The sewage was coming out of tubs and toilets at the Hillcrest Apartments (WTVD)
By Tim Pulliam
Monday, September 05, 2016 12:16AM
DURHAM (WTVD) -- Some residents at the Hillcrest Apartments off Hillcrest Drive are dealing with a mess after a sewage backup caused brown liquid to spew out of toilets and tubs.
About 6 units were affected along with several families. Property managers said they've called a plumber to fix the problem.
Resident Adam Bonilla says the problem started Saturday night and got even worse Sunday morning.
"The floor is wet, the whole apartment is wet. It smells real bad," he commented.
The Durham Fire Department responded but learned it is the responsibility of the property management company, Bergman Rentals, not the city. The manager told ABC11 a disaster recovery team will come to clean up.
They'll put neighbors in a hotel if necessary.
For the families affected, it's a major inconvenience. They said they've lost furniture, clothes, and valuables to the brown liquid.
Residents say the problem has come at a rough time - the property was recently sold to new managers and the residents say they've been given 30 days to leave.
Motorcyclist killed in collision with truck in Statesville
By Nina Mastandrea nmastandrea@statesville.com
Updated Sep 3, 2016
A two-vehicle crash left a 51-year-old motorcyclist dead Saturday afternoon.
Jackie Cheeks of Cleveland was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, which occurred at the intersection of Swann Road and Highway 64 around 1 p.m.
The driver of the other vehicle, John Marlowe, 46, was charged with misdemeanor death by vehicle and failure to yield.
According to N.C. Highway Patrol reports, Cheeks was making a left turn from Swann Road onto Highway 64 on a 2010 Harley Davidson when Marlowe’s white Dodge 2500 pickup struck him.
Marlowe, of Bethlehem, was not injured in the crash.
Kim Hodson said she was across the road in the front lawn of her parent’s house on Highway 64 when she heard the crash. She and other family members were cleaning up debris from a crash that happened there Friday night, she said.
Hodson was an EMT for 16 years in Indiana, and she ran toward the two men to help Saturday, she said.
She said she first checked Cheeks, who was face down on an embankment near the edge of the road. By the time she reached the scene, Marlowe had gotten out of his truck, she said.
“I reached down to check (Cheeks' pulse) and there was nothing,” she said.
Hodson said she had never seen a wreck from that point of view.
“I just kept thinking that he is someone’s family member,” she said. “He’s not going back to his family tonight.”
Highway Patrol Trooper J.G. Barnes said that family members told him Cheeks was a firefighter with the Sheffield-Calahaln Volunteer Fire Department in Mocksville.
Iredell County EMS and Cool Spring Fire Department responded to the crash along with the Highway Patrol.
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Driver charged in Iredell Co. wreck that killed volunteer firefighter
Updated 9 mins ago
IREDELL COUNTY, N.C. -- A truck driver is facing charges after authorities said he caused a crash that killed a volunteer firefighter in Iredell County.
Police said the truck pulled out in front of a motorcycle around 1 p.m. Saturday on Mocksville Highway at the Swann Road intersection.
The motorcyclist, 51-year-old Jackie Cheek, died.
The truck driver, John Marlowe, is charged with misdemeanor death by vehicle and failure to yield.
For nearly 14 years, Cheek served with the Sheffield Calahaln Volunteer Fire Department in Davie County.
On Sunday, fellow firefighters, along with servicemen and women led a near 40-mile procession, escorting their fallen brother.
"He was a good person all the way around," fire Chief David Beck said.
"If I asked him to do anything, I never had to worry about it," Beck said. "It was a done deal."
Cheeks led the department's junior firefighters programs, and often competed with their team in counties across the state.
Among his students, was his son Brandon, who also serves as a volunteer firefighter.
Beck said Cheeks elevated the program well beyond their original standards, adding at least six others students now serve among them.
Support for the department continued to pour in a day after the loss, with crews from Scotts Irish and Cools Springs taking over its calls for the day.
"It's a pleasure to me being the position I'm in to have the family we have to deal with everyday, and I'm not just saying Sheffield," Beck said.
"I'm saying the brotherhood."
Firefighters were dispatched to a house fire in the 100-block of East 29th Avenue in Lake Station, Ind. (WLS)
Will Jones
Sunday, September 04, 2016 11:17PM
LAKE STATION, Ind. (WLS) -- A 14-year-old girl was killed in a house fire early Sunday in Lake Station in northwest Indiana, officials said.
The girl was identified as Layona Dragash, according to the Lake County (Ind.) Coroner's Office.
At about 5:30 a.m., firefighters were dispatched to the 100-block of East 29th Avenue. The girl's mother and her boyfriend escaped the fire and called 911. They were hospitalized with smoke inhalation.
Dragash was in a second-floor bedroom. Firefighters attempted to rescue her, but could not, said Lake Station Fire Chief Chuck Fazekas.
The blaze is not considered suspicious, but still under investigation. Fazekas said investigators believe the fire started in the living room.
Two dogs and a cat also died in the fire, Fazekas said.
No working smoke detectors were found in the house.
Courtesy of Kathy Zimmer Hallstein
87-foot paddle-wheel boat capsizes in Contra Costa County
U.S. Coast Guard: Boat ran aground overnight in Delta
UPDATED 9:30 PM PDT Sep 04, 2016
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, Calif. (KCRA) —An 87-foot paddle-wheel boat ran aground and capsized overnight in Contra Costa County, officials said.
The incident happened about 12:30 a.m. Sunday near Franks Tract in the Delta, which is southeast of Rio Vista, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
Fisherman Mike Birch saw the boat before it sank.
“The guy pulled out and went to what we call False River (but) he didn't make it too far," Birch said. "We saw him stop and then my buddy Tim called and said, 'I think it's going down.'"
The boat, called the Spirit of Sacramento, reportedly took in water at the stern, which then flooded the engine room.
Two people on board jumped in a dingy and made it safely to the shore, officials said.
When the Coast Guard went to check on the boat late Sunday morning, it had capsized, officials said.
Roy and Kathy Hallstein saw the boat a couple of days ago out on Franks Tract. They snapped some of the last photos, showing it still afloat.
"I was amazed because it looked like a great, viable boat (Saturday) at (noon)," Roy Hallstein said. "Then this morning, I look over the horizon, and it was going down,"
Courtesy of Kathy Zimmer Hallstein
The boat is privately-owned and used to be a passenger vessel, officials added.
The Coast Guard is now working to stabilize the boat while they assess the pollution.
Officials said there is an estimated 600 gallons of diesel fuel on board.
"You can smell it. (It) was so bad when we went up there," Birch said. "There was a plume coming out and you could just smell it. (It) was awful."
The Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Department is also working on this case.
Many boaters are now wondering the fate of this sunken piece of history.
"I hope they can salvage it. I don't know if someone can restore it, you know, back to what it was," Kathy Hallstein said. "Maybe (it can be used) for a restaurant one day. (It) may be kind of neat."
This boat is not to be confused with the Old Spirit of Sacramento, which is a riverboat that was featured in a John Wayne film back in the 1950s, and is resting on private land along Garden Highway.
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Coast Guard responds to capsized vessel near Bethel Island
Sep 4th, 2016
SAN FRANCISCO — The Coast Guard responded Sunday to a report that the 87-foot vessel, Spirit of Sacramento, was taking on water in the vicinity of Franks Tract near Bethel Island.
Coast Guard Sector San Francisco’s command center was notified of the situation at approximately 12:30 a.m.
Both people onboard safely disembarked the vessel using a dinghy. A small boat crew from Coast Guard Station Rio Vista escorted the boaters to shore. Coast Guard Sector San Francisco personnel monitored the situation through the night and made attempts to coordinate salvage efforts with the vessel’s owner. The vessel capsized during the night causing minor sheening, which was discovered by bystanders and confirmed by personnel from Coast Guard Sector San Francisco and the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office when they arrived on scene in the morning.
The vessel is anchored outside of the marked channel and does not pose a hazard to navigation.
The Coast Guard and Contra Costa County expanded response efforts Sunday, including hiring Global Diving and Salvage, Inc. to initiate pollution response operations. Global’s priorities are focused on booming and stabilizing the vessel whilethe Coast Guard is continuing its initial assessment of the oil pollution.
The Coast Guard is also working closely with the California State Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Preparedness and Response.
“While the Coast Guard is the lead federal coordinating agency for pollution response efforts in the coastal zone, this unified effort of federal, state and local partners will ensure all aspects of the response are covered, with minimal environmental impact,” said Lt. Cmdr. Rhianna Macon, the Sector San Francisco Incident Management chief. “We will continue response and salvage efforts with our partners until the environmental threat has been mitigated.”
The vessel is reported to have 600 gallons of diesel fuel onboard.
