A Livingston County roofer has died from his injuries after falling from a roof on Melville St. in Rochester, New York

Man Injured in Roofing Fall Dies

By TWC News Staff
Saturday, September 24, 2016 at 08:53 AM CDT

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- A Livingston County roofer has died from his injuries after falling from a roof on Melville St. on Monday, according to Strong Memorial Hospital.

Jason Regatuso, 32, of Mount Morris and two other workers were on a section of scaffolding being supported by two ladders when one of the ladders broke Monday afternoon. Three of them fell from the roof.

Regatuso was taken to Strong Hospital with critical injuries where he later died. The other two were treated and released.

OSHA was called to the scene and is investigating. 

This was an extremely unsafe setup.  There was no scaffolding, just two ladders that buckled under the weight of the workers and material.  These people did not follow not even the basic OSHA work safety rules. 

Here are some safety requirements for scaffolding systems.

Erect scaffold systems according to the manufacturer’s requirements.
The manufacturer of every scaffold requires that bracing be
secured with a minimum of 3 -inch type AB screws or the equivalent. Consensus standard ANSI A10.8-2011 Safety Requirements for Scaffolding also states that this screw type and length, or the equivalent, be used.

Provide fall protection on scaffolds.
Protect employees on a scaffold more than 10 feet above a lower level from falling by providing either a personal fall arrest system or guardrails.

Pump jack scaffolds.
Secure poles to the structure using rigid triangular bracing or the equivalent located at the top, bottom and other points as necessary.

The family of worker who fell to his death while working at a cotton gin in Slaton, Texas is accusing North Carolina-based RSM Cotton Gin Co. of negligence

Family of man killed in January fall in Slaton sues cotton gin company

RSM Co. fined by OSHA for safety violations
Posted: September 23, 2016 - 7:36pm | Updated: September 24, 2016 - 12:11am


By GABRIEL MONTE
A-J MEDIA

The family of a man who officials say fell to his death while working at a cotton gin in Slaton earlier this year is accusing the company owners of negligence, according to a wrongful death lawsuit filed Thursday in the 99th District Court.

The lawsuit identifies Juan Perez Davila’s wife, Monica Santos Lopez, and their three children as plaintiffs who are seeking more than $1 million in damages against North Carolina-based RSM Co.

Davila died after a Jan. 6 fall from an air lock machine at the RSM Cotton Gin at 1320 E. Division St., according to Occupational Safety and Health Administration records. The company was fined in July for safety violations after an investigation by OSHA.

Crews from the Slaton Fire Department, police and emergency medical services responded to the accident just after 7 p.m. at the RSM Cotton Gin, said Slaton Fire Chief Freddie Rainwater.

Davila was working on jammed equipment on top of the facility when he fell. He was hospitalized at University Medical Center in Lubbock and died overnight.

OSHA investigators found two serious violations while investigating the company after Davila’s death and fined the company $6,300 for each offense on July 5. However, the fines were reduced to $3,780 each after an informal settlement, records show.

One of the violations was for failing to protect employees from fall hazards while working from an elevated catwalk about 15 feet above a lower level without a midrail.

Davila’s family’s lawsuit accuses the company of gross negligence. The allegations of negligence include failing to provide Davila proper equipment, a safe place to work and failing to adequately train him to do his job, the lawsuit states.

“Defendant was actually, subjectively aware of the risk involved, but nevertheless proceeded with conscious indifference to the rights, safety or welfare of others,” the lawsuit states.

Officials from the RSM Co. have repeatedly declined to comment to A-J Media.

SLATON, TX
1320 East Division Street
Slaton, TX 79339

• RSM Cotton Gin (mote processing plant)
• RSM Pickery (salvaging and reconditioning of fire- and water-damaged cotton)
• Available warehousing and commercial dry storage (with rail siding)

Welded Construction LP, was fined $12,471 for failing to provide a safe workplace following worker's dead when pinned against a section of metal pipe by a 43-ton excavator.

Perrysburg contractor fined in fatal accident
OSHA demands $12,471




By TYREL LINKHORN | BLADE BUSINESS WRITER
Published on Sept. 24, 2016 | Updated 9:21 a. m.

A Perrysburg-based pipeline contractor has been fined more than $12,000 in connection with a workplace accident this year that left one employee dead.

Jacob Angelos, 29, of Mount Pleasant, Mich., was killed June 3 while working on a pipeline that will eventually deliver natural gas to an 800-megawatt power plant under construction in Oregon. Investigators said Mr. Angelos became pinned against a section of metal pipe by a 43-ton excavator. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Mr. Angelos’ employer, Welded Construction LP, recently was fined $12,471 for failing to provide a safe workplace.

The agency said Welded Construction should have established and enforced safe practices, including ensuring employees running excavation equipment know in advance where other employees are and make sure that the path of equipment work is clear, use spotters to guide the operator, or rope off the swing area of the excavator .

The accident happened in the 3800 block of Starr Avenue. The 22-mile long pipeline loops from Maumee to Perrysburg Township then north to Oregon.

Welded Construction, like all companies that are issued fines, has the option to contest the finding.

According to OSHA records, there have been 23 workplace fatalities so far this year in Ohio, including three in the greater Toledo area.

On Feb. 1, Larry Johnson, 64, was killed when he was crushed between a semi-tractor and trailer outside the Johnson Controls plant in Northwood. Mr. Johnson, an employee of McMullin Transportation, was making a delivery to the factory. OSHA investigated, but no fines were issued.

The very next day, 50-year-old Terry Bodenbender, an electrician at the General Motors foundry in Defiance, died in a fall.

Authorities said Mr. Bodenbender was working on a crane approximately 30 feet above the ground. General Motors was issued a “serious” violation for not ensuring employees used protective equipment and fined $7,000.

OSHA this week also released details of two other workplace violation citations and fines, though neither of those cases involved an injury.

The agency proposed a fine of $24,942 to Impact Employment Solutions Inc., of Toledo, for failing to provide training on how to properly cut off power to equipment in a McComb factory in order to perform maintenance.

Indiana-based LLG Construction LLC was fined $44,095 for repeatedly failing to ensure employees wore safety glasses and were protected from falls when working six or more feet above the ground and other violations. The fines came after inspection of a worksite in Perrysburg.

The company was fined $17,160 earlier this year for violations observed in December at a separate job in Perrysburg.

Speeding Tulare County Sheriff Sgt. Mike Yandell is dead after an overnight, off-duty rollover crash when he made an unsafe turn to the right shoulder of 7th Avenue and eventually crossed both lanes, crashing into a dirt embankment.

Tulare County sheriff’s sergeant dies in off-duty high speed crash near Hanford, CA


Tulare County Sheriff Sgt. Mike Yandell died late Saturday in a solo vehicle crash near Hanford. Tulare County Sheriff’s Department Facebook


By Cresencio Rodriguez-Delgado

cdelgado@fresnobee.com

Tulare County sheriff’s Sgt. Mike Yandell died late Saturday in an off-duty crash in Kings County.

The Tulare County Sheriff’s Department confirmed Yandell’s death and via Facebook, Sheriff Mike Boudreaux offered his sympathies.

“We are hurting with the loss of our friend,” Boudreaux said.

The Kings County Sheriff’s Office said a collision was reported just before midnight Saturday in the 12000 block of 7th Avenue in Kings County, southeast of Hanford.

A release from the California Highway Patrol Sunday said a 38-year-old Visalia man died in a rollover accident at the 7th Avenue location.

CHP said the man was driving alone in a 2001 Chevrolet Silverado pickup south on 7th, south of Houston Avenue, at an undetermined speed.

For an unknown reason, the CHP said, the driver made an unsafe turn to the right shoulder of 7th and eventually crossed both lanes, crashing into a dirt embankment.

CHP said the Silverado overturned and the driver, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was ejected. The driver died at the scene.

The crash remains under investigation, the CHP said.

On Facebook Sunday, Sheriff Boudreaux said Yandell was a personal friend and was a “passionate man that loved the sheriff’s office.” Boudreaux said Yandell’s father, Darrel, is a retired sheriff’s lieutenant.

“I ask for the prayers of the community and law enforcement family for the Yandell family at this time,” Boudreaux said.

Boudreaux said Yandell served as president of the Tulare County Deputy Sheriff’s Assocation since 2013, where he made sure families were cared for during tragedies.

He said he wants everyone to honor Yandell’s legacy and support Yandell’s family.

Yandell is survived by his wife and two children, according to the sheriff’s office.

Yandell was hired in 2000 and promoted to sergeant in 2012 when he was assigned to the Pixley sheriff substation. His latest assignment was with the Sheriff’s Agricultural Crimes Unit, which he began one year ago, the sheriff’s office said.



=============



The crash happened on 7th Avenue south of Highway 198 in Kings County when Sgt. Mike Yandell lost control of his vehicle causing it to rollover, killing him. (KFSN)

By Cory James
Updated 11 mins ago
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Tulare County Sheriff's sergeant is dead after an overnight, off-duty rollover crash, said Tulare Sheriff Mike Boudreaux.

The crash happened on 7th Avenue south of Highway 198 in Kings County when Sgt. Mike Yandell lost control of his vehicle causing it to rollover, killing him. Alcohol is not believed to be a factor in the crash but the California Highway Patrol said he was not wearing his seatbelt.  Also, since the road is very straight and clear of obstructions and since he rolled over several times, it is possible that he was speeding and/or fell asleep at the wheel.

Sheriff Boudreaux said Yandell was a detective with the agriculture unit and a veteran of the department. His father is also a retired lieutenant of the Tulare County Sheriff's Office.

"For us today, it's just devastating and tragic," Boudreaux said. "What made him stand out was that it didn't matter which assignment he was in. It didn't matter if he was at the main jail or working in patrol or in investigation, he put his heart and soul into everything he did."

Dozens of Tulare County Sheriff's cruisers and police cars followed the body of Yandell from Kings County into Visalia Sunday in a procession to a funeral home.

"Just a good-hearted guy," Boudreaux said. "You couldn't ask for a nicer guy who truly was not only loyal to the office of the sheriff's department but that he loved and was loyal to the community he served."

Yandell was married and a father of two.

3 killed in midair collision involving a Cessna 120 plane and a Piper PA-28 plane in North Collins, NY.

 

Part of the wreckage in North Collins on Sunday morning. (Photo courtesy of Brian Schmitt)

By Stephen T. Watson
By Karen Robinson

Updated 6:06 PM
September 25, 2016


Three people died in an aircraft collision in bright blue skies over North Collins on Sunday morning, the Erie County Sheriff's Office confirmed several hours after the incident.

A 60-year-old Hamburg man and a couple from Eden, both 69, were the only three people aboard the two planes, according to an administrator at Hamburg Airport and aircraft registration records. The News is withholding their names until families have had a chance to be notified.

Two small aircraft collided shortly before 9:30 a.m. in the skies over southern Erie County, leaving a debris field over a one-quarter to one-half-mile section of School Street between Larkin and Jennings roads in the town, officials from the Erie County Sheriff's Office said at a media briefing at North Collins High School.

Investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration were at the crash scene Sunday and investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board will be at the crash scene first thing Monday morning, according to Sheriff's Detective Capt. Greg Savage.

The two aircraft were in a group of six that took off together around 9 a.m. from Hamburg Airport, Larry Walsh, the airport's vice president, told The News. The aircraft were flying together to get breakfast, in St. Mary's, Pa., and planned to return later in the day, he said.

The pilots of the two planes were experienced amateur pilots, each with at least 15 years of flying, said Walsh. He said the deaths of the three – a man flying alone and a couple – has devastated the close-knit group of pilots and families that base their planes at the airport.


First responders close off a section of School Street in Eden as the crash investigation proceeds. (Robert Kirkham/Buffalo News)

"We're all shaking in our boots now," Walsh said. One plane was a Cessna and one was a Piper Cherokee, he said. Both are single-engine, single-propeller planes.

Walsh said even on a clear day with perfect visibility, as was the case Sunday morning, one pilot can lose sight of another; for example, if one flies underneath or above the other.

"There are a number of blind spots," Walsh said, though he doesn't know the cause of this crash.

The first 911 call came in from a cellphone at 9:24 a.m., Sheriff's Office officials said.

"We have several eyewitnesses who saw the planes approaching before there was contact," said Scott Joslyn, chief of patrol services.

One witness told sheriff's investigators of seeing two aircraft make contact in the air before plummeting to the ground. The crash sites for the two aircraft are about 400 yards apart, Joslyn said, one on the south side of School Street and one on the north side.


With one of the fallen planes visible at right, emergency first responders search the debris field outside of 2896 School Street in Eden. (Robert Kirkham/Buffalo News)

Karen Ricotta, a North Collins town justice who lives on School Street, said she heard a noise at about 9:30 a.m. "And when I looked outside, you could see something next door on a mowed farm field. I couldn't identify what it was," Ricotta told a News reporter. "But when I went outside, another man driving by pulled in my yard and told me it was a plane in the field. I called 911, but they already had been called."

A North Collins resident named Tom, who wouldn't give his last name and who lives on Larkin Road about 2,000 feet from the crash scenes, said small aircraft regularly fly over his home. This morning, he was cooking when, he told The News, "I just heard planes flying and a really loud smash."

By 11:30 a.m., a helicopter and a small plane circled overhead as reporters and onlookers awaited news on what happened. At the Langford Superette, at Route 75 and Route 249, a short distance from the crash scenes, a steady stream of people came in and out of the country store to talk about what had happened.

Closer to the crash scenes, a School Street resident who declined to give her name to a reporter said she had been sitting on her outdoor deck at about 8:30 Sunday morning when she saw a red-and-white plane flying over her house. She lives one mile from the crash scenes, where she had walked later in the morning to bring bottled water to emergency responders.

"It was a beautiful Sunday morning, and I saw this plane, and here it might be the last time that person was alive," she said.

"It missed a house by 100 feet," North Collins Supervisor John M. Tobia said, or otherwise more people could have been injured or killed on the ground. One aircraft landed in a field and one landed between a metal storage building and a wooded area, the supervisor said.

"It's like a pancake; it's crushed," Tobia said. "You can't tell it's an aircraft."

Sheriff's personnel are preserving the crash scenes until federal investigators can get to the area. The Erie County medical examiner also has been called to the scene.

The Sheriff's Office asks people who witnessed the planes in the air, or who find debris from the crash on their properties, to call 858-2903.

Tobia said recovering debris and bodies and the search for clues to the cause of the crash is likely to take all day. He praised the work of emergency responders, including the North Collins Fire Company, North Collins rescue squad, Langford Fire Company and Eden police.

Roads in the immediate area of the crash were closed for hours but reopened around 3 p.m.

"Locating any piece of those crafts all tell a tale," Joslyn said. "It's going to be real important to have a good search of the area."

Sunday's tragedy isn't the first time that two planes have collided in Western New York skies with deadly consequences. Almost exactly two years ago – on Sept. 27, 2014 – two people died in a crash in Lancaster when one single-engine aircraft clipped another.

"It was a perfect clear day," Sheriff's Detective Capt. Greg Savage said at Sunday's media briefing, "just like it was in the Lancaster crash."

The two small planes were preparing to land at Buffalo-Lancaster Regional Airport, one in front of the other on the same flight path, just like countless planes on other landing paths at airports every day. Coming up from behind, the bigger, faster Cessna descended and struck a smaller experimental aircraft, called a Searey, before spiraling out of control to the ground.

Anthony Mercurio, 78, was flying in a small plane with James Metz, 14. Both were killed. The pilot of the other plane and that plane's passenger, a 9-year-old girl, survived.

The two youngsters and volunteer pilots were taking part in an event at the Buffalo-Lancaster Regional Airport designed to introduce young people to the thrill of flying.




Date:

25-SEP-2016
Time: 09:30LT
Type: Piper PA-28
Owner/operator: Private
Registration:

C/n / msn:

Fatalities: Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Other fatalities: 1
Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location: North Collins, NY - United States of America
Phase: En route
Nature: Private
Departure airport: Hamburg Airport (4G2)
Destination airport: St Marys Municipal (KOYM/OYM)
Narrative:
Mid air collision, Piper PA-28 and Cessna 120. 3 confirmed fatalities. Exact split of POB tbc. The wreckage came down in open farmland. It is reported these were 2 of 6 aircraft flying to St Marys Municipal Airport in Pennsylvania.

Sources:
http://live.buffalonews.com/2016/09/25/person-reportedly-killed-mid-air-collision-north-collins/
http://galleries.buffalonews.com/default.aspx?id=6991#/5
http://www.startribune.com/2-small-planes-collide-in-air-and-crash-in-western-ny/394730201/
http://www.twcnews.com/nys/buffalo/top-stories/2016/09/25/two-planes-collide-in-north-collins.html

http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=N612FL
http://flightaware.com/photos/view/13765-edfb22d068a8b8c0c37526438d0661fcb54a8187/aircrafttype/P28A

==

===

Date:

	25-SEP-2016
Time:	09:30LT
Type:	Cessna 120
Owner/operator:	Private
Registration:
C/n / msn:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities:	2
Airplane damage:	Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location:	North Collins, NY -   United States of America
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	Hamburg Airport (4G2)
Destination airport:	St Marys Municipal (KOYM/OYM)

Narrative:
Mid air collision, Piper PA-28 and Cessna 120. 3 confirmed fatalities. Exact split of POB tbc. The wreckage came down in open farmland. It is reported these were 2 of 6 aircraft flying to St Marys Municipal Airport in Pennsylvania.
Sources:
http://live.buffalonews.com/2016/09/25/person-reportedly-killed-mid-air-collision-north-collins/
http://galleries.buffalonews.com/default.aspx?id=6991#/5
http://www.twcnews.com/nys/buffalo/top-stories/2016/09/25/two-planes-collide-in-north-collins.html
http://www.startribune.com/2-small-planes-collide-in-air-and-crash-in-western-ny/394730201/

http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=N3580V 

2 people killed in a Mooney M20J small plane crash at Sky Manor Airport in Alexandria Township, New Jersey

2 people killed in a Mooney M20J small plane crash at Sky Manor Airport in Alexandria Township, New Jersey
State police say two people were killed when a small plane crashed at a New Jersey airport. (WPVI)

Updated 2 hrs 18 mins ago
ALEXANDRIA TOWNSHIP, N.J. -- State police say two people were killed when a small plane crashed at a New Jersey airport.

The crash at Sky Manor Airport in Alexandria Township occurred around 12:30 p.m. Sunday.

It wasn't immediately clear what caused the crash. No one on the ground was injured. The victims were not identified.

Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Arlene Salac said the Mooney M20 plane stalled while trying to land and crashed into a field.

State police and the FAA will investigate the crash.

The New Jersey crash comes the same day as officials near Buffalo, New York, announced fatalities after two small planes collided in the air and crashed in North Collins.

=======




By Myles Ma and Greg Wright | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on September 25, 2016 at 1:20 PM, updated September 25, 2016 at 7:52 PM



ALEXANDRIA, NEW JERSEY — Two people died in a plane crash in a grassy field near Sky Manor Airport Sunday afternoon, police said.

The Federal Aviation Administration identified the plane as a Mooney M20 that crashed in a residential neighborhood about half a mile southwest of the runway at the small municipal airport.

"At 12:29 p.m. Hunterdon County 911 Dispatch Center received a call of an aircraft down," Hunterdon County Chief of Detectives John Kuczynski said.

"The aircraft was apparently coming in for a landing and subsequently witnesses saw the aircraft go down," Kuczynski said,

Both the pilot and the passenger died at the scene of the crash, according to the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office. Neither victim was identified.

There was no damage to any property near Sky Manor and Oak Summit roads, where the plane was recovered, the prosecutor said.

The exact cause of the crash remains under investigation. The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA will investigate the crash, the prosecutor said.

Alexia Hughes, a Bucks County, Pa. resident, said she was part of a large crowd watching planes take off and land outside the Sky Cafe restaurant at the airport. They saw a small plane try to land and come in too fast.

"Instead of aborting the landing, he continued to try to land and ran out of runway," she said.

The plane then pulled up, barely clearing trees at the end of the runway, Hughes said. It tilted up and to the left before losing lift and crashing.



Date:

	25-SEP-2016
Time:	12:30 LT
Type:	Mooney M20J
Owner/operator:	Private
Registration:
C/n / msn:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants:
Other fatalities:	0
Airplane damage:	Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location:	near Sky Manor Airport, Pittstown, NJ -   United States of America
Phase:	Landing
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:
Destination airport:	Sky Manor Airport (N40)

Narrative:
Crashed about 1mi from the airfield during an aborted landing.
Sources: http://patch.com/new-jersey/bridgewater/fatal-plane-crash-reported-central-jersey-airport
http://www.nj.com/hunterdon/index.ssf/2016/09/2_killed_in_plane_crash_at_sky_manor_airport_polic.html

Harrisburg officials have been trying for months to jumpstart cleanup on a wall that collapsed next to the Mulberry Street Bridge.

Months after wall collapse, tire shop owner prepares for winter on his own terms
Posted 9:23 PM, September 20, 2016, by Felix Rodrigues Lima

HARRISBURG, Pa. - It's been more than four months since a wall adjacent to the Mulberry Street Bridge collapsed, and with no resolution in sight, the owner of the tire shop where much of the debris from the collapse fell is ramping up preparations for the winter months.

"One of our greatest problems is that all the water that runs off that hill when it rains comes through my building and drowns us," Howard Henry, owner of Howard Tire & Auto, said.

The water collects on the floor of his warehouse when it rains, and seeps down into his shop.

"We're still in a place where we can't do anything to that hill at all until somebody takes responsibility for it," he said.

The warehouse was condemned by the city in June, along with the McFarland building at the top of the hill, although that was appealed by the owners of the McFarland.

The condemnation was supposed to set the stage for a hearing to be held by the city's Building and Housing Code Board of Appeals last week, but it had to be postponed because only two members of the board showed up and a minimum of three were needed for the hearing to go on. Two other members had excused absences, and the fifth seat on the board is vacant.

"I just don't know how you enforce something and issue fines and say there's a hearing on September 15th and not take the steps to be prepared for that hearing," Henry said, frustrated about the bureaucracy.

Efforts by FOX43 to reach several city officials Tuesday were unsuccessful, and many questions continue to remain unanswered about how to resolve the issue.

"I'm just at this place where I'm looking around and I'm wondering if I have to go through the winter like this," Henry said. "And everyone's okay with it, except me, of course."

And that's why he's taking matters into his own hands.

A few weeks ago, Henry began work on a modified drainage system of sorts that may be the best bet to limit further weather damage as the seasons change.

With a team of employees and volunteers, he stabilized the roof and devised a plan to collect runoff from any precipitation this winter. The plan is to use rubber to cover the debris pile.

"Off that hill, we're going to lay the rubber and it's going to look like a great big funnel washing the water right straight into this," he said, pointing to a structure that looks like an oversized gutter.

That gutter will carry precipitation that lands on the collapsed area to a ten-inch pipe, which leads to a storm drain.


It's a project that he says has set him back tens of thousands of dollars, and he's unsure if he will ever be able to recoup that money. One positive development is that Henry's insurance provider is finally working with him after it denied his initial claim. It opted to review its decision after the second collapse at the site.

It's also unknown how long it will take to ultimately resolve this.

"I'm told that it could be years," he said, pausing. "It's really hard to wrap my

======



HARRISBURG—Harrisburg officials have been trying for months to jumpstart cleanup on a wall that collapsed next to the Mulberry Street Bridge.

The city cited the owner of The McFarland apartments that lost its parking lot in the May 5 collapse and condemned a portion of the apartment building.

But last week, it was a city board that stalled the case.

The Building and Housing Code Board of Appeals postponed a hearing on condemnation because it could not muster a quorum.

The five-member board has four appointed members and two had personal or medical reasons that made it impossible to attend the hearing.

If the board had been fully populated, the hearing likely could have continued as planned with the minimum three members to equal a quorum.

The situation illustrates one of the challenges facing some municipalities: finding qualified volunteers to fill boards and commissions.

"It's always been difficult to find people who are willing to serve and volunteer their time," said Kirk Petroski, who's been the city clerk for seven years. "Some boards are more hands-on and require more time than others. It can be hard to find new people, different names instead of the same small group of people who volunteer."

When Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse took office in 2014, many of the city's dozen or more boards had empty seats that needed to be filled. The Building Code Appeals board, for example, had three vacancies.

The mayor has since filled two slots with council approval but city officials have not been able to identify a third volunteer with construction or building codes experience to appoint. City officials would like to fill the position before next month, to better ensure the hearing rescheduled for Oct. 20 can proceed.

"As long as this is tied up, I can't cite on the condemnation order," said Art Emerick, the city's assistant codes administrator.

Prior to this year, the board hadn't met but once since 2011 because only one appeal had been filed with the city. But this year, there have been three appeals filed, including the one by the owner of The McFarland apartments.

Other vacancies the city is trying to fill quickly before stumbling into quorum issues include two seats on the Historical Architectural Review Board. Papenfuse put forth the name of one volunteer in March, Ron Boston, a lobbyist who lives in uptown. But the nomination stalled. It has not made it into a council committee for a hearing.

City officials are looking for volunteers with experience in history and architecture.

Anyone interested in volunteering for either board should contact Petroski at kpetroski@cityofhbg.com or the mayor's administrative assistant, Cathy Hall, at cmhall@cityofhbg.com.

Meanwhile, the city council is considering resurrecting at least two other inactive boards, including a Human Relations Commission and a Police Advisory Committee. The city's Human Relations Commission alone would require nine volunteers, preferably some with experience in arbitration or mediation.

The exact makeup of the Police Advisory Committee is still being considered. City Councilman Cornelius Johnson said he wants to stage a series of meetings across the city to determine what would work best for Harrisburg.

City Council also is looking to revamp the Environmental Advisory Committee. The committee collapsed earlier this year amid friction and disagreements with four out of five members resigning.


The majority of the five-member volunteer board resigned this week, citing hostilities and personal attacks. The board is supposed to advise the city of Harrisburg on environmental issues.

The new committee, under proposed legislation introduced Monday night, would comprise seven members appointed by council. Under the previous model, both the mayor and council appointed members.

Council President Wanda Williams has pledged to reappoint Rafiyqa Muhammad, the only remaining member of the previous EAC. Other resigning board members cited Muhammad's behavior as among the reasons they quit.

Muhammad declined to comment at the time but Williams said Muhammad had priorities that "didn't sit well with the other members," but they should have at least heard her out.

The city also is responsible for filling seats on the board of Capital Region Water. Papenfuse tried earlier this year to fill the expired seat of Bill Cluck by appointing

Charla Plaines, but her nomination became embroiled in a dispute as Cluck fought to retain his seat.

A tie vote by Harrisburg council members Tuesday night on the appointment of Charla Plaines to the Capital Region Water board means Bill Cluck can hang on to his seat at least a few weeks longer.

Council members unanimously criticized the process that played out and said it could discourage volunteers from stepping forward if they could become political footballs.

"Now that you're becoming a pubic official, people may try to tear you down or dig up things on you that may not have any relevance to the position you're seeking to hold," said Councilman Westburn Majors. "I had people confuse me with my deceased father when I was appointed to CRW (in 2010) and it's unfortunate in the climate we live in."

Majors said it's important for the city's future success to encourage more volunteers to step forward.

"The goal is to get more qualified people to participate in our democracy and the city," he said, "because I think the biggest concern is it's always the same people serving on different boards, instead of new names and new voices."

To that end, Petroski and Deputy City Clerk Lance Claiborne are assembling a description of the city's active boards, qualifications and vacancies to post on the city council website.

"We're trying to make the information more available," Petroski said.