Construction Equipment

About $10,000 in damage was reported over the weekend in Mercersburg when someone slashed 47 tires on 24 vehicles and damaged two pieces of construction equipment, Mercersburg police said in a news release. The incidents occurred between 10 p.m. Saturday and 6 a.m. Sunday on various streets and alleys on the west side of the Borough of Mercersburg. Police released a list of affected vehicles, which included model years ranging from 1989 to 2012. A fuel line was cut in a JLG lift, and its throttle rod was removed.

McCONNELLSBURG, Pa. -- A continuing slump in the market for construction equipment is the reason JLG Industries will cut 220 positions in North America next month, according to company officials. Last week, JLG announced layoffs affecting 200 people in its McConnellsburg, Bedford and Shippensburg facilities in Pennsylvania, along with plants in Orrville, Ohio, and Oakes, N.D., Vice President for Global Marketing Kirsten Skyba said Friday. The new round of reductions will take effect Oct. 3 and are considered "indefinite" in that they could be permanent unless and until market conditions change, Skyba said.

More than 800 gallons of diesel fuel was stolen on two separate days this week from a construction site at the intersection of Downsville Pike and Rench Road, according to the Washington County Sheriff's Department. The first theft was reported Monday morning when workers went to the site and found 630 gallons of diesel fuel was missing, Lt. Mark Knight said Wednesday. Another 230 gallons of diesel fuel was reported missing from the site Tuesday morning, Knight said. Knight said police think the thefts are related and that the second theft probably occurred because the perpetrators found the site was an easy target for fuel theft.

By LISA GRAYBEAL Staff Writer, Chambersburg SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - Ingersoll-Rand Co. plans to add 10 full-time jobs over the next three years and update its plant with the help of a $100,000 state grant. State Rep. Jeffrey Coy, D-Franklin, said Tuesday that the construction equipment manufacturer was awarded the Opportunity Grant through the state Department of Community and Economic Development. Coy wrote a grant support letter for Ingersoll-Rand, which applied for the funds early this year.

Thumbs up to the Holiday Lunch Bag Project, which provided more than 200 bags of groceries to 175 children in Berkeley County (W.Va.) Schools. About 8,000 of the school system's students take part in the free or reduced-price lunch program, which does not operate when schools are closed for the holiday break. Thumbs down to the vandals in Mercersburg, Pa., who did about $10,000 in damage when they slashed 47 tires on 24 vehicles last weekend. Police said two pieces of construction equipment - a JLG lift and a John Deere skid loader - also were damaged late Saturday into Sunday. 

SMITHSBURG - Smithsburg Police Chief Vincent Du Cellier told the mayor and council Tuesday that he was still issuing warnings to residents who are complying with state and local laws prohibiting them from parking on sidewalks, or blocking sidewalks with their cars. Du Cellier said he has been talking to residents in an educational campaign, explaining they can't block the right of way on sidewalks. He said soon the town will begin issuing citations to violators. Du Cellier said he's already received some complaints from residents who say their driveways are big enough to handle their vehicles.

waynesboro@herald-mail.com WAYNESBORO, Pa. - The Washington Township Supervisors, fearing that a junkyard owner under orders to clean up his property is "playing cat and mouse," said Monday they are keeping a photographic record of the owner's property. "If he moves anything back on, then we got him," said Township Administrator Michael Christopher of George "Billy" Nicholas of Blue Ridge Summit, Pa. Nicholas has been under a court order, issued in June by Common Pleas Judge Carol Van Horn, to remove about 1,000 tons of old vehicles, construction equipment, trailers, appliances and junk from his property on the corner of Pennersville and Tower roads.

McCONNELLSBURG, Pa. - Sixty-seven workers affected by JLG Industries' move of its ServicePlus Mid-Atlantic operations from McConnellsburg will be offered positions at the Bedford, Pa., facility, company officials said this week. "This is just a relocation, so we're offering all the 67 employees jobs at the new location," said Heidi Stoner, who manages JLG's communications and marketing. JLG has two facilities in the Bedford area, one of which shut down earlier this decade when the economy was struggling, she said.

HAGERSTOWN - Demolition of the Westview Homes public housing complex is scheduled to start about Dec. 10, a Hagerstown Housing Authority official said Wednesday. Westview Homes is being demolished and replaced by a class-integrated neighborhood that Hagerstown Housing Authority officials says should reinvigorate the West End community and better the city at large. The new project is to be called Gateway Crossing. Contractor Harkin Builders Inc. of Marriotsville, Md., is expected to bring construction equipment to the site about Dec. 2, Authority Grants Coordinator Ron Nair said Wednesday.

Dot Transportation WILLIAMSPORT - Dot Transportation Inc. (DTI) took third place in the 2004 National Safety Contest sponsored by the American Trucking Associations and the ATA Safety & Loss Prevention Management Council. The award is based on the frequency of vehicle accidents per million miles traveled. DTI's 0.66 per million frequency placed it in the division of General Commodities Truckload/Line Haul, between 50 million and 100 million miles. DTI drivers logged 58.9 million miles in 2004 with only 39 recordable accidents.

Volvo Construction Equipment celebrated its $100 million investment in its new national headquarters in Shippensburg during a day-long ceremony Thursday. The company also unveiled its first U.S.-built wheel loaders as they rolled off the assembly line at the Franklin County plant Thursday. “This should serve as a very clear signal that Volvo CE is committed to this market and in a better position than ever before to offer our customers products that are made by Americans, for Americans,” Volvo Construction Equipment President Pat Olney said in a statement.

U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa., is expected to announce $500,000 in federal funding related to Volvo Construction Equipment at an event Tuesday. Shuster, state Sen. Richard Alloway, R-Franklin/Adams/York, local elected officials and Volvo representatives will be discussing improvements at the intersection of U.S. 11 and Rowe Road. The planned expansion of Volvo Construction Equipment's facility in Shippensburg is part of an estimated $100 million investment that will create direct and indirect jobs in the region, according to a news release.

Thumbs up to the Holiday Lunch Bag Project, which provided more than 200 bags of groceries to 175 children in Berkeley County (W.Va.) Schools. About 8,000 of the school system's students take part in the free or reduced-price lunch program, which does not operate when schools are closed for the holiday break. Thumbs down to the vandals in Mercersburg, Pa., who did about $10,000 in damage when they slashed 47 tires on 24 vehicles last weekend. Police said two pieces of construction equipment - a JLG lift and a John Deere skid loader - also were damaged late Saturday into Sunday. 

About $10,000 in damage was reported over the weekend in Mercersburg when someone slashed 47 tires on 24 vehicles and damaged two pieces of construction equipment, Mercersburg police said in a news release. The incidents occurred between 10 p.m. Saturday and 6 a.m. Sunday on various streets and alleys on the west side of the Borough of Mercersburg. Police released a list of affected vehicles, which included model years ranging from 1989 to 2012. A fuel line was cut in a JLG lift, and its throttle rod was removed.

As early as next month, the Franklin County Career and Technology Center will offer a new mechanical-assembly training program created through a partnership with Volvo Construction Equipment designed to give students an edge in today's tough job market. Career Center Director Keith Yohn said students selected for the new course "will have an advantage in the labor market over other students they graduate with. " As the need for workers with assembly-related skills continues to grow, Yohn said this partnership would provide a ready-made workforce.

Development of the first municipal park in Quincy Township, Pa., is slated to begin in the coming months, after years of planning. Construction equipment will clear brush and level the future sports field at the park off Mentzer Gap Road. “We decided we want to construct in five phases,” Quincy Township Supervisor Bob Gunder said. The township supervisors received a Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources grant to design Quincy Township Heritage Park, then learned that land adjacent to the planned park was available for purchase.

More than 800 gallons of diesel fuel was stolen on two separate days this week from a construction site at the intersection of Downsville Pike and Rench Road, according to the Washington County Sheriff's Department. The first theft was reported Monday morning when workers went to the site and found 630 gallons of diesel fuel was missing, Lt. Mark Knight said Wednesday. Another 230 gallons of diesel fuel was reported missing from the site Tuesday morning, Knight said. Knight said police think the thefts are related and that the second theft probably occurred because the perpetrators found the site was an easy target for fuel theft.

HAGERSTOWN -- It's been 14 months since the city began a construction project on Jonathan Street and, with completion of the work still months away, some residents say they have learned to live with the noise and dust. Officials had hoped that the $3.9 million project would be finished this summer, but an unusually large amount of subsurface rock that workers discovered last year caused delays in construction. Now officials say they hope the work will be wrapped up in November.

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. -- Research by a local historian could support an expert forensic anthropologist's theory that a skull found at a school construction site is that of a black teenage girl who died before the Civil War. William Theriault of Halfway, who has done extensive historical research in Jefferson County, said census records of the time show that a black female slave lived on a farm owned by Michael Foley in the 1830s and 1840s....

Salvation Army worker's backpack stolen HALFWAY -- Someone stole a backpack containing snacks, drinks and a Salvation Army bell on Monday outside Valley Mall, police said. The person, who was watching over a Salvation Army collection kettle, left the backpack on a chair while using a bathroom, the Washington County Sheriff's Department said in a press release. The kettle was outside, near Garfield's. The theft happened at about 6:05 p.m. In the press release, Deputy 1st Class Tom Routzahn wrote, "It takes a real low-life person to steal the Salvation Army Christmas Bell.