Crane

Demolition crews begin knocking down the former Brake Pontiac Cadillac dealership at the corner of West Third and Potomac streets in Waynesboro, Pa., on Thursday. The site will be cleared to make room for a Rutter's Farm Store. Residents near the property fought plans for the store, but the Waynesboro Borough Council rezoned the property to commercial last year.

A crane installing new windows at The Herald-Mail and a school bus collided Wednesday afternoon on Summit Avenue in Hagerstown, city police said. It is unclear how the bus and the crane hit each other about 3 p.m., because there were differing accounts of the accident, according to a spokesman for the Hagerstown Police Department. According to one account, the crane pivoted and hit the bus, while another said the crane was stationary when the bus tried to squeeze by and hit it, the spokesman said.

This past weekend, a large crane removed several large trees and other debris that piled up at the Md. 68 bridge over Conococheague Creek near Williamsport. Much of the debris was the result of Superstorm Sandy, which occurred about three weeks earlier. The state closed the stone arch bridge over the creek for several hours Saturday and Sunday so the crane could be positioned to reach the debris. Williamsport resident Calvin Foxwell, 65, was among the onlookers over the weekend.

Westbound Interstate 70 west of Williamsport was closed for more than three hours Thursday morning after a crane at a construction site at Conococheague Creek tipped over, Sgt. Cain of the Maryland State Police said. No one was injured and no vehicles were damaged when the crane tipped over, Cain said. A worker operating the crane overextended its reach, causing it to tip over at around 12:02 a.m. Thursday, Cain said. Crews are working on a bridge rehabilitation project on I-70 over Conococheague Creek.

HAGERSTOWN heatherk@herald-mail.com Traffic backed up in three directions Monday morning in downtown Hagerstown when a crane delivery at The Herald-Mail Co. on Summit Avenue conflicted with a painting project at the former Colonial Hotel building on West Antietam Street, city officials said. Summit Avenue was closed to all but local traffic from Baltimore Street to West Antietam Street at 6:30 a.m. so a crane could unload and assemble a steel platform on the west side of The Herald-Mail offices at 100 Summit Ave., said Herald-Mail operations director Mark Kelly.

Tommy Brown watches as a large tree is cut into pieces Monday after being pulled by a crane from Antietam Creek in Funkstown. Brown and other Washington County Highway Department workers were clearing trees and debris lodged against the bridge.

One lane of East Franklin Street between North Locust and North Mulberry streets in Hagerstown was closed Wednesday morning due to work at Otterbein United Methodist Church. Larson Lightning Protection has been contracted to work to protect the church from lightning strikes, according to Herman Deimler of the company. The job required using a crane to work on the cross atop the church steeple. The crane was parked in the right lane of East Franklin Street. The project began Wednesday morning and was expected to last until noon, Deimler said.

A Kentucky woman was critically injured Wednesday morning when steel beams hanging from a crane drifted over an eastbound lane of Interstate 70 and collided with her tractor-trailer, Maryland State Police said. Evonne J. Whalen, 45, of East Bernstadt, Ky., was a passenger in the rig near the Md. 66 exit when two large support beams that work crews were using to install signs spun into the roadway, pierced the cab and struck her legs, according to a state police press release. Police said emergency personnel spent about 40 minutes freeing Whalen from the vehicle.

gregs@herald-mail.com The 50-ton red caboose, embodying years of railroad history, dangled in the air by a single cable briefly Friday afternoon as it was moved to a more prominent home in Hagerstown's City Park. Before train enthusiast John Long's eyes, his vision of a working train museum was beginning to taking shape with the intricate moves of a skilled crane operator. Long, 87, took the spectacle in stride as he sat in the warmth of a city pickup truck. "Something like this is only an occasional thing," Long said.

L.S. Grim Consulting Engineers L.S. Grim Consulting Engineers has been retained by Hess Construction of Rockville, Md., to provide mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering services for the District of Columbia Public Library System. This is the first phase of the comprehensive renovation of 26 community libraries. L.S. Grim Consulting Engineers is a full service engineering firm with offices in Hagerstown and Rockville. Benjamin Art Gallery Cliff Springer and Gene Sappington recently purchased the Benjamin Art Gallery.

Westbound Interstate 70 west of Williamsport was closed for more than three hours Thursday morning after a crane at a construction site at Conococheague Creek tipped over, Sgt. Cain of the Maryland State Police said. No one was injured and no vehicles were damaged when the crane tipped over, Cain said. A worker operating the crane overextended its reach, causing it to tip over at around 12:02 a.m. Thursday, Cain said. Crews are working on a bridge rehabilitation project on I-70 over Conococheague Creek.

Name of business: Valley Crane Service, a division of Valley Directional Drilling Inc. Owner: Perry Crouse Address: 5959 Cumberland Highway, Chambersburg, Pa. Opening date: May 2012 Products and services: Crane rental service Target market: Construction jobs; farmers; residential (roof trusses, pools, etc.); tree removal; mechanical contractors How did you get into your business, and what motivated you to start it? Crouse saw a need for crane service in the area due to the closure of other local businesses that offered crane services.

This past weekend, a large crane removed several large trees and other debris that piled up at the Md. 68 bridge over Conococheague Creek near Williamsport. Much of the debris was the result of Superstorm Sandy, which occurred about three weeks earlier. The state closed the stone arch bridge over the creek for several hours Saturday and Sunday so the crane could be positioned to reach the debris. Williamsport resident Calvin Foxwell, 65, was among the onlookers over the weekend.

International crane leader Manitowoc Cranes in Franklin County, Pa., is leading the way in the industry with its new multimillion-dollar, state-of-the-art quality assurance facility, according to company officials. Manitowoc executives and workers unveiled the company's newest tool to outpace its competition during a ribbon-cutting ceremony and facility tour on Tuesday. Believed to be the first facility of its kind in the crane industry, Manitowoc's Product Verification Center is an 18,000-square-foot testing center that will examine the components that go into its cranes.

A crane installing new windows at The Herald-Mail and a school bus collided Wednesday afternoon on Summit Avenue in Hagerstown, city police said. It is unclear how the bus and the crane hit each other about 3 p.m., because there were differing accounts of the accident, according to a spokesman for the Hagerstown Police Department. According to one account, the crane pivoted and hit the bus, while another said the crane was stationary when the bus tried to squeeze by and hit it, the spokesman said.

With the demand for welders and other skilled workers high and the supply low, Manitowoc Cranes is doing everything it can to retain them, according to a company official. Larry Weyers, executive vice president of Americas for Manitowoc Cranes, has been leading all company operations for the Americas region since 2007. As the guest speaker at Tuesday's Greencastle-Antrim Chamber of Commerce breakfast at Green Grove Gardens in Greencastle, Weyers described Manitowoc's crane and food-service industries.

Dorothy May Crane, 87, of Berkeley Springs, W.Va., died Monday, Jan. 2, 2012, at her home while under the care of Hospice of the Panhandle. The family will receive friends Wednesday from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. at Helsley-Johnson Funeral Home & Cremation Center in Berkeley Springs, which will be open from 2 to 8 p.m. The service will be Thursday at 3 p.m. at the funeral home with Chaplain Stephon Reed officiating. Burial will be in Friendship Cemetery.

Nancy Elizabeth “Betty” Crane, 90, of Shepherdstown, W.Va., died Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2011, in Winchester, Va. The family will receive friends Friday from 6 to 9 p.m. at Melvin T. Strider Colonial Funeral Home, Charles Town, W.Va. The service will be Saturday at 11 a.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church, Shepherdstown. Burial will follow in Elmwood Cemetery.

Col. Joseph Thompson Crane Jr., 93, of Shepherdstown, W.Va., died Friday, Sept. 23, 2011, in Winchester, Va., two days after the death of his wife of 69 years, Nancy Elizabeth “Betty” Crane. The family will receive friends for Joseph Crane Jr. and his wife Friday from 6 to 9 p.m. at Melvin T. Strider Colonial Funeral Home, Charles Town, W.Va. Their service will be Saturday at 11 a.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church, Shepherdstown. Burial will follow in Elmwood Cemetery.