Light Gauge news from the Americas

Truck spills 22 tons of rebar in woman's yard In Richfield, New York this Wednesday, Janet Gordiner had just sat down for breakfast at a local diner when her mother ran in and told her that a truck had flipped over into her yard. Ms. Gordiner, a 24 year old volunteer firefighter, left for the station to go investigate the incident at her own home. According to police reports, that morning a large tractor-trailer overturned while speeding around a curve on State Route 79, spilling 22 tons of rebars into the roadway and into Ms. Gordinier's yard. Neighbor Ed Brind who saw the accident out his kitchen window, described the event, "They had a whole lot of reinforcing rods, an inch and a half in diameter," Mr. Brind said. "I seen it when it happened. We were lucky." But believe it or not, this was the fourth tractor-trailer accident at that particular curve in four years. "It's a bad corner," Mr. Brind explained. Stolen steel cross found on man's patio An 8 foot tall steel cross that was stolen from the historic San Gabriel Mission in California over two years ago was recovered Wednesday at a Pasadena residence where it was being used as a patio decoration. The owner of the house and the stolen property, Theodore Heinzman, a 35 year old salesman, was arrested and booked for the possession of the stolen property. No leads had been developed on the case in over two years until several weeks ago when a witness called authorities saying that the cross at Heinzman's house bore a strong resemblance to the one taken from the mission. Mr. Heinzman declined to speak with police. It is unknown whether he personally stole the cross. Rusty chunks of steel - Souvenirs or scrap metal? In Charleston, South Carolina, pieces of steel said to be from the historical Cooper River bridges, sold as antiques for $40 to $65, may just be really old pieces of steel and nothing more Despite the numerous pieces of the old bridges showing up in stores and even for sale on the internet, the Department of Transportation in Charleston claims they have not given away much steel from the actual bridges. "I'd be curious about whether some of this was original," said Department of Transportation spokesperson James Law. "It very well may be, but it very well may not be." Unfortunately, there is no way to guarantee the authenticity of your hunk of steel; Law said that the Department of Transportation will not take any action to verify the authenticity of any of these "antiques." Metal-laced roads make for driver's nightmare in Casper, WY Residents in Casper, Wyoming have had to deal countless blown-out tires as a result of the metal-laced concrete that paves two of the city's major roads. "It's a routine thing to go out in the morning and check on the tires before you head out," resident Gary Chase said. Last summer, the county bought concrete from BP Amoco's demolished refinery site that was inadvertently mixed with metal pieces. Unfortunately, the Road and Bridge Department didn't become aware of the problem until it had nearly finished spreading the concrete on the roads. However, the damage is now done, and while efforts to grade the road have not been too successful, and the county will not reimburse residents for their busted tires, BP Amoco has donated a giant magnet a giant static magnet, which the Road and Bridge Department is now using to clean up the roads. The electric magnet has already picked up rebar, screws, nails, wire mesh, lots of filings, and even small stones. Road and Bridge Department supervisor Mike Haigler said, "We're just going to run the magnet until it's gone."