WALLINGFORD The resident leading the opposition to the towns plans to repair the Simpson Court parking lot has filed an ethics complaint against two town councilors, saying they should not have discussed issues related to a retaining wall on Holy Trinity School property because of their affiliations with the school.

The retaining wall would be fixed as part of the towns plan to repair and upgrade the Simpson Court parking lot, if it receives a grant the council approved applying for Tuesday night.

On Sept. 17, Robert Gross filed an ethics complaint. 17 with the towns Board of Ethics and town attorney against Republican Town Councilors Tom Laffin and John LeTourneau. Both dispute Gross claims. A Board of Ethics meeting on the issue will be held on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in Room 315 at Town Hall.

Gross could not be reached Thursday. LeTourneau said hed prefer to discuss the matter in detail after the ethics panel meeting, but Laffin spoke freely, saying he felt the complaint was an ill-conceived and poorly researched political play by Gross, a Democrat.

The complaint says Laffin and LeTourneau should not have participated in conversations at two Town Council meetings, one on June 26 and another on Sept. 11, because of their connections to Holy Trinity School.

LeTourneaus grandchildren attend the school. Though the complaint says that Laffins children also do, his 6-year-old son, Jack, only attends first-grade Catholic education classes at Holy Trinity School, Laffin said. The classes are provided through Holy Trinity Church, not the school, and take up about an hour a week.

Laffin said he was frustrated that Gross appeared to have made a serious allegation against him without researching it.

Youre calling into question my ability to serve? You did it based on a misunderstanding? You didnt confirm (that my son goes to the school)? Laffin said, adding that that Gross could have called the school or asked around to confirm his sons involvement. How am I going to take anything he says in the future seriously?

The complaint cites the towns Code of Ethics regarding conflict of interest and disclosure, which says: No officer or employee shall have any interest, financial or otherwise, direct or indirect, which is in conflict with the proper discharge of his or her official duties or employment. Interest shall be as defined by the Code of Ethics or other ordinances, as may be applicable to an individual case.

The code also requires that officers or employees who believe they have an interest to tell, in writing, their affiliation to the chairman or agency, commission or board of which he or she is a member.

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Wallingford councilors accused of ties to Holy Trinity School

Waverly village trustees agreed Tuesday to move forward with a project to repair a retaining wall along Cayuta Creek that was damaged in last year's flooding.

Mayor Kyle McDuffee said village officials will get in touch with representatives of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to ensure that the retaining wall's replacement will be properly reimbursed.

Trustees opened and approved a low bid of $488,438 by LC Whitford Company of Wellsville, N.Y. at a previous meeting, but with the stipulation that any costs above FEMA's estimate be covered by the agency. The bids for the project were higher than expected, McDuffee said.

Hunt Engineers, which designed the planned replacement, recommended in a letter to village officials that they accept the bid in order to meet FEMA's May 2013 deadline to complete the project. The firm continues to await word on whether FEMA will accept the installation of grouted tiebacks - anchors used to reinforce and stabilize the wall - as a "replacement in kind." Tiebacks were installed following the flood of 1972, McDuffee said, but were not part of the wall's original blueprints.

The letter cautioned that if trustees accept the bid and move forward with construction, the village may be responsible for added costs not covered by FEMA. However, a delay in the acceptance may invalidate the price quoted in the bid, likely increasing the project's costs even further.

The state has approved the tiebacks as an appropriate replacement, and county emergency management officials believe the tiebacks will be covered, said trustee Ron Keene.

However, McDuffee said he was concerned with the gap between the bid and FEMA's estimated project cost and wished to speak with officials regarding the discrepancy. "I think they will be interested in making it right," he said.

Trustees also voted to withhold payment on a $3,215 change order to the village hall's asbestos abatement project. The change order was not authorized by village officials or anyone acting on behalf of the village, McDuffee said.

Trustees also approved a $4,050 bid from Quinlan Tree Service to remove and trim trees in the village.

Amanda Renko can be reached at (570) 888-9652; or email: arenko@thedailyreview.com.

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Waverly trustees discuss retaining wall project

By Alex Fees

Foley, MO (KSDK) - From a distance, the limestone retaining wall looks strong, sturdy.

Will Reichert thought so when he had it put behind his house about four years ago.

"I was pleased. It looked great," he said.

But a closer look tells you the wall meant to keep runoff from flooding his yard and house is falling apart.

It started first with cracks and chipping, but soon big chunks of the wall started to fall off. It's a concern for Will who has small dogs.

"The work that we had done isn't holding up to the expectation that it's going to be here forever," said Reichert.

5 on Your Side called the man who installed the wall and Ed Mullens with New Castle Custom Builders met Mike Rush at the home in Foley.

The problem, says Mullens, is the quarry gave him limestone boulders that were too porous.

"Over time some of the rock will absorb water and freeze and break apart," said Mullens.

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5 on Your Side: Retaining wall not retaining shape

Drivers who use County Road 77, also known as Sinclair Avenue in Steubenville, could be facing some big delays in the near future. The retaining wall along the side of the road is starting to fall, and that has officials concerned.

The road, the busiest in Jefferson County, looks fine now, but engineers said it could begin to crumble.

"The retaining wall in this section is old and failing. And inadvertently, the private bridge has failed, as well," County Bridge Engineer Jeff Oinonen said.

Fortunately, Oinonen said no one lives there. What has him worried is the fact that this is happening at several spots along the road.

"We will excavate 65 feet of this wall section, replace it with a gabion retaining wall, which is caged rocks, and pour concrete cap in for the bridge to be put back on top of it," Oinonen explained.

He said it will cost the county about $50,000. During the repairs, the road will likely be closed despite the fact about 8,000 cars drive on it each day.

However, without the fix, Oinonen said even bigger problems could arise, like a road slip.

"With the retaining wall failing, it retains the hillside and the road and even utilities under it. There is a buried gas line, as well," said Oinonen.

With the debris still left in the creek, he said there could be a flood threat as well if the county sees any heavy rain before the repairs are made.

Oinonen said work should begin in about a month.

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Retaining wall collapsing, engineers concerned

For years, bucolic Edgemont Memorial Park has been slated for improvement, with bids put out for the dredging of the park's pond and the construction of a new retaining wall to replace the current crumbling wall.

STAFF PHOTO BY ADAM ANIK

The project isn't going anywhere except south now.

Montclair's Township Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to reject bids received for the project because they exceeded the budget of $800,000.

"It's been going on for quite some time now, probably years, and it's a little disappointing," said Second Ward Councilwoman Robin Schlager. "But in being fair, we want to do the right thing and get the right bid."

However, the project is not dead yet.

"We are going to begin negotiations with the contractor in an attempt to provide a contract for the council to approve on October 2 [the next regular council meeting]," said Dashield.

The four bids ranged from a low of $965,261 to a high of $1,263,011, according to a document on the Montclair Township website.

In January of 2010, Montclair was awarded $800,000 in state Green Acres grants to dredge and rehabilitate the pond.

Contact Diane Herbst at herbst@montclairtimes.com

Link:
Montclair township council rejects bids to fix Edgemont Park

Channel One

State-run Channel One broadcast images of the collapsed retaining wall in Vladivostok's Pervomaisky district.

Primorye police closed astretch ofhighway built forthis month's Asia-Pacific Cooperation Summit after aretaining wall supporting theroad collapsed, news reports said Monday.

Theroad closure, which occurred late Sunday inVladivostok's Pervomaisky district, followed alandslide that caused bedrock underlying thewall tomove, RIA-Novosti reported, citing asource inthe regional administration.

Igor Peterimov, acting head ofthe Primorye region's road maintenance department, told RBC that thecontractor responsible forthe affected section ofthe Novy-Patrokl road would finish reconstruction work within aweek.

Authorities closed asection ofthe same road inJune after heavy rains damaged aseparate retaining wall andswamped several private garages. Atthe time, officials blamed thedamage onbuilding contractors' failure toinstall adequate drainage after Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev ordered those responsible tobe punished.

Unlike inJune, however, theroad surface was not damaged Sunday, anda nearby gas pipeline remained intact, according tothe news agency.

Thesource added that police were redirecting traffic andthat emergency workers andadministration officials quickly arrived onthe scene tomonitor thesituation. Prosecutors are running acheck intothe incident, inwhich there were no casualties.

Sunday's road closure is thelatest embarrassment forPrimorye region officials, who have been accused ofmisspending billions ofrubles offederal money inthe buildup tothe APEC summit, which finished Sep. 9.

Theentire Novy-Patrokl road was constructed ata cost of29 billion rubles ($950 million), RBC reported, 21 billion rubles ofwhich came fromfederal coffers.

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APEC Road Closed Again After Wall Collapses

NEWPORT BEACH A 81-year-old man died after apparently passing out behind the wheel and crashing into a retaining wall Monday morning.

The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, said Sgt. Kirk Jacobi of the Newport Beach Police Department.

A Newport Beach Police traffic officer takes measurements by a retaining wall just west of Prospect Street on West Coast Highway in Newport Beach, after a man died after apparently passing out behind the wheel.

RICHARD KOEHLER, FOR THE ORANGE REGISTER

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Orange County Coroner's Office officials Monday night identified the man as John Shattuck of Newport Beach.

The crash was reported about 8:40 a.m. near the intersection of West Coast Highway and Prospect Street, Jacobi said. All but one of the eastbound lanes along West Coast Highway was blocked as police investigated the crash.

The crash is under investigation, but police believe the driver passed out before crashing into the wall. He is believed to have died of natural causes, Coroner's Office officials said.

"A driver behind him saw him slumped toward the steering wheel," Jacobi said.

No other vehicles were involved in the crash.

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Man whose car hit retaining wall in Newport Beach dies

A man died Sunday when his car hit a concrete retaining wall in Aurora.

The accident happened just before 6 p.m. Sunday at the intersection of Alameda Drive and South Chambers Road, according to a news release from the Aurora Police Department.

Investigators learned that the car, a Chevy Monte Carlo, was driving south on Chambers Drive at a high speed when it struck a curb near the intersection with Evanston.

After hitting the curb, the car slid sideways into the concrete retaining wall near the Highline canal bike trail underpass that allows trail users to cross under Chambers Road. The car came to rest east of the wall near a median.

Police found the car with severe damage and the driver pinned in the car.

Fire personnel began resuscitation efforts after unpinning the driver, but were not successful.

According to the news release, the driver was wearing a seat belt. Investigators believe speed was a contributing factor, but do not yet know if alcohol or drugs were involved.

The name of the man has not been released.

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One-car accident in Aurora claims one life

THE retaining wall at Olivers Hill which collapsed in April is still safe, despite motorists complaining of it "bulging".

The wall of rock-filled wire baskets was being constructed at the bottom of Olivers Hill before it collapsed on Thursday, April 19, causing chaos for motorists on Nepean Highway.

Southbound lanes were closed for two days while the site was secured and traffic speed limits are still reduced to 40kp/h.

But motorists are concerned the wall is about to collapse again.

Darryl Jones said there was another bulge in the gabion retaining wall on September 13.

"I would not be surprised if it collapses again in the next few days," Mr Jones said.

However, VicRoads spokesman David Fitzgerald said the wall was fine.

"We sent out some tradesmen to check it and it is stable," he said.

"It is still on track to be reconstructed in October and finished some time by Christmas."

At the time of the collapse, VicRoads regional director Peter Todd said the hill's instability was taken into account when the wall was designed.

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Motorists' concern over 'bulging' wall at Olivers Hill

THE retaining wall at Olivers Hill which collapsed in April is still safe, despite motorists complaining of it bulging.

The wall of rock-filled wire baskets was being constructed at the bottom of Olivers Hill before it collapsed on Thursday, April 19, causing chaos for motorists on Nepean Highway.

Southbound lanes were closed for two days while the site was secured and traffic speed limits are still reduced to 40kp/h.

But motorists are concerned the wall is about to collapse once again.

Darryl Jones he said there was another bulge in the gabion retaining wall on September 13.

"I would not be surprised if it collapses again in the next few days, Mr Jones said.

However, VicRoads spokesman David Fitzgerald said the wall is fine.

"We sent out some tradesmen to check it yesterday and it is stable, he said.

"It is still on track to be reconstructed in October and finished some time by Christmas.

At the time, VicRoads regional director Peter Todd said the hill's inherent instability was taken into account when the wall was designed.

See the original post:
Olivers Hill wall safe despite appearances