Strong wind takes out steel frame
In Dadeville, Alabama this week, the steel frame for a Kia supplier's new project was reduced to a huge pile of twisted steel.
At around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, the steel frame of KwangSung America's Tallapoosa County project was pushed over by a straight-line wind, which the National Weather Service estimates was blowing at approximately 50-miles per hour. The construction manager estimates that the damaged steel is worth close to $500,000.
Luckily, no one was hurt, though the incident will set back the building's completion an extra six to eight weeks. Once completed, the 70,000 square foot plant will produce hoses, ducts and sun visors for Hyundai and Kia.
Check the link below to see local news station WTVM9's picture of the collapsed frame: http://wtvm.images.worldnow.com/images/6327907_BG2.jpg
Steel thief sentenced to prison
A man convicted of stealing steel wire from utility poles has been sentenced to over seven years in prison in Eugene, Oregon this week.
The steel bandit, Leon Paul Meier Jr, of Springfield, had made a habit of stealing the wire from utility poles owned by the city of Eugene and selling them for scrap, according to police. As part of his sentence, he will also have to pay $113,000 in restitution.
Mr. Meier, who has a record of felony theft convictions dating back over 25 years, also faces trial for allegedly trying to sell 1,260 pounds of stainless steel piano hinges that police said were stolen from a Eugene steel manufacturer.
Take me out to the . . . pipe yard
Lorain, Ohio's new baseball field has been christened with the perfect steel-themed name, thanks to U.S. Steel: "The Pipe Yard."
By donating $250,000 for its creation, U.S. Steel got the rights to name the park, which will be home to Lorain Youth Baseball, and the Cleveland State University Vikings college men's baseball team.
Besides the ballpark, "the pipe yard" is also the name for the area of the U.S. Steel's Lorain Tubular operation where newly made pipe is kept. High quality seamless steel pipe is produced at this plant.
An interesting piece of trivia is that the foul poles are being made of steel from the Lorain mill.
The first game for the CSU Vikings will be played there April 3.
Steel coil causes semi-truck accident
In another truck accident caused by an unsecured steel coil load, a 24-ton steel coil from AK Steel Corp. caused the rollover of an 18-wheel flatbed tractor-trailer on its way to deliver the coil to Cleveland.
Shortly before 1:30 pm Wednesday, the driver of the truck, Ellsworth Ferguson of trucking company J. Ross Express, felt the coil shift to his left as he took the Ohio 122 on-ramp to northbound Interstate 75, as he told police.
"Either I hit the curve too fast or the coil shifted," Mr. Ferguson told press. "I'm just glad there weren't any cars around."
Middletown police said they likely would charge the Cleveland resident with a citation for hauling an unsecured load.
Click the link below to see the overturned truck and the damage caused to the road: http://img.coxnewsweb.com/B/07/26/62/image_5262267.jpg
In related news, Alabama's House Public Safety Committee approved a bill Wednesday that requires training for truckers who drive big rigs loaded with steel coils, with harsh penalties of fines and possible jail time for violators.