cones. The opening was in a U.S. buffer zone between the official border and inspection booths.
"He said, 'We're going to go through there,'" the teenager told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from his home in Tijuana, Mexico.
Andrade said he and the others stayed in the pipe because two smugglers, who left shortly after the group entered the drain, had ordered them not to leave.
"We were scared," he said. "(The smugglers) told us to wait inside."
CBP spokesman Vince Bond said authorities learned Friday night that a drainage cover was missing. He declined to elaborate, saying an investigation was continuing.
Read Full Article
The Mexicans had entered the drain within about 50 yards of border inspectors. The entry was caught on surveillance tape but went undetected until a motorist reported it, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
None of the six males and two females were seriously injured in the 30-inch-wide pipe, but they were dehydrated and hungry after the ordeal.
Giobardo Andrade Villanueva, a rescued 16-year-old boy, said he agreed to pay a smuggler $2,500 to lead him through a drain surrounded by orange cones. The opening was in a U.S. buffer zone between the official border and inspection booths.
"He said, 'We're going to go through there,'" the teenager told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from his home in Tijuana, Mexico.
Andrade said he and the others stayed in the pipe because two smugglers, who left shortly after the group entered the drain, had ordered them not to leave.
"We were scared," he said. "(The smugglers) told us to wait inside."
CBP spokesman Vince Bond said authorities learned Friday night that a drainage cover was missing. He declined to elaborate, saying an investigation was continuing.
Read Full Article
City proposing to delay purchase of street grader
City Administrator Kevin McCann reported Friday that the purchase of a street grader may be put on hold as the City continues to look at ways to trim its budget.
The City initially reported that it was delaying the purchase of a street sweeper. That was incorrect, according to McCann.
Also omitted in last week’s article on trimming the City’s budget was proposed cuts for the Library. McCann said cuts totalling $1,250 are being proposed. It has been suggested that the library committee holds meetings six times per year instead of every month. This would save $750, according to McCann. He said it is also being proposed that the library share refuse service with the City offices.
The City of Gaylord has established a list of proposed ideas to trim its budget in anticipation of substantial cuts in Local Government Aid (LGA). That list was published in last week’s Hub.
Read Full Article
The City initially reported that it was delaying the purchase of a street sweeper. That was incorrect, according to McCann.
Also omitted in last week’s article on trimming the City’s budget was proposed cuts for the Library. McCann said cuts totalling $1,250 are being proposed. It has been suggested that the library committee holds meetings six times per year instead of every month. This would save $750, according to McCann. He said it is also being proposed that the library share refuse service with the City offices.
The City of Gaylord has established a list of proposed ideas to trim its budget in anticipation of substantial cuts in Local Government Aid (LGA). That list was published in last week’s Hub.
Read Full Article
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Antioch street, sand clean-up under way
ANTIOCH -- It will take about six weeks to clean up Antioch's streets, but meanwhile some residents have resorted to vacuuming their lawns to get rid of the sand used generously to supplement the village's salt supplies this winter.
Village workers are just beginning to clean the streets with the street sweeper, and most streets will need to be done twice.
"There are some areas where we will actually have to use shovels to remove the sand," said Village Administrator Jill Velan.
This winter season residents had to cope with snow-covered streets due to a sharp increase in the cost of salt, forcing the village to cut its usual salt supply in half and use a mix of 70 percent sand to 30 percent salt.
Velan told village officials Monday that using the sand-salt mixture this winter saved the village a lot of money.
"Salt this year was $140 per ton, compared to $40 last year, so this year it was cost effective," said Velan, who expects the village will pay half of last year's per ton cost for next winter's supply.
Read Full Article
Village workers are just beginning to clean the streets with the street sweeper, and most streets will need to be done twice.
"There are some areas where we will actually have to use shovels to remove the sand," said Village Administrator Jill Velan.
This winter season residents had to cope with snow-covered streets due to a sharp increase in the cost of salt, forcing the village to cut its usual salt supply in half and use a mix of 70 percent sand to 30 percent salt.
Velan told village officials Monday that using the sand-salt mixture this winter saved the village a lot of money.
"Salt this year was $140 per ton, compared to $40 last year, so this year it was cost effective," said Velan, who expects the village will pay half of last year's per ton cost for next winter's supply.
Read Full Article
Victim Recovers From Random Shooting
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- A man is shot while driving down Montgomery Boulevard. in Albuquerque.
It happened in early Tuesday morning. Steven Draper's car and a street sweeper behind him were both shot at. Only the street sweeper's radiator was hit.
It was much worse for Draper. He said some shined a flashlight into his car, then two bullets hit. One of the bullets went through his back windshield. The other one hit the side of his car, piercing his upper back. He will make a full recovery.
Police are looking for two men who were dressed in black. One witness said the pair fired at least seven shots.
Read Full Article
It happened in early Tuesday morning. Steven Draper's car and a street sweeper behind him were both shot at. Only the street sweeper's radiator was hit.
It was much worse for Draper. He said some shined a flashlight into his car, then two bullets hit. One of the bullets went through his back windshield. The other one hit the side of his car, piercing his upper back. He will make a full recovery.
Police are looking for two men who were dressed in black. One witness said the pair fired at least seven shots.
Read Full Article
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
D.C. street sweepers will capture parking violations
WASHINGTON - D.C. area drivers are all-to-familiar with red light and speed cameras, but a new camera is on the prowl to keep an eye on where you park your car.
The D.C. Department of Public Works tells WTOP it is ready to start issuing parking tickets using cameras that are mounted on street sweepers. The system is called "sweeper-cam" and it works like this:
Street sweepers will pass by a residential street that is scheduled for cleaning. If a car is parked illegally along the curb during sweeping hours, the camera will snap a picture of the license plate and a $30 fine will be sent in the mail. Drivers will have 60 days to dispute the ticket.
"A lot of times we can not get to the curb because all of the cars haven't moved," says Nancee Lyons with the Department of Public Works. "What we would like is for people to change their behavior so we can get cleaner streets."
DPW says for every vehicle parked illegally along a sweeper route, three parking spaces are kept from being cleaned.
After being suspended for the winter, residential street sweeping rules go back into effect March 23. A one week warning period will be in place, and actual fines will start being handed out on March 30.
Read Full Article
The D.C. Department of Public Works tells WTOP it is ready to start issuing parking tickets using cameras that are mounted on street sweepers. The system is called "sweeper-cam" and it works like this:
Street sweepers will pass by a residential street that is scheduled for cleaning. If a car is parked illegally along the curb during sweeping hours, the camera will snap a picture of the license plate and a $30 fine will be sent in the mail. Drivers will have 60 days to dispute the ticket.
"A lot of times we can not get to the curb because all of the cars haven't moved," says Nancee Lyons with the Department of Public Works. "What we would like is for people to change their behavior so we can get cleaner streets."
DPW says for every vehicle parked illegally along a sweeper route, three parking spaces are kept from being cleaned.
After being suspended for the winter, residential street sweeping rules go back into effect March 23. A one week warning period will be in place, and actual fines will start being handed out on March 30.
Read Full Article
Committee in favor of user fee hike
HUNTINGTON -- Citing reasons such as increased police protection and better roads, a majority of audience members voiced support for raising the city's user fee by $1 a week during a Huntington City Council Finance Committee meeting on Monday night.
Following the public comment period, the committee voted 3-to-2 in favor of the proposal. Committee members expect the proposal be to discussed further during a City Council budget meeting on Saturday.
A $2 weekly user fee is currently charged to anyone who works within the city limits. According to internal figures, increasing the fee to $3 would generate about $1.6 million. The additional funds would be divided between the police, street and traffic engineering departments.
About 17 audience members spoke about the increase at Monday's committee meeting, including Mark Bugher, president of the Huntington Regional Chamber of Commerce. Bugher said the increase will go toward improving the city and making it more attractive for businesses. The small fee, he said, would have a large impact on the betterment of the city.
But those who spoke in favor of the increase were often drowned out by those who were against it.
"You can't tax people who don't live here," said Ona resident Jayne Collins. "It's taxation without representation. I don't live in the city, I cannot vote (the council) in. It's unconstitutional."
Tom McCloud, a resident of Huntington's West End, said he's concerned that the increase will dramatically affect people who are living on low or fixed incomes.
"There's poor people on the West End of Huntington that can't afford it," McCloud said. "(An additional) $52 a year for some is taking food out of their mouths, out of their children's mouths."
Read Full Article
Following the public comment period, the committee voted 3-to-2 in favor of the proposal. Committee members expect the proposal be to discussed further during a City Council budget meeting on Saturday.
A $2 weekly user fee is currently charged to anyone who works within the city limits. According to internal figures, increasing the fee to $3 would generate about $1.6 million. The additional funds would be divided between the police, street and traffic engineering departments.
About 17 audience members spoke about the increase at Monday's committee meeting, including Mark Bugher, president of the Huntington Regional Chamber of Commerce. Bugher said the increase will go toward improving the city and making it more attractive for businesses. The small fee, he said, would have a large impact on the betterment of the city.
But those who spoke in favor of the increase were often drowned out by those who were against it.
"You can't tax people who don't live here," said Ona resident Jayne Collins. "It's taxation without representation. I don't live in the city, I cannot vote (the council) in. It's unconstitutional."
Tom McCloud, a resident of Huntington's West End, said he's concerned that the increase will dramatically affect people who are living on low or fixed incomes.
"There's poor people on the West End of Huntington that can't afford it," McCloud said. "(An additional) $52 a year for some is taking food out of their mouths, out of their children's mouths."
Read Full Article
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Ford Super Duty Repeats Work Truck of the Year Win
The Ford F-Series Super Duty once again took Work Truck of the Year honors at the National Truck Equipment Association Work Truck Show, March 4.
Ford also earned the 2008 Work Truck of the Year honor, the first year of the award program, sponsored by Work Truck magazine. The fleet industry professionals among Work Truck readers determined the winner though online ballot.
In a special presentation at Ford's NTEA Work Truck Show booth, Len DeLuca, director, Ford commercial truck sales and marketing, accepted the award from
Work Truck magazine Associate Publisher Bob Brown and Editor Mike Antich.
The 2009 F-Series Super Duty line of trucks is available in Regular Cab, Super Cab, and Crew Cab models. Powertrain choices 5.4L 3V Triton V-8, 6.8L 3V Triton V-10, and 6.4L Power Stroke V-8 turbodiesel, with horsepower ranging from 300 to 362.
Read Full Article
Ford also earned the 2008 Work Truck of the Year honor, the first year of the award program, sponsored by Work Truck magazine. The fleet industry professionals among Work Truck readers determined the winner though online ballot.
In a special presentation at Ford's NTEA Work Truck Show booth, Len DeLuca, director, Ford commercial truck sales and marketing, accepted the award from
Work Truck magazine Associate Publisher Bob Brown and Editor Mike Antich.
The 2009 F-Series Super Duty line of trucks is available in Regular Cab, Super Cab, and Crew Cab models. Powertrain choices 5.4L 3V Triton V-8, 6.8L 3V Triton V-10, and 6.4L Power Stroke V-8 turbodiesel, with horsepower ranging from 300 to 362.
Read Full Article
Monday, March 16, 2009
Winter road treatments leave mess to clean up
The high cost of salt during the winter has led to more gravel on local roads and sidewalks as spring arrives.
In late 2008, with the price of salt more than doubling, municipalities and PennDOT were faced with a decision: How do we keep roadways safe without breaking the bank?
One solution was using “anti-skid” – a mixture of salt and small gravel. And using anti-skid did save money.
But when the salt dissolved, the gravel was left behind – making for a mess, said Darby Sprincz, director of public works for the city of Johnstown.
The fine gravel – spread to help with vehicle traction on icy streets – is now collecting at intersections, in stormwater catch basins and on sidewalks.
“There sure is a lot around,” Sprincz said.
“This winter was the first time we used gravel in 20 years. We got away from it because of the cleanup in the spring.”
The scene is played out in communities across the region, but is most prominent in the city.
Johnstown crews traditionally used about 3,000 tons of road salt each winter to keep motorists moving. But in 2008-09, Johnstown has used 1,200 tons of road salt mixed with 1,600 tons of anti-skid.
Because of the ensuing mess, city leaders have relaxed their enforcement of an ordinance prohibiting residents from sweeping or shoveling materials onto the streets.
“Property owners are responsible for the sidewalks,” Sprincz said, “and we’re going to waive the fines in the ordinance and ask them to sweep the anti-skid from the sidewalks into the streets.”
Read Full Article
In late 2008, with the price of salt more than doubling, municipalities and PennDOT were faced with a decision: How do we keep roadways safe without breaking the bank?
One solution was using “anti-skid” – a mixture of salt and small gravel. And using anti-skid did save money.
But when the salt dissolved, the gravel was left behind – making for a mess, said Darby Sprincz, director of public works for the city of Johnstown.
The fine gravel – spread to help with vehicle traction on icy streets – is now collecting at intersections, in stormwater catch basins and on sidewalks.
“There sure is a lot around,” Sprincz said.
“This winter was the first time we used gravel in 20 years. We got away from it because of the cleanup in the spring.”
The scene is played out in communities across the region, but is most prominent in the city.
Johnstown crews traditionally used about 3,000 tons of road salt each winter to keep motorists moving. But in 2008-09, Johnstown has used 1,200 tons of road salt mixed with 1,600 tons of anti-skid.
Because of the ensuing mess, city leaders have relaxed their enforcement of an ordinance prohibiting residents from sweeping or shoveling materials onto the streets.
“Property owners are responsible for the sidewalks,” Sprincz said, “and we’re going to waive the fines in the ordinance and ask them to sweep the anti-skid from the sidewalks into the streets.”
Read Full Article
Workers sacrifice to keep jobs
WASHINGTON COUNTY — The orders from corporate headquarters were bleak and gave Nancy Reeder almost no choice: Cut expenses by 70 percent and do it now.
Reeder, for 18 years the boss at Clean Earth of Maryland Inc.'s recycling operation at 1469 Oak Ridge Place near Funkstown, had "never had to lay off a worker, so that was something I really struggled with."
Her decision, effective the last week of February, divided Clean Earth's three office and nine production employees into two teams - each week, while one team works, the other is laid off.
And vice versa, week after week.
"It's a serious hardship for them, but it was the fairest and the less traumatic way," Reeder said. "It allowed everyone to continue to accrue vacation and personal days, as well as have access to their medical, dental, 401(k) and flexible spending accounts."
In the meantime, Reeder said, her four salaried workers - an engineer and three managers - volunteered and each are working close to 20 extra hours per week without pay to help fill in and keep the business going.
Reeder said the company's salaried workers have offered to give up 10 percent of their base pay, as she has done.
"They've offered to work those 20 hours extra a week, and take a pay cut," she said. "The engineer is still doing his main job, but he is also doing yard inspections. All three of the other managers take turns pulling samples of loads from trucks, inspecting them to be sure it is what we were told it was going to be."
"And, they are also running the street sweeper," making sure any mud that the trucks drop is cleaned off the road leading to Clean Earth's operations, she said.
The business, known here as Clean Rock Industries until about five years ago, is permitted by Maryland to treat petroleum-contaminated soil and reuse it. The company also crushes rock, concrete, cinder block and other such rubble into a mixed material for use on farm lanes and driveways, in road paving and as a road base for concrete or asphalt.
"We finished 2008 fairly strong, but early 2009 has seen a 70 percent decrease in sales volume" throughout Clean Earth's parent company, Reeder said.
She said she's optimistic the crisis is short-term "and that we can return to normal in the next six or eight weeks."
Until then though, "everyone who is working is working twice as hard as they normally would," she said. "They're having to work as a team and truly pick up the slack and do anything that needs to be done. They've been wonderful to each other."
Many people across the country, and locally, are making some sacrifices to keep their jobs.
Or know someone who is.
In conversation by the coffeepot, at church or out on the street, you hear of a friend, a neighbor or a spouse whose benefits have been suspended, whose workweek has been cut or whose pay has been reduced as the nation's recession deepens.
Yet, again and again, as word of the sacrifices spread, so, too, are the stories of people pulling together, determined to make it through.
Read Full Article
Reeder, for 18 years the boss at Clean Earth of Maryland Inc.'s recycling operation at 1469 Oak Ridge Place near Funkstown, had "never had to lay off a worker, so that was something I really struggled with."
Her decision, effective the last week of February, divided Clean Earth's three office and nine production employees into two teams - each week, while one team works, the other is laid off.
And vice versa, week after week.
"It's a serious hardship for them, but it was the fairest and the less traumatic way," Reeder said. "It allowed everyone to continue to accrue vacation and personal days, as well as have access to their medical, dental, 401(k) and flexible spending accounts."
In the meantime, Reeder said, her four salaried workers - an engineer and three managers - volunteered and each are working close to 20 extra hours per week without pay to help fill in and keep the business going.
Reeder said the company's salaried workers have offered to give up 10 percent of their base pay, as she has done.
"They've offered to work those 20 hours extra a week, and take a pay cut," she said. "The engineer is still doing his main job, but he is also doing yard inspections. All three of the other managers take turns pulling samples of loads from trucks, inspecting them to be sure it is what we were told it was going to be."
"And, they are also running the street sweeper," making sure any mud that the trucks drop is cleaned off the road leading to Clean Earth's operations, she said.
The business, known here as Clean Rock Industries until about five years ago, is permitted by Maryland to treat petroleum-contaminated soil and reuse it. The company also crushes rock, concrete, cinder block and other such rubble into a mixed material for use on farm lanes and driveways, in road paving and as a road base for concrete or asphalt.
"We finished 2008 fairly strong, but early 2009 has seen a 70 percent decrease in sales volume" throughout Clean Earth's parent company, Reeder said.
She said she's optimistic the crisis is short-term "and that we can return to normal in the next six or eight weeks."
Until then though, "everyone who is working is working twice as hard as they normally would," she said. "They're having to work as a team and truly pick up the slack and do anything that needs to be done. They've been wonderful to each other."
Many people across the country, and locally, are making some sacrifices to keep their jobs.
Or know someone who is.
In conversation by the coffeepot, at church or out on the street, you hear of a friend, a neighbor or a spouse whose benefits have been suspended, whose workweek has been cut or whose pay has been reduced as the nation's recession deepens.
Yet, again and again, as word of the sacrifices spread, so, too, are the stories of people pulling together, determined to make it through.
Read Full Article
Friday, March 13, 2009
Federal Signal chief seeks 'internal merger' to save costs
Federal Signal Corp. Chief Executive Officer William Osborne says his company, creator of the first rotating light for police squad cars, "needs a big internal merger" to improve operating margins.
"Given our history of acquisitions without integration, we have some very good internal projects we can do" that will raise profitability, Osborne said in an interview. Federal Signal, which bought six companies in the last eight years, saw its operating margin drop to 5.8 percent last year from 8 percent a year earlier.
Osborne, 48, said he's had "a baptism of fire," since taking over at Oak Brook-based Federal Signal on Sept. 15 from Ford Motor Co., where he most recently served as president of Ford Motor Co. of Australia Ltd.
"My first day, the Dow tanked about 600 points and we had two operations down from a hurricane in Texas," Osborne said. "We've seen orders drop off in the 15 to 20 percent range so far in the first quarter. Unless there is a miraculous rebound in the economy in the second half, we don't project a growth in revenue for this year."
To adjust for slowing demand, Osborne aims to pare costs by consolidating operations and outsourcing some non-core manufacturing such as metal bending. He also seeks to chop salary costs by 13 percent, or $20 million. Federal Signal, maker of aerial lift platforms for fire trucks, traffic cameras that "read" license plates, and street sweepers, had sales of $958.8 million in 2008. The company had a loss of $95.6 million last year, mostly because of losses on the sale of two businesses.
The U.S. accounted for about 54 percent of Federal Signal's sales last year, and just under a third of those customers were city, town and county governments, the company said in a regulatory filing. Overseas, local governments made up about 70 percent of clients.
The first signs of slowing demand came in government sales, with commercial and industrial revenue weakening since the beginning of the year, Osborne said.
"Frankly, we've seen slowdowns across the globe," Osborne said. "Even in markets where there was formerly blistering growth like China, we've seen slowdowns."
Federal Signal stock has lost 68 percent in the past 12 months while the S&P 400 Industrials Index has dropped 46 percent.
"Federal Signal is facing a number of headwinds in 2009, including tight municipal budgets and continuing legal expenses," said Walter Liptak, a Chicago-based analyst with Barrington Research Associates Inc. "As we come out of the recession the company has a lot of new whizbang products that can help them grow." Liptak rates the shares "market perform" and doesn't own any.
Federal Signal began the first quarter with $33.4 million in cash and short-term investments, more than double what it had at the same point last year.
"Back in the December, in the midst of the credit crisis, we drew down our revolving credit facility, about $20 million," Osborne said. "It was purely a defensive move in the event that the credit situation deteriorated."
Read Full Article
"Given our history of acquisitions without integration, we have some very good internal projects we can do" that will raise profitability, Osborne said in an interview. Federal Signal, which bought six companies in the last eight years, saw its operating margin drop to 5.8 percent last year from 8 percent a year earlier.
Osborne, 48, said he's had "a baptism of fire," since taking over at Oak Brook-based Federal Signal on Sept. 15 from Ford Motor Co., where he most recently served as president of Ford Motor Co. of Australia Ltd.
"My first day, the Dow tanked about 600 points and we had two operations down from a hurricane in Texas," Osborne said. "We've seen orders drop off in the 15 to 20 percent range so far in the first quarter. Unless there is a miraculous rebound in the economy in the second half, we don't project a growth in revenue for this year."
To adjust for slowing demand, Osborne aims to pare costs by consolidating operations and outsourcing some non-core manufacturing such as metal bending. He also seeks to chop salary costs by 13 percent, or $20 million. Federal Signal, maker of aerial lift platforms for fire trucks, traffic cameras that "read" license plates, and street sweepers, had sales of $958.8 million in 2008. The company had a loss of $95.6 million last year, mostly because of losses on the sale of two businesses.
The U.S. accounted for about 54 percent of Federal Signal's sales last year, and just under a third of those customers were city, town and county governments, the company said in a regulatory filing. Overseas, local governments made up about 70 percent of clients.
The first signs of slowing demand came in government sales, with commercial and industrial revenue weakening since the beginning of the year, Osborne said.
"Frankly, we've seen slowdowns across the globe," Osborne said. "Even in markets where there was formerly blistering growth like China, we've seen slowdowns."
Federal Signal stock has lost 68 percent in the past 12 months while the S&P 400 Industrials Index has dropped 46 percent.
"Federal Signal is facing a number of headwinds in 2009, including tight municipal budgets and continuing legal expenses," said Walter Liptak, a Chicago-based analyst with Barrington Research Associates Inc. "As we come out of the recession the company has a lot of new whizbang products that can help them grow." Liptak rates the shares "market perform" and doesn't own any.
Federal Signal began the first quarter with $33.4 million in cash and short-term investments, more than double what it had at the same point last year.
"Back in the December, in the midst of the credit crisis, we drew down our revolving credit facility, about $20 million," Osborne said. "It was purely a defensive move in the event that the credit situation deteriorated."
Read Full Article
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Driver may have fallen asleep in I-85 accident
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- An accident involving a tractor trailer and two trucks shut down three lanes of I-85 southbound near IKEA Boulevard for hours this morning.
Troopers say it happened around 2:30 a.m. while a street sweeper and two trailing trucks with merge signs were at work on the interstate. A FedEX truck rear-ended one of the trailing trucks, which in turn hit the other trailing truck about 50 yards ahead. Three lanes of traffic were shut down until about 5:50 a.m.
Medic tells us they transported one patient emergency traffic to Carolinas Medical Center. The other two patients were transported non-emergency to CMC University.
The exact cause of this wreck is still under investigation, but troopers tell us the driver of the FedEx truck may have fallen asleep because there is no indication that he hit the brakes.
Read Full Article
Troopers say it happened around 2:30 a.m. while a street sweeper and two trailing trucks with merge signs were at work on the interstate. A FedEX truck rear-ended one of the trailing trucks, which in turn hit the other trailing truck about 50 yards ahead. Three lanes of traffic were shut down until about 5:50 a.m.
Medic tells us they transported one patient emergency traffic to Carolinas Medical Center. The other two patients were transported non-emergency to CMC University.
The exact cause of this wreck is still under investigation, but troopers tell us the driver of the FedEx truck may have fallen asleep because there is no indication that he hit the brakes.
Read Full Article
Road workers happy to be back on job
When American Infrastructure won the contract to repave a section of New Hampshire Avenue, Bryan White, 47, of Aberdeen, was one of the employees who got the call to return to work.
"It's wonderful," White said of the project, cited as the first in the nation under the $26.6 billion released by President Barack Obama from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to state and local governments to repair and build roadways and bridges. "It's going to create more jobs. I know I'm happy."
White is usually laid off during the winter months due to the seasonal nature of his job, but with the economy in the tank and state and county governments cutting back on infrastructure work, he had feared that his layoff would be extended.
"Now I'm getting caught up on bills," he said. "That's the big thing right now."
When American Infrastructure submitted the low bid for the $1.8 million project to resurface the 1.1-mile stretch of New Hampshire Avenue, the company never expected the project would draw national attention, said Mark Compton, director of government affairs for American Infrastructure.
Read Full Article
"It's wonderful," White said of the project, cited as the first in the nation under the $26.6 billion released by President Barack Obama from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to state and local governments to repair and build roadways and bridges. "It's going to create more jobs. I know I'm happy."
White is usually laid off during the winter months due to the seasonal nature of his job, but with the economy in the tank and state and county governments cutting back on infrastructure work, he had feared that his layoff would be extended.
"Now I'm getting caught up on bills," he said. "That's the big thing right now."
When American Infrastructure submitted the low bid for the $1.8 million project to resurface the 1.1-mile stretch of New Hampshire Avenue, the company never expected the project would draw national attention, said Mark Compton, director of government affairs for American Infrastructure.
Read Full Article
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Overnight Street Sweeper Accident
Tulsa, OK - A driver is behind bars after hitting the back of a street sweeper.
According to officers, the street sweeper was on the 33rd West Ave. bridge when the driver rear-ended him. The sweeper was pushed into the wall, tearing off a tire.
The driver was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence.
Read Full Article
According to officers, the street sweeper was on the 33rd West Ave. bridge when the driver rear-ended him. The sweeper was pushed into the wall, tearing off a tire.
The driver was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence.
Read Full Article
Fee increase could improve city
Huntington's City Council voted for its finance committee to further consider increasing the city's user fee from $2 to $3 per week. Though the proposed change would cost workers more, if used properly, the funds could be used to fix some of the city's problems.
The increase would raise about $1.65 million from employees working in the city. Mayor Kim Wolfe plans to use the additional money to maintain the roads and fund the police department.
While the possible increase may not be well received by city workers, we must all consider the positive impact the extra funds can have for the city.
The road maintenance is definitely needed. Many city roads are in poor condition, which is dangerous and can cause damage to vehicles. An additional $52 a year is a small amount compared to the regular wear and tear of bumpy roads.
Another benefit of the increase is the creation of new jobs. The proposed changes would create jobs for seven police officers, two clerks and a street sweeper operator. At a time when a simple janitorial position in Ohio attracts more than 700 applicants in a week, it is encouraging that the money can create more opportunities in the area.
Read Full Article
The increase would raise about $1.65 million from employees working in the city. Mayor Kim Wolfe plans to use the additional money to maintain the roads and fund the police department.
While the possible increase may not be well received by city workers, we must all consider the positive impact the extra funds can have for the city.
The road maintenance is definitely needed. Many city roads are in poor condition, which is dangerous and can cause damage to vehicles. An additional $52 a year is a small amount compared to the regular wear and tear of bumpy roads.
Another benefit of the increase is the creation of new jobs. The proposed changes would create jobs for seven police officers, two clerks and a street sweeper operator. At a time when a simple janitorial position in Ohio attracts more than 700 applicants in a week, it is encouraging that the money can create more opportunities in the area.
Read Full Article
P'town budget less bleak than forecast
PROVINCETOWN — By trimming the town's payroll, and factoring in updated cost estimates and other savings, town officials have reduced what was once projected to be an $800,000 budget shortfall to around $79,000.
The hope is to bring it to zero by the end of the week, said finance committee chairman Tom Coen.
"We're within striking distance," he said.
But Provincetown voters, at their annual town meeting April 6 and at the ballot box at the town election, still will have to approve spending on items that selectmen placed outside those budget deliberations. Taxpayers could pay $300,000 to replace the ladder truck that Elias Martinez rolled Nov. 9 while allegedly under the influence of alcohol. The town's insurance covers just $350,000 of the $650,000 replacement cost.
A new street sweeper for the department of public works could cost $182,000.
Towns are required by Proposition 2½ to limit their total annual tax increases to less than 2½ percent over the previous year's level, not including taxes collected from new buildings or additions. Voters must approve anything over that amount.
Capital purchases like the firetruck and the sweeper increase property taxes for a finite period, but an override to pay for an increase in the municipal budget is permanent. Selectmen want the $115,000 recreation department budget to be approved as an override. They will meet with the finance committee March 16 to discuss their recommendation to keep it within the municipal operating budget, and continue to cut overall costs in the hopes of avoiding an override.
The town achieved the reductions without layoffs, explained finance director Alex Heilala.
Instead, any requests for new positions were denied, and existing job openings will not be filled. The police department will forgo hiring a patrolman.
The harbor master's office would save $33,000 by making a year-round job seasonal and eliminating another seasonal position.
An updated estimate for employee health insurance costs helped close the gap by $148,000, and there were $40,000 in energy savings.
Read Full Article
The hope is to bring it to zero by the end of the week, said finance committee chairman Tom Coen.
"We're within striking distance," he said.
But Provincetown voters, at their annual town meeting April 6 and at the ballot box at the town election, still will have to approve spending on items that selectmen placed outside those budget deliberations. Taxpayers could pay $300,000 to replace the ladder truck that Elias Martinez rolled Nov. 9 while allegedly under the influence of alcohol. The town's insurance covers just $350,000 of the $650,000 replacement cost.
A new street sweeper for the department of public works could cost $182,000.
Towns are required by Proposition 2½ to limit their total annual tax increases to less than 2½ percent over the previous year's level, not including taxes collected from new buildings or additions. Voters must approve anything over that amount.
Capital purchases like the firetruck and the sweeper increase property taxes for a finite period, but an override to pay for an increase in the municipal budget is permanent. Selectmen want the $115,000 recreation department budget to be approved as an override. They will meet with the finance committee March 16 to discuss their recommendation to keep it within the municipal operating budget, and continue to cut overall costs in the hopes of avoiding an override.
The town achieved the reductions without layoffs, explained finance director Alex Heilala.
Instead, any requests for new positions were denied, and existing job openings will not be filled. The police department will forgo hiring a patrolman.
The harbor master's office would save $33,000 by making a year-round job seasonal and eliminating another seasonal position.
An updated estimate for employee health insurance costs helped close the gap by $148,000, and there were $40,000 in energy savings.
Read Full Article
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
City to purchase street sweepers with grant funds
La Quinta was recently granted $25,000 of Clean Transportation funding from the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee, city officials announced Friday.
Advertisement
The funds will go towards purchasing a new PM10-efficient street sweeper to add to the city's fleet.
The PM10-efficient street sweepers are powered by compressed natural gas, “yielding cleaner air benefits,” city officials said.
Read Full Article
Advertisement
The funds will go towards purchasing a new PM10-efficient street sweeper to add to the city's fleet.
The PM10-efficient street sweepers are powered by compressed natural gas, “yielding cleaner air benefits,” city officials said.
Read Full Article
Man Dies In Accident On Highway 16
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Police are investigating a fatality accident on Highway 16 East and Stonebridge in Fayetteville.
Officers said the accident was reported around 8:30 Friday morning. The highway was closed for at least two hours while officials cleared debris and investigated the circumstances surrounding the accident. The highway has now been reopened.
Police said that one person died in the accident which involved a motorcycle and a piece of machinery. "We're not sure if it was a fork lift or something like a street sweeper, but the two collided," said Craig Stout of the Fayetteville Police Department.
Read Full Article
Officers said the accident was reported around 8:30 Friday morning. The highway was closed for at least two hours while officials cleared debris and investigated the circumstances surrounding the accident. The highway has now been reopened.
Police said that one person died in the accident which involved a motorcycle and a piece of machinery. "We're not sure if it was a fork lift or something like a street sweeper, but the two collided," said Craig Stout of the Fayetteville Police Department.
Read Full Article
Friday, March 6, 2009
31,000 parking tickets during Carnival season
The City of New Orleans issued more than 31,000 parking tickets during the 12-day Carnival season, easily surpassing the numbers from the past three years.
A press release issued by Mayor Nagin’s press office said the total number of parking tickets issued between February 13 and February 24 was 31,245. The largest total – 4,119 – came on Saturday, February 21 during the parades of Iris, Tucks and Endymion.
“We have an obligation to effectively permit parades to roll through the City. Also, since parade routes run directly adjacent to residential areas, it is important for us to protect their interests as well," said Robert Mendoza, Director of Public Works.
Tickets that are specific to Mardi Gras include parking restrictions that begin two hours before the start of each parade and end when the final street sweeper passes through. There are also additional parking restrictions in the French Quarter. Violations of these particular regulations are $75 and make the vehicle subject to immediate towing, an additional $100 charge.
Read Full Article
A press release issued by Mayor Nagin’s press office said the total number of parking tickets issued between February 13 and February 24 was 31,245. The largest total – 4,119 – came on Saturday, February 21 during the parades of Iris, Tucks and Endymion.
“We have an obligation to effectively permit parades to roll through the City. Also, since parade routes run directly adjacent to residential areas, it is important for us to protect their interests as well," said Robert Mendoza, Director of Public Works.
Tickets that are specific to Mardi Gras include parking restrictions that begin two hours before the start of each parade and end when the final street sweeper passes through. There are also additional parking restrictions in the French Quarter. Violations of these particular regulations are $75 and make the vehicle subject to immediate towing, an additional $100 charge.
Read Full Article
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Bobcat and Polaris Announce Long-Term Strategic Alliance
Bobcat Company and Polaris Industries Inc. (NYSE:PII), of Medina, Minn., today announced a long-term strategic alliance that will leverage the complementary strengths of both companies to penetrate work-related market segments globally. The alliance will include co-development of work vehicles, supply of highly differentiated work vehicles and technology sharing, with a planned launch by the second half of 2010.
"We are thrilled about the long-term implications of this alliance," said Richard Goldsbury, president, Bobcat Americas. "Bobcat's and Polaris' long traditions of innovation, product passion and similar cultures complement each other very well."
Scott Wine, Polaris Industries CEO, said this alliance is consistent with Polaris' stated goal of diversifying beyond core powersports segments and will enhance efforts to accelerate the growth of their military and international business.
He added, "Initially, Polaris will produce and sell highly differentiated work vehicles to Bobcat for sale through the Bobcat dealer network. The breadth and depth of our cooperative efforts will expand thereafter to include co-developed vehicles for both Polaris and Bobcat, and further technology-sharing."
Read Full Article
"We are thrilled about the long-term implications of this alliance," said Richard Goldsbury, president, Bobcat Americas. "Bobcat's and Polaris' long traditions of innovation, product passion and similar cultures complement each other very well."
Scott Wine, Polaris Industries CEO, said this alliance is consistent with Polaris' stated goal of diversifying beyond core powersports segments and will enhance efforts to accelerate the growth of their military and international business.
He added, "Initially, Polaris will produce and sell highly differentiated work vehicles to Bobcat for sale through the Bobcat dealer network. The breadth and depth of our cooperative efforts will expand thereafter to include co-developed vehicles for both Polaris and Bobcat, and further technology-sharing."
Read Full Article
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Milton City Council discusses emergency services
MILTON - Cabell County Commissioner Scott Bias and Director of Cabell County Emergency Medical Services A. Gordon Merry returned to the Milton City Council requesting a decision on building an ambulance station in Milton.
"Gordon Merry and I came to you last year asking for your consideration for land for an ambulance station," Bias said. "Now I come to you with a sense of urgency."
Bias explained under the current circumstances that if a Milton citizen had a heart attack the current EMS services could possibly arrive too late. That would be unacceptable, he said. According to Council Recorder Ken Klingler, the council has a certain criteria to follow.
"We have not been sitting on our hands," Klingler said.
Merry said the ambulance station will take up a half acre. The building is about 8,200 square feet and the acreage is around 2,300 square feet with an estimated cost of $1.5 million to build, he said.
Merry explained that the helipad that was being used by the Cabell County EMS, located behind the fire station, is defunct. He expressed the need for a helipad, but is willing to forgo it just to get the ambulance station built. If the helipad was added, an acre would be needed for the ambulance station.
"I urge you to put the helipad in this area," Merry said. "We have a lot of wrecks and between this area and Salt Rock we fly more people out than any other area."
Klingler questioned how much air space clearance is needed for the helicopters. Merry explained that they landed them behind the fire department for a long time. Power lines and antennae are two major concerns. Mayor Betty Sargent said some of the ideal spots for the helipad have antennae.
"Like I said, I'm to the point where I would like to move forward," Merry said. "I'm not for holding it up for the helipad, that's just a blessing for someone here if it is critical."
Read Full Article
"Gordon Merry and I came to you last year asking for your consideration for land for an ambulance station," Bias said. "Now I come to you with a sense of urgency."
Bias explained under the current circumstances that if a Milton citizen had a heart attack the current EMS services could possibly arrive too late. That would be unacceptable, he said. According to Council Recorder Ken Klingler, the council has a certain criteria to follow.
"We have not been sitting on our hands," Klingler said.
Merry said the ambulance station will take up a half acre. The building is about 8,200 square feet and the acreage is around 2,300 square feet with an estimated cost of $1.5 million to build, he said.
Merry explained that the helipad that was being used by the Cabell County EMS, located behind the fire station, is defunct. He expressed the need for a helipad, but is willing to forgo it just to get the ambulance station built. If the helipad was added, an acre would be needed for the ambulance station.
"I urge you to put the helipad in this area," Merry said. "We have a lot of wrecks and between this area and Salt Rock we fly more people out than any other area."
Klingler questioned how much air space clearance is needed for the helicopters. Merry explained that they landed them behind the fire department for a long time. Power lines and antennae are two major concerns. Mayor Betty Sargent said some of the ideal spots for the helipad have antennae.
"Like I said, I'm to the point where I would like to move forward," Merry said. "I'm not for holding it up for the helipad, that's just a blessing for someone here if it is critical."
Read Full Article
City worker fired for drinking is reinstated
A public-works employee that the city of Denver fired for drinking on the job should get his job back because the city failed to make sure it printed out the results of his Breathalyzer test, a hearing officer recently ruled.
John Delgado, an equipment-operator specialist, already had been warned.
On July 27, 2007, he failed a random drug test given to such employees and tested positive for cocaine.
He avoided dismissal by agreeing to seek treatment, which required him to abstain from alcohol and illegal drugs for at least three years.
On Sept. 18, 2008, while operating a road patcher for the city, he was called in for a follow-up alcohol test at Denver Health Medical Center.
Delgado twice blew a 0.06 percent blood-alcohol-content reading.
Bruce Plotkin, a career service hearing officer, ruled Delgado should get to keep his job because the printer malfunctioned and prevented the technician from making a printout of the results.
Plotkin said in his Jan. 30 ruling that the state requires a printout of the results and that the city had failed to prove a violation.
Delgado, who did not dispute the accuracy of the Breathalyzer during his testimony, should be reinstated and have any pay or benefits that had been withheld from him restored, Plotkin ruled.
Christine Downs, a spokeswoman with the Denver Public Works Department, said the agency will appeal the ruling.
She said the printer that malfunctioned had been fixed and that a backup system had been installed.
Read Full Article
John Delgado, an equipment-operator specialist, already had been warned.
On July 27, 2007, he failed a random drug test given to such employees and tested positive for cocaine.
He avoided dismissal by agreeing to seek treatment, which required him to abstain from alcohol and illegal drugs for at least three years.
On Sept. 18, 2008, while operating a road patcher for the city, he was called in for a follow-up alcohol test at Denver Health Medical Center.
Delgado twice blew a 0.06 percent blood-alcohol-content reading.
Bruce Plotkin, a career service hearing officer, ruled Delgado should get to keep his job because the printer malfunctioned and prevented the technician from making a printout of the results.
Plotkin said in his Jan. 30 ruling that the state requires a printout of the results and that the city had failed to prove a violation.
Delgado, who did not dispute the accuracy of the Breathalyzer during his testimony, should be reinstated and have any pay or benefits that had been withheld from him restored, Plotkin ruled.
Christine Downs, a spokeswoman with the Denver Public Works Department, said the agency will appeal the ruling.
She said the printer that malfunctioned had been fixed and that a backup system had been installed.
Read Full Article
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)