A request to Surf City officials from the owners of a home under construction to continue a retaining wall on the east side of their 18th Street property, or the west side of the oceanfront dune, will be directed to the borough engineer.

Christine Hannemann, borough clerk/administrator, said Michael Curcio and his wife, Julie, would work with Frank Little of Owen, Little and Associates of Beachwood to determine the right course of action for the project.

Michael Curcio reached out to borough officials in a Jan. 30 email asking for permission to continue the block retaining wall on the east side of the property and to replace the broken wooden wall currently in place. Curcio also said he and his wife would like to replace the current pavers with either all pavers or a small center area filled with stones and surrounded by a border of pavers. He also submitted landscape renderings and photos of what currently exists at the site.

When the Curcios received approval for their new home, they did so with the agreement that theyd dedicate 10 feet of their property to the borough to increase the width of Ocean Terrace, Michael Curcio said in his email.

Since the proposed work does not fall within a federally funded dune project footprint, approval is required only from the state or local authorities, according to Steve Rochette, public affairs officer, for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia District.

Any individual who removes or alters dunes could also face charges from the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection. The DEP, as the non-federal sponsor, is responsible to operate and maintain the Long Beach Island beach replenishment project, which includes dunes and all other features of the project, according to the Army Corps.

The DEP has state aid agreements with municipalities that spell out state and legal regulations prohibiting the removal of any dunes in New Jersey, according to the Army Corps.

Removal or altering the dunes is definitely a violation, the Army Corps said recently in response to a question regarding the clear cutting of dune vegetation in Ship Bottom. NJDEP is in charge of enforcement, but local municipalities have brought cases against homeowners.

The matter of the clear cutting of dune vegetation is expected to be heard in Ship Bottom municipal court March 6. The case was adjourned Jan. 16, allowing the appropriate parties time to develop and submit a plan to restore dune vegetation.

Under Ship Bottom municipal code, dune restoration requires an application be made that includes a description of the activities to be performed, the equipment to be used and any other information the borough engineer deems necessary to properly review the proposed work. Restoration work cannot begin until a permit has been issued by the borough. The work must then begin within 10 days and be completed within 30 days unless otherwise approved by the governing body, according to municipal code.

At its Jan. 28 meeting, the Ship Bottom Borough Council unanimously introduced an ordinance that would, once adopted, beef up beach protection, including the removal of dune vegetation. The proposal calls for a maximum $2,000 fine for anyone violating or failing to comply with any provision of the boroughs beach protection and bulkheads law.

Its the maximum fine allowed, Kristy Davis, municipal clerk, said at the time.

Currently, the monetary fine is set at no more than $1,000 as well as the possibility of imprisonment for a term not to exceed 90 days or community service not to exceed 90 days, or a combination of the three as determined by the municipal judge. Imprisonment, community service and the discretion of the municipal judge remain the same in the proposed measure.

Mayor William Huelsenbeck said multiple tickets can be given on the same violation for each successive day the situation hasnt been remedied.

A public hearing on the proposed Ship Bottom ordinance is slated for Tuesday, Feb. 25, at borough hall, about 10 days before a clear cutting of dune vegetation at a new construction site on the oceanfront side of 17th Street is scheduled to be heard before Judge James Liguori.

Gina G. Scala

ggscala@thesandpaper.net

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Surf City Property Owners, Borough Engineer Working Together on Oceanfront Retaining Wall Request - The SandPaper

A greenish-yellow liquid flows through a retaining wall on I-696, triggering a lane closure Friday afternoon and haz-mat clean-up Friday night, Dec. 20, 2019.(Photo: MDOT)

Further tests at a Sanilac County property connected to the "green ooze" incident along I-696 in Oakland County have not turned up a significant risk to public health, said Jill Greenberg,Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy spokesperson.

"We're going to discuss what we found at the siteand any steps forward," she said.

In December, a green liquid flowed through a retaining wall on I-696 in Madison Heights, which lead to a lane closure, hazmat cleanup and scrutiny about where it came from. It was traced back to an electroplating facility owned by Gary Sayers. Sayerspleaded guilty to illegally storing hazardous materials at the metalplating business he inherited, and sentenced to a year in prison in Nov. 2019, the Detroit FreePress reported.

Authorities began looking into other properties owned by Sayers, including the Sanilac County property on Loree Road in Marion Township.A round of initial assessments in January 2020 found no contaminants posing a health risk.

On Feb. 10, the EGLE got an administrative inspection warrant for the Loree Road property. EGLE entered the house on the property and did not observe environmental issues of concern, Greenberg said.

EGLE used ground penetrating radar on the driveway, a section of land across a creek on the property that was cleared of trees and had disturbed earth and a site next to the house.

"We found really small anomalies, but nothing that would indicate that the barrels were buriedon site in those locations," Greenberg said.

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The team also used a metal detector, but did not detect metal in those areas, Greenberg said.

"We identified it as a minimal impact site," shesaid.

EGLE will meet to discuss whether any additional work will be done at the property.

"There's no other way to describe it other than he was an industrial hoarder," Greenberg said of Sayers.

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Jeremy Ervin covers environment, education and more. Contact him at (810) 989-6276 or jervin@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter@ErvinJeremy.

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No threat yet found at Marion Twp. site connected to - The Times Herald

TEXAS CITY

Police identified two people who died in a late Thursday night shooting as William Jack Maness, 39, and Lisa Maxine Fuhler, 45. The suspect in those homicides, who died in a vehicle while fleeing from police, was identified as Anthony Paul Doiron, 39.

Police found Maness and Fuhler dead in a mobile home park in Texas City shortly before Doiron died at the scene of a major accident in Webster, Texas City Police Department spokesman Cpl. Allen Bjerke said.

Doiron appeared to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after fleeing from police in a vehicle, League City Police Department spokesman John Griffith said.

Doiron was a resident of Dickinson, Bjerke said.

League City police were pursuing Doiron at the request of Texas City police, after officers from that department found Maness and Fuhler dead at the Green Villa Mobile Home Park, 12250 FM 3436, inside trailer No. 3 at about 8:40 p.m., Bjerke said.

Maness and Fuhler lived at that address, according to the Galveston County Medical Examiners Office. The medical examiner hasnt released a cause of death, but police reported Maness and Fuhler were shot, Bjerke said.

Officers found information about a car the suspect was driving and a connection to a house in the 4900 block of Meadowlark St. in Dickinson, Bjerke said.

Police went to the address and saw the suspect in a vehicle, Bjerke said.

At about 9 p.m., the man fled from police in the vehicle north on I-45, Griffith said.

The driver of the vehicle fled through League City, where the car struck a retaining wall in the 20000 block of I-45 in Webster, according to information released by the League City Police Department on Thursday night. Officers secured the scene and found Doiron dead inside the vehicle from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Griffith said.

Police have not identified a motive for the incident, Bjerke said.

The Texas City Police Department is conducting a homicide investigation in Texas City while the Webster Police Department is investigating the accident.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Texas City Police Department at 409-948-2525.

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Three people who died in Thursday incident identified - Galveston County Daily News

Published: 02/20/20 11:02 pm EST

INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) A tanker truck explosion on I-465 in Indianapolis as it crosses I-70 on the east side closed parts of the highways on Thursday.

Several witnesses shared photos and video of the explosion and fire with Eyewtiness News.

Investigators say the semi driver lost control coming around the curve on the ramp, hit the retaining wall and overturned. The semi was hauling 4,000 gallons of jet fuel when it erupted in flames.

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Three good Samaritans pulled the driver from the flames and he was rushed to the hospital. Police say the driver is in critical condition.

State police believe unsafe speed was a factor in the crash.

Crews are working to remove the remains of the charred truck so they can finish inspecting the roadway.

The Indianapolis Fire Department shared dozens of photos of the department's response to the explosion and fire on Facebook.

2020 by 10TV.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Tanker truck explosion closes Indianapolis interstate, driver rescued by good Samaritans - 10TV

HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) Howard Henry says he does not deserve what has happened since a retaining wall and parts of the parking lot at the McFarland Apartments collapsed on his business in May 2016.

Henry is still awaiting financial compensation for that incident so that he can re-open Howard Tire & Auto.

I still cant believe that this is my reality, Henry said. I did nothing wrong but I am the only one that has suffered. I have lost everything.

He says a judge recently canceled a settlement hearing with McFarland LP and other defendants in the case. Henry believes McFarland is using stall tactics to avoid paying him.

They are responsible, he said. They even settled with their own insurance company but they continue to refuse to pay me.

Henry says McFarland did not disclose the amount of insurance money they received nor have they demonstrated any willingness to resolve the matter.

They promised to make things right in 2019 and in early 2020, Henry said. I have sold everything that I own to get these guys to come to the table and they keep promising the judge one thing and motions to try and stall it. It has me holding my breath, I just want this done.

The judge has ordered a mandatory status update meeting on March 18.

Excerpt from:
Harrisburg business owner on delayed settlement claim: I have lost everything - ABC27

By Taylor Pettaway, mySA.com / San Antonio Express-News

One man is dead after crashing a stolen vehicle near Callaghan and Evers Thursday morning.

One man is dead after crashing a stolen vehicle near Callaghan and Evers Thursday morning.

One man is dead after crashing a stolen vehicle near Callaghan and Evers Thursday morning.

One man is dead after crashing a stolen vehicle near Callaghan and Evers Thursday morning.

SAPD identifies man who diedafter crashing a stolen vehicle on the Northwest Side

Note: This story has been updated to correct the number of Mitsubishi Outlanders involved in the incident.

A man who was killed when the stolen vehicle he was traveling in crashed on the Northwest Side on Thursday morning has been identified by the San Antonio Police Department as 20-year-old Jorge Anthony Garcia.

Police said they received a call about a hit-and-run involving a Mitsubishi Outlander around midnight near Bandera Road and Mainland Drive. A witness who saw the incident followed the Outlander but lost sight of it, police said.

A short time later, an officer who was nearby heard a loud crash. Officers later discovered an Outlander had crashed between a car wash and shopping center near Callaghan and Evers roads.

According to police, the Outlander crossed the intersection, clipped a utility pole, hit a retaining wall, became airborne and hit a tree.

Garcia, who was driving the car and wasnt wearing a seatbelt, was partially ejected from the vehicle. He died at the scene.

It was later discovered the vehicle was stolen on Feb. 14.

Taylor Pettaway is a breaking news reporter and general assignment writer. Read her on our breaking news site,MySA.com, and on our subscriber site,ExpressNews.com|taylor.pettaway@express-news.net|@TaylorPettaway

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SAPD identifies man who died after crashing a stolen vehicle on the Northwest Side - mySA

Construction projects at several Lake Elsinore Unified School District campuses have been finished, according to notices of completion filed with and approved by the school board at its Feb. 13 meeting.

The projects include installation of two greenhouse systems at Elsinore High School, repairs to a pedestrian bridge at Elsinore Middle School, renovations of an administrative building at Terra Cotta Middle School and the installation of a modular concession stand building at Temescal Canyon High School.

The district is also planning to put a retaining wall repair and basketball court renovation project out to bid at David A. Brown Middle School in the near future, and approved a $19,500 contract with a consultant to provide structural and civil engineering design services.

The items were all approved as part of the boards consent agenda, which means they were voted on without discussion.

Will Fritz can be reached by email at wfritz@reedermedia.com.

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Construction projects wrap up at LEUSD schools; renovation, repair project planned for David A. Brown MS - Valley News

KANSAS CITY, Mo. Residents living along Northwest 72nd Street, just east of Interstate 29, are sick of delays and detours. A portion of the road has been closed for a Kansas City improvement project since May 2018.

Jack Williams, a Lake Waukomis alderman, said residents do not see any work being done at the site.

"When we come out of our entrance and have to go east, we can look down the road and see that there's nothing going on," Williams said. "This they could have done in a fraction of a time that this has been going on."

Ray Gassman also lives in Lake Waukomis. He told 41 Action News he hasn't seen any work happening on the road for weeks.

"I wish you could see some progress going when the weather is nice, that would be a big help," he said.

A spokesperson for Kansas City Public Works told 41 Acton News while the project has hit a slight delay, it is still on track to be completed this fall.

The spokesperson pointed 41 Action News to the city's latest construction update, which said, "temperature swings are still too low for the contractor to confidently proceed with subgrade stabilization, grading work or asphalt. The frozen ground limits the ability of ensuring good earth compaction and ultimately, a roadway that will have good longevity. Currently, the contractor is preparing to begin work on the retaining walls. They determined retaining wall work can proceed, as it is not as dependent on weather. The contractor is still actively maintaining the job site, ensuring access for local residents and monitoring storm water control measures."

Williams and Gassman said they are doubtful about the fall completion date.

"I'd bet against that," Gassman said.

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Northland residents question construction project that has road closed for months - KSHB

Witnesses at the front of a huge pileup near Montreal that killed two people on Wednesday describe a terrifying scene with vehicles slamming into each other as blowing snow made it impossible to see.

"There was just pure white snow like a whiteout getting blown onto the roads. We couldn't see anything," Spencer Jacob told CTV News.

Jacob and four friends had been visiting Montreal and were driving home to upstate New York when the whiteout began. They pulled over but another vehicle clipped their car. The men called police and soon after an ambulance arrived.

"Another car came down and just flew into the back of the ambulance. That blocked up two lanes and then another 18-wheeler came and just slammed into that car," Jacob said. "That's when we were like 'this is bad,' and we need to get out of the car. Our doors were pressed against the snow so we had to get out of the windows and run up onto the snowbank and we were just watching."

(MORE: Here's Why Snow Squalls Are Dangerous)

By the time everyone got stopped, the pileup had ensnared nearly 200 vehicles on Highway 15 in La Prairie, Quebec, Canada. Hours after the pileup, which happened about 12:30 p.m. local time, Quebec police confirmed the two deaths, according to the Montreal Gazette.

Reports of the number of injured people varied, with the Gazette saying at least 40 people were hurt and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reporting at least 60 with 20 of those being seriously injured.

Emergency personnel gather at the scene following a multi-vehicle crash on the south shore of Montreal in La Prairie, Quebec, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020.

The two who died were in the same vehicle, police said. Emergency personnel worked until 6 p.m. to free the bodies from the wreckage.

"We know that these people were involved in a collision with a tank truck, which made the rescue operation more difficult for first responders," said Stphane Tremblay, spokesperson for the Sret du Qubec.

Firefighters had to extricate victims from at least nine vehicles. Shuttle buses took about 150 people to a nearby community center. There, health officials continued to evaluate them and sent some to the hospital.

"As I was driving along going about (55 to 60 mph), all I saw was red lights, brake lights, cars just hitting each other, trying to swerve out of the way," a driver who identified himself as Kyle told CTV News. "I tried to do the same myself, and I got hit by another bus, smacked into the retaining wall."

Emergency personnel gather at the scene after a multi-vehicle crash on the south shore of Montreal in La Prairie, Quebec, Wednesday, February 19, 2020.

The incident closed a six-mile stretch of Highway 15 in both directions. The northbound lanes were reopened as of midnight Wednesday, but the southbound lanes remain closed, CTV News reported.

The part of the highway where the pileup happened is vulnerable to southwesterly winds coming off the St. Lawrence River, CTV News reported. Wind can toss snow into the air on the exposed patch of road, obscuring visibility. A chain-link fence runs along the highway to help block the blowing snow.

Quebec's Transport Minister Franois Bonnardel confirmed there were whiteout conditions at the time of the crash, as snow and high winds reduced visibility to zero.

Snow-clearing vehicles had passed through the area twice in the hour before the collisions took place, Bonnardel said at an afternoon news conference.

The conditions were nice, but the high winds caused the zero-visibility situation, he said.

Jacob, the American tourist, and his friends tried to warn approaching vehicles of the crash.

"They couldn't see," he said.

"I turned my back to it," Jacob said. "I just couldn't watch it or hear it any more because it's just so horrific that people don't know where they're going and they just crash into a car."

About 50 of the 200 vehicles involved were able to drive away on their own, a police spokesperson told CTV News. Another 75 have to be towed, the spokesperson added. A dozen large trucks and a school bus, whose passengers were uninjured, were also among the vehicles involved.

The Weather Companys primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.

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'We Couldn't See Anything': Deadly 200-Vehicle Pileup Near Montreal, Canada, Preceded by Whiteout - The Weather Channel

On Wednesday, a feat some viewed as miraculous happened: NASCAR driver Ryan Newman walked out of Halifax Medical Center less than 48 hours after a dramatic crash in the season-opening Daytona 500:

On Monday evening, on the last lap of a rain-delayed race that originally began on Sunday, Newmans car got turned by Ryan Blaney, whereupon it flipped over and was struck head-on by Corey Lajoie. The contact with Lajoie launched Newmans car into the air, where it contacted the outside retaining wall and slid on its roof before coming (mercifully) to a stop upside-down.

NASCAR fans have seen many similar wrecks like these over the years, particularly on the sports two largest tracks: The Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. At these two superspeedways, NASCAR uses restrictions on enginesup until last year, restrictor plates on engine carburetorsand other aerodynamic rules that bunch cars up in large packs.

Ironically, NASCAR began using restrictor plates following a 1987 crash by driver Bobby Allison, who upon blowing a tire slammed into the metal catch-fencing at more than 200 miles per hourand right in front of thousands of spectators. NASCAR, fearing that ever-climbing speeds at Talladega and Daytona meant drivers would lose control of their vehicles, demanded changes to slow the race pace.

But in slowing the cars, NASCAR also created the modern era of pack racing, where virtually the entire field of 40 cars race within a second or two of each other. These bunched-up fields all but guarantee that races at Daytona and Talladega will feature a Big Onea wreck where one spinning car collects dozens of others, turning the speedway into a de facto demolition derby. (In Mondays race, contact between Aric Almirola and Brad Keselowski sparked a huge wreck with 17 laps remaining in the race; announcer Mike Joy responded, Well, there goes half the field.)

The close-pack racing makes big wrecks a fact of life in NASCAR, particularly at superspeedways. No one blamed Ryan Blaney for the contact that flipped Newmans car, nor Lajoie for launching him airborne. Blaney was racing hard for the win on the last lap of NASCARs biggest race, and Lajoie had no time to react before hitting Newman. The incident was, as drivers are wont to claim, Just one of them racin deals.

Paradoxically, because big wrecks have become a part of superspeedway racing for more than three decades, drivers have a greater likelihood of surviving them. NASCAR has gone to great lengths to try and improve safety, often in the wake of prior incidents.

Rusty Wallaces crash at Talladega in 1993 (from which he walked away) led the series to develop roof flaps, designed to deploy to keep cars from getting airborne when spinning. They have worked in many cases, but didnt help much during Newmans crash, because Lajoies vehicle punted Newmans car into the air.

Following Dale Earnhardts tragic death on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, NASCAR developed the head-and-neck support (HANS) device, designed to prevent basilar skull fractures. Prior to the HANS device, drivers seat belts would keep their bodies in their seats, but momentum would keep the head moving forward, causing the kind of brain trauma that killed Earnhardt (and others).

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway developed a Steel and Foam Energy Reduction (SAFER) barrier in 2002, designed to absorb and dissipate much of the impact from collisions, so that drivers do not plow directly into concrete walls. Its widespread adoption across NASCAR and other series does not make racing completely safe, but increases the likelihood of surviving incidents.

While NASCAR has not seen a fatality in its three national touring series since Earnhardts death in 2001, it does not mean racing does not have costs. Most notably, Earnhardts son and namesake retired to a role as a broadcaster after the 2017 season, in large part due to repeated concussions, and fear about the consequences should he suffer additional brain trauma. In 2016, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. pledged upon his death to donate his brain for concussion research.

For NASCAR, the Newman incident again raised the question of whether superspeedway racing at Daytona and Talladegaat which the likelihood of multi-car pileups approaches 100 percentrepresents an acceptable risk to drivers and teams. Ironically enough, while the Daytona 500 represents the sports biggest race, the Daytona International Speedway also serves as NASCARs deadliest track, with eight of the 28 fatalities from the sports premier series coming on Daytonas high banks.

NASCAR fans either love or hate superspeedway racing. Some love the drama, excitement, and close finishes, while others become jaded by the wreck-fests that inevitably result. And while some fans will cite Newmans horrific incident as a wake-up call to re-evaluate superspeedway racing entirely, the fact that Dale Earnhardt, Sr.s death failed to prompt such a re-evaluation suggests the Daytona and Talladega races will continue.

At minimum, however, the fact that Newman could survive his Daytona wreck shows the strides that NASCAR continues to make regarding driver safety, in a sport that all drivers admit brings inherent risk.

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Why Ryan Newman CrashedAnd Why He Survived - The Federalist