Worker

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- An unidentified construction worker was being treated for first- and second-degree burns after an accident at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Martinsburg. Don Scheuch, head of the Berkeley County Emergency Ambulance Authority, said the victim's crew was working on a steam valve that broke. He was burned over about 40 percent of his body and airlifted to Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C., where he was stable but critical. VA spokesman Kevin McIver said the accident happened while staff and local emergency services teams were participating in a mass casualty drill, so the worker was treated immediately and evacuated.

An employee of a Needmore lumber company was killed Tuesday when an oak tree he was cutting down fell on him, Pennsylvania State Police said in a news release. Melvin Daniel Powell, 62, of 14077 Timber Ridge Road, was working on a job for M&C Lumber on private property along Bethel Church Road in Bethel Township, Pa., at about 12:33 p.m. when the incident occurred, police said. Powell was pronounced dead at the scene by Fulton County Deputy Coroner Darrin Smith at 2 p.m., police said.

BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. -- A road maintenance worker died Monday morning after he fell from the back of a West Virginia Department of Highways dump truck south of Berkeley Springs, according to West Virginia State Police and the Department of Transportation (DOT). Robert Fleece Jr. apparently struck his head after falling from the truck on Honey Crest Drive off Winchester Grade Road, according to Trooper H.D. Heil and DOT spokesman Brent Walker. Fleece was one of three workers who were on a stand in the rear of the truck, which was spreading gravel on freshly tarred pavement about 8:20 a.m., police said.

Details of the contracts proposed for three Washington County Public Schools’ employee groups will not be posted online before a school board meeting Tuesday, school system spokesman Richard Wright said Thursday. The Washington County Board of Education is scheduled to vote on contract issues during Tuesday’s 1 p.m. meeting at the central office off Commonwealth Avenue. Some board members said this week that all three employee groups would get raises if the contract proposals are approved.

By JULIE E. GREENE Staff Writer HANCOCK - David Close got an unexpected gift from his employer, Rayloc, on Wednesday. He drove home in it. The gray 1993 Pontiac Grand Prix LE was awarded to Close, whose name was drawn from among those of 233 company employees nationwide who had perfect attendance in 1996, said Wayne Younker, personnel manager. "I just about fainted," said Close, 41, of Berkeley Springs, W.Va. On Friday, he will have been with the company for three years.

A worker was injured Wednesday morning at the new hospital construction site on Medical Campus Road. The worker was making his way from the fourth floor to the third floor when he took a misstep off a ladder, the hospital's public relations director said Wednesday. Maureen Theriault said the man was injured while working on the south tower area, where steel is going up. The man was put in a basket and lifted out with a crane, she said. The worker was taken to the emergency room, where he was in good condition Wednesday afternoon, Theriault said.

A worker at the Holcim (US) Inc. cement plant on Security Road was injured Thursday afternoon when a drilling tool fell on him in a quarry where workers have been pumping out water, officials said. The man was taken to Meritus Medical Center near Hagerstown with a collapsed lung and is expected to make a full recovery, officials said. Robin DeCarlo, spokeswoman for Holcim (US) Inc., said the worker was conscious, speaking and alert after the accident. The accident occurred when a "drill steel" came lose from a drill, according to Amy Louviere, a spokeswoman for the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration.

HAGERSTOWN -- A worker was injured Wednesday afternoon when he fell about 17 feet into an empty tank under construction at the City of Hagerstown's wastewater treatment plant off Frederick Street, Hagerstown Fire Department Battalion 2 Chief Randy Myers said. The worker was helping build the concrete tank that will be used to treat sewage when he apparently fell off a ledge on the inside of the tank at about 3:30 p.m., Myers said. The worker appeared to have arm and shoulder injuries and was taken to Washington County Hospital, Myers said.

The degree to which companies accommodate worker desires: Flextime: 57 percent Ability to telecommute on an ad-hoc basis: 45 percent Compressed workweek: 35 percent Family leave above the required federal Family and Medical Leave Act: 27 percent Ability to telecommute on a part-time basis: 26 percent Family leave above required state law: 25 percent Ability to bring child to work in emergency: 22 percent ...

A Hagerstown man was listed in critical condition Monday at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore after he was burned while working on a piece of equipment almost two weeks ago at St. Lawrence Cement. Bob Klinger, the human resources manager at St. Lawrence Cement, said last week that Kevin Molloy, 58, suffered significant burns. No one else was injured. A spokeswoman from the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration said Monday that she could not contact investigators to confirm whether an investigation of the accident was complete.

Hagerstown officials confirmed this week that the city's existing contract with hundreds of city workers has been extended for six months. The current labor contract had been set to expire June 30, which could have left city workers in four unions without agreements that govern their working conditions, salary structure, vacation time and general labor conditions. “I can confirm that the contract has been extended for six months as a result of the executive session on Tuesday at City Hall,” Councilman Kristin B. Aleshire said Friday.

It might not be clear whether the economy is improving, but what is clear to Norine T. Dagliano is that many workers and unemployed people suddenly seem hopeful. “Since the beginning of this year,” said professional Hagerstown job resumé writer Dagliano, “I have just seen a tremendous increase in business, of employed people and unemployed people who are feeling enough hope in the economy now, they're ready to pursue other opportunities.” There has been a surge this year in the number of temporary and temporary-to-permanent jobs that area companies are offering, a jobs specialist said, referring to jobs that last only a few weeks and those that offer a few weeks' employment with the potential of becoming more permanent.

The Washington County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved the county's proposed 2013-14 fiscal year operating budget of $245.9 million. The budget calls for tax rates to remain the same as last fiscal year, with a real estate tax of 94.8 cents per $100 of assessed property value and an income tax rate of 2.8 percent. In a separate motion, the five commissioners unanimously approved using a little more than $1.1 million of excess General Fund revenues to pay a one-time stipend for all full-time and permanent part-time employees.

Labor leaders from across the state gathered in Hagerstown on Monday to remember workers who have been killed or injured on the job. The annual event, known as Workers Memorial Day, was attended by about 40 people at the Central Maryland AFL-CIO Labor Council building at 511 E. Franklin St. Chip Cook, president of the Central Maryland AFL-CIO Labor Council, said the gathering in Hagerstown was one of many remembrance ceremonies that were held...

Michelle Richmond was named City Hospital's Quality Service Award winner for February. Richmond, who works in environmental services, was nominated by a patient who observed her cleaning his room.  “Based on my observation, she appears to be a conscientious and self-motivated employee with a high degree of initiative in performing her work responsibilities,” he stated on the nomination form. Criteria for selection as a Quality Service Award recipient includes demonstrating a consistently high level of productivity and quality of work; dependability; effective relationships with others; commitment to service; and meeting the criteria for the West Virginia University Hospitals-East mission.   

Budget changes approved last week will allow nearly 100 contract workers who recently lost their jobs at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives National Tracing Center in Berkeley County, W.Va., to be rehired, U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller's office announced Saturday. “The terrible tragedy in Boston reinforces that those who protect our country and respond to emergencies should be able to get the resources they need to do their jobs to the fullest,” Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said in a news release.

Workers at Letterkenny Army Depot will see a 22-day work furlough that was expected to begin this week as part of the federal budget sequester reduced by eight days, according to a depot spokeswoman. The United States Department of Defense has reduced the number of furlough days to 14, Letterkenny spokeswoman Lindsay Bryant said. The furlough was expected to begin in April and continue through September, Bryant said. Now, the furlough is slated to begin in mid- to late June, she said.

The Central Maryland AFL-CIO Labor Council will host a Workers Memorial Day service Monday, April 29, at 10 a.m. at 511 E. Franklin St. in Hagerstown. The service is held each year to remember those who have been killed or injured performing their jobs and to remind the community that it must renew and continue its commitment for safe workplaces. The program will last approximately one hour. Refreshments will be served before and after the program. The community is invited. The Central Maryland AFL-CIO Labor Council represents AFL-CIO affiliated unions in Frederick and Washington counties.

Communications Workers of America Local 2105 Retired Members quarterly meeting will be held on today at the American Legion home on Northern Avenue in Hagerstown. The business meeting will begin at 1 p.m. in the back dining room. Those coming for lunch should arrive between 11:30 and noon. The guest speaker will be Wallace Lee from the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts. For more information, call Roger Grimes at 301 223-7982 or Vickie Layton at 301 791-1486.

Nearly 100 government contract workers at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' Martinsburg facility recently lost their jobs as a result of across-the-board federal budget cuts. The 98 contractors laid off at the end of March were doing administrative work at the facility, according to an executive with Three Saints Bay LLC, the parent company of the prime contractor that was affected by the layoffs. The workers in the ATF's firearms program were laid off because the facility was forced to cut its budget by $82 million due to sequestration, a Department of Justice spokesperson said Thursday in an emailed statement.