A construction worker injured after he fell on a piece of steel at an Upper East Side construction site

Firefighters strapped him into a stokes basket and lowered him to the street.
  The worker is expected to recover. (Marcus Santos) 

 MANHATTAN, NY (NY Daily News)
 
A construction worker had to be loaded into a basket and lowered six flights after he fell on a piece of steel at an Upper East Side construction site Wednesday, authorities said.

The worker, a man in his 30s, suffered a serious leg and hip injury when he tumbled onto some rebar while working on Park Ave. near W. 84th St. at about 11:40 a.m., authorities said.


He was taken to New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center and is expected to recover, officials said.

 
He was working on construction of a 16-story residential apartment building when he was hurt.

Former Pine Bluff Housing Authority employee Leroy Dorn Jr., is entitled to have his workers' compensation claims heard again, regardless of whether he provoked the co-worker who injured him with a baseball bat

Man hurt with ball bat to get claim rehearing

By John Moritz
PINE BLUFF, ARKANSAS

This article was published today at 3:15 a.m.

Former Pine Bluff Housing Authority employee Leroy Dorn Jr., is entitled to have his workers' compensation claims heard again, regardless of whether he provoked the co-worker who injured him with a baseball bat, the Arkansas Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.

Three appeals court judges reversed and remanded the case back to the state Workers' Compensation Commission, which had previously determined that the injured ex-employee was an "active participant" in the altercation in May 2015.

The attacker, Bruce Spicer, pleaded guilty to battery earlier this month and received probation.

Spicer told his boss at the city's Housing Authority that a co-worker, Leroy Dorn Jr., had threatened him with a knife on May 4, 2015, and accused him of stealing personal items and cleaning supplies, according to court filings.

Those records say bosses scheduled a meeting over the dispute the next day, and Spicer came armed with a wooden bat.

A Pine Bluff police officer testified that Spicer would not stop hitting Dorn in the parking lot outside their work until the officer threatened to use a stun gun on him.

Dorn's injuries included a missing tooth, broken bones on his face and a bruised elbow.

Both Dorn and Spicer were fired by the Housing Authority.

An administrative law judge awarded Dorn temporary workers' compensation benefits that July.

Both parties appealed -- with Dorn seeking further benefits -- but the Workers' Compensation Commission reversed the judge's decision and said Dorn's injuries were not covered by the law because they resulted from "personal animus for Spicer."

An opinion by Court of Appeals Chief Justice Rita Gruber, released Thursday, said it should not matter whether Dorn had issues with Spicer.

"Although his employer knew of the trouble between Dorn and Spicer and knew that they would arrive by 8:00 a.m. in the morning, no member of the supervisory staff had arrived for work when the attack took place," Gruber wrote.

Gruber, joined by two other judges, did not rule on Dorn's contention that he deserved more benefits, leaving that decision to the Workers' Compensation Commission.



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Housing authority employee arrested on battery charges against

Bruce Wayne Spicer, 48

Friday Posted May 8, 2015 at 2:29 AM


A employee of Pine Bluff Housing Authority was arrested Wednesday after he allegedly beat another employee with a baseball bat.

A employee of Pine Bluff Housing Authority was arrested Wednesday after he allegedly beat another employee with a baseball bat.

Bruce Wayne Spicer, 48, allegedly struck another employee, Leroy Dorn Jr., who also worked for the housing authority, several times in the head, face and across his body, according to a probable cause affidavit from Detective Michael Merritt.


According to the affidavit, an of-duty officer was at 1401 Cottonwood Circle around the leasing office area when she saw a battery take place in her presence. Dorn asked the officer to assist him, and when she turned in Dorn’s direction, saw another man, later identified as Spicer, hit Dorn in the face with a stick.

Merritt said in the affidavit that the officer repeatedly yelled for Spicer to stop, but he refused until she pulled her Taser, removed the cartridge and sparked the Taser toward him, at which point Spicer dropped the stick. Spicer was asked by the off-duty officer why he struck Dorn and allegedly said Dorn had pulled a knife on him May 4.

Spicer said Dorn had confronted him about missing cleaning supplies and other personal belongings of his and the stick that was used was a small red-and-black Rawlings baseball bat.

Merritt said he spoke to Dorn at the hospital and Dorn allegedly said that sometime last week, his personal belongings were missing from an apartment he was cleaning. He said he asked other coworkers and said when he asked Spicer on May 5, he and Spicer began arguing. Dorn said he told his supervisors about the incident and they were going to meet on the day of the incident. Dorn also said he and another coworker, Robert Terry, walked by Spicer’s vehicle and spoke to him as normal, and Dorn said “Spicer became irate and said (expletive) I am going to (expletive) you up.” He said he saw Spicer reach back inside his vehicle and retrieve a bat, and Dorn said Spicer struck him in the face and continued striking him until the off-duty officer stopped him.

At the emergency room, Dorn was told that part of the left side of his face was fractured and the left eye retina and sinus cavity were damaged.

Pine Bluff District Judge John Kearney on Thursday set a $100,000 bond for Spicer after ruling prosecutors had probable cause to charge him with first-degree battery.

Green Meadows Retirement Center employee Richard Flye of Sikeston, MO died and 3 residents injured after a rotting tree fell on them at the Green Meadows Retirement Center in Sikeston, MO

1 killed, 3 injured by fallen tree in Sikeston, Missouri 

Updated: May 17, 2017 6:20 PM EST


SCOTT COUNTY, MO -

A person has died after a tree fell on them in Scott County, Missouri, on Wednesday. Three other people were injured.

The National Weather Service Paducah says a person died Wednesday afternoon in Scott County after a rotten tree fell on them. The tree was blown over by the wind and crushed the bench they were sitting. 
 
41-year-old Richard Flye of Sikeston, Mo was an employee at the retirement center and tried to save the others sitting on the bench.
 
Sikeston DPS Assistant Chief Jim McMillen tells us the tree fell on an employee at the Green Meadows Retirement Center in Sikeston. The employee died.

Three people who live at the retirement center were also hurt when the tree fell. They were taken to a local hospital.

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

SIKESTON, MO (KFVS) -

The name of one person killed after a tree fell at a retirement center in Sikeston, Missouri has been released.

41-year-old Richard Flye of Sikeston, Mo was an employee at the retirement center.

Flye died and three others were injured after a tree fell at the center on Wednesday, May 17.

"We hate that the families going through this but you know I would say that if I had to loose a loved one I would hope they were trying to do something really good like this," said Sikeston DPS Assistant Police Chief Jim McMillen.

According to other employees who were there, Flye was attempting to push the others out of the way.

Of the three injured, McMillen said two have been released and one is going to a trauma center for multiple fractures to her ribs.

McMillen said the facility is located on the 400 block of Kingshighway and the accident happened around 2:25 p.m.

He said a gust of wind blew over the already rotting tree sending it onto a picnic table outside where residents and employees usually sit to take breaks.

Besides Flye there were only moderate injuries complaining of back, ribs, ankle and arm pain.

The Scott County Coroner was on scene. McMillen and Sikeston DPS has contacted the family who is shocked.

"That was my cousin man, I love him to death and me and him were like this," said LaShon Harrington, Flye's cousin. "I mean he was just at my house last night."

He said they will move the victim after the coroner assesses the scene.

Mohawk Industries worker Seedy Bah died from his injuries sustained during an explosion at the Unilin Wood Products Plant near Mount Gilead in Montgomery County, NC

Seedy Bah, died at the hospital following the plant explosion

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, N.C. -- One of the workers injured in a wood plant explosion in Montgomery County has died, Mohawk Industries announced.

The company confirmed Mr. Seedy Bah died around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday from his injuries.

The explosion happened at the Unilin Wood Products Plant near Mount Gilead in Montgomery County around 3 p.m. Tuesday. Two workers were taken to the UNC Burn Center in Chapel Hill.

Mohawk Industries said the other employee that was injured, Mr. Raymond Thompson, is still receiving care in a trauma center.

The company says it is cooperating with the local fire department and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration during the investigation. The cause of the fire is still unknown.

Mohawk Industries says nothing of this magnitude has ever happened at the plant. 



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



MOUNT GILEAD, N.C. – A big explosion rocked Unilin’s wood product plant in Montgomery County, North Carolina Tuesday – killing one employee and sending another to the hospital.

Local news sources reported both of the men were airlifted to nearby hospitals for burn treatment after the explosion.

Seedy Bah, a nine-year veteran of the company, died at the hospital the next morning.
"We are deeply saddened to learn that Mr. Seedy Bah passed away at around 2:30 am on May 17," said Unilin in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time."

The company said Bah was well-liked by all of his colleagues.

The other victim, Raymond Thompson, is still receiving care.

The explosion, which occurred around 3pm Tuesday, is currently under investigation. There is no estimate on damage to the plant.

Four fire departments responded to the scene reported WFMYNews2.

James Tyson, a communications officer for the Raleigh Department of Labor, told the Courier-Tribune that the state's OSHA division is conducting an investigation into what happened. According to the department’s website, an investigation can take anywhere from a few weeks to six months, depending on the accident. If citations and penalties are issued, that information will be released when the investigation is complete.

The plant’s VP of operations told WFMYNews2 that a spokesperson with Unilin’s parent company Mohawk Industries would likely be onsite to release more information.

Unilin, a manufacturer of laminate flooring, recently expanded its nearby Thomasville facility with the addition of a 100,000-square-foot warehouse as part of a $36 million investment. The expansion added 50 jobs - bringing the company’s total local workforce to over 350.

JCP&L employee Andrew Powers electrocuted to death when he fell onto a pad-mounted transformer and made contact with a live wire in Freehold Township, New Jersey

Photo courtesy of Powers' family

 Friends Grieve For 'Gentle Giant' Killed By Live Wire In Freehold Township
He came into the same bagel shop every day. On Wednesday, he wasn't there. The N.J. man was killed when he fell on a live wire .

By Tom Davis (Patch Staff) - May 18, 2017 4:45 pm ET

Bob Gewirtz knew something wasn't right. He walked into Tommy's Bagels In Manalapan on Thursday, and the man he knew as the "gentle giant" wasn't there.

"We'd sit there," Gewirtz said of Andrew "Drew" Powers. We'd talk about anything - sports, what he was doing on his job."

"We'd talk about what he planned to do when he retired," said Gewirtz, who is retired. "He wanted to know what it's like."

Then Gewirtz read Patch and found out the worst. Soon after, he found some JCP&L workers, some of whom worked with Powers, and they confirmed it.

Powers, a JCP&L worker for nearly 27 years, was killed when he fell on a live wire on Wednesday morning, according to police.

Ron Morano, a spokesman for the company, confirmed that Powers, 56, of Metuchen was killed while on the job in Freehold Township, but he didn't provide further information.

"This is something very tragic," he said, "and our thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends and co-workers."

Gewirtz said Powers stood about 6 feet 5 inches tall, but he was very soft-spoken and pleasant - hence, the nickname "Gentle Giant."


Roger Ailes dies. Chris Cornell dies. There is a very fat mascot in St. Paul, Minnesota.

He said he and Powers just clicked one day, several years ago. Gewirtz thought he might be an athlete, and then discovered he worked for JCP&L. Most of all, he said, he was just a "nice guy" who liked to shoot the breeze.

"This guy was the nicest guy. He was a big guy, but he was a gentleman," he said.

The Freehold Police Department said that Powers was working on Kings Mountain Road around 10:14 a.m. when he fell onto a ground transformer and made contact with a live wire

Powers was unconscious when emergency personnel arrived and regained consciousness, police said, but died after being transported to CentraState Medical Center in Freehold.


Morano said the incident was under investigation.

Funeral arrangements are pending.





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

JCP&L employee dies after falling on live transformer wire


Posted on May 17, 2017 at 8:42 PM
By Paul Milo
NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP, NJ-- An employee of JCP&L was killed in a work-related incident Wednesday morning, said Ron Morano, a spokesman for the company.

Morano identified the worker as Andrew Powers but did not immediately have any additional information about him.

Sgt. James Kolis of the Freehold Police Department said Powers was working on Kings Mountain Road around 10:14 a.m. when he fell onto a pad-mounted transformer and made contact with a live wire.

Powers was unconscious when first-responders arrived and later regained consciousness, Kolis said, but died after being transported to CentraState Medical Center in Freehold.

Morano, the JCP&L spokesman, said the incident was under investigation.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and co-workers," Morano said.

========================
Metuchen Man Was JCPL Worker Electrocuted In Freehold
Andrew Powers, 56, of Metuchen was working on a transformer in Freehold just after 10 a.m. Tuesday when he fell and touched a live wire.





By Carly Baldwin (Patch Staff) - May 18, 2017 3:04 pm ET


FREEHOLD, NJ — The Jersey Central Power & Light employee who was tragically killed Tuesday in an accident in Freehold was from Metuchen, Freehold police said.  Andrew Powers, 56, of Metuchen was working on a transformer on Kings Mountain Road in Freehold just after 10 a.m. Tuesday when he lost his balance.

As he was falling, he put out his hands to break his fall and he came into contact with live electrical wires. Powers was electrocuted, but he was able to walk, talk and describe exactly what had happened to fellow JCP&L employees working nearby who rushed to help him, reported the Asbury Park Press. He initially even refused medical attention.

In fact, when Freehold police officer Richard Gregg arrived at the scene, he found Powers with burned hands and cut arms but standing and talking with his coworkers, the APP reported.

However, without warning, Powers then suddenly collapsed.

"Several minutes into it, as they're examining him and talking, he suffered a medical episode, collapsed and was unresponsive," Freehold police Lt. Raymond Piccolini told the APP.

Officer Gregg began CPR and also applied AED pads to try and get his heart pumping again. With CPR in progress the whole time, Powers was rushed to CentraState Medical Center, but was ultimately pronounced dead at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday.

A JCP&L investigation into exactly what happened is now underway, said JCP&L spokesman Ron Morano. "This is something very tragic," he said, "and our thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends and co-workers."

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

Electrical service boxes and pad-mounted transformers (like those pictured) are necessary equipment in areas served by underground electrical lines.

Keep your family safe:

• Recognize that electrical service boxes and transformers house dangerous electrical components;
• Respect the equipment by not opening or tampering with it;
• Report any damaged, opened or unlocked electrical boxes to the cooperative or utility company immediately.