Fire crews were called to the scene after two people tumbled into Niagara Gorge. (Niagara Regional Police Service)

Ontarios police watchdog is investigating the death of a man in Niagara Falls, Ont., after the man and a police officer went over a retaining wall and into the Niagara Gorge.

The Special Investigations Unit says that shortly after 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday a Niagara Regional Police officer was chasing a man on River Road, between Otter and Eastwood streets, roughly three kilometres from the falls.

Shortly afterward, both people went over a wall and into the Niagara Gorge. Television reports said rescue crews used a hard-framed basket attached to a fire truck boom to reach the victims.

The man died, and police say the injured Niagara Regional Police officer was airlifted to a hospital in Hamilton with a broken leg.

The SIU, which investigates police incidents involving death, serious injury or sexual assault, has assigned seven investigators and two forensic investigators to the case.

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Man dies after fall with police officer into Niagara Gorge

A crumbling retaining wall on Lake Avenue will soon come down.

We have to take the old wall out and put the new one in without any homes sliding into the road, Grand Haven Project Manager Julie Beaton said.

Wade-Trim, a Grand Rapids-based engineering firm, was recently selected by Grand Haven officials to begin making plans for the walls replacement.

The scope of the approximately $53,000 project includes replacing the wall, and an assessment of sightlines and stopping distances to determine if conditions for vehicle and pedestrian traffic may be improved especially near the intersection of Edwards and Lake avenues.

Were going to have the engineers look and see if they can modify the wall to provide a safe pedestrian crossing, Beaton said. Were going to improve the sightlines as best as were able to.

Beaton said the hazards include a narrow road width and the distraction drivers face as they see Lake Michigan while rounding Lake Avenue toward Harbor Drive.

For the most part, people are going slow because it is so narrow, she said.

City Manager Pat McGinnis said is also hopeful that the area could be made more pedestrian-friendly.

We need to do that in an open public setting so that everyone knows what were talking about, he said.

To keep the public informed, meetings with City Council and the public to review the recommended design with an emphasis on changes in the retaining wall, street and sidewalk configurations, and the projected construction schedule and detour routes will be planned.

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Wall to be replaced

KUANTAN: The Kuantan Municipal Council (MPK) will have to look for alternative sources of funding to build more retaining walls along Sungai Galing.

Councillor Andy Chiew said he had been informed by the state Irrigation and Drainage Department (JPS) that it did not have the allocation to build additional walls to stop erosion by the river bank.

We have received numerous complaints from the public who are quite upset with the state of the river bank. Unfortunately, the department is short of funds to continue building morewalls. Therefore, we will try to come up with the allocation through otherchannels, he said after inspecting a completed retention wall near Jalan Selamat here recently.

Chiew added that the problem would hopefully be settled by this year.

Also present were his fellow councillors Ngoh Tian Meng, Choo Kay Boon, Tan Kee Sung and Pang Ching Chay.

The MPK officials later inspected the overgrown under brush in the drains at Lorong Tok Sira 70 and Lorong Air Putih 115.

Ngoh said JPS had been given a month to clear up the undergrowth in both areas.

Trimming the bushes will be a temporary measure while we work out a budget to put in U-drains, he said.

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Funding needed to build retaining wall

8:23 a.m. PDT, July 19, 2012

SAN DIEGO -- A driver died Thursday after crashing an SUV into a retaining wall in Sorrento Valley, police said.

The fatality on Sorrento Valley Boulevard near Roselle Street happened shortly after 4:30 a.m., according to San Diego police Officer Erik Pollock.

A police officer on patrol witnessed crash. The driver, who was the only person in the SUV, was speeding down Roselle Street and went straight into the retaining wall without breaking or attempting to turn, the officer said.

"At this point, we don't know what happened," San Diego police Sgt. Art Doherty said. "There was no reason why that vehicle should not have negotiated that turn. But instead, he just continued straight forward at a very high speed and struck the wall center mass, so basically the front end is sitting right in the front seat of the vehicle."

The driver, who was not immediately identified, was appeared to be between 25 and 30 years old, investigators said.

Sorrento Valley Boulevard was during the investigation and cleanup. Police reopened the road shortly after 7:30 a.m.

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Driver killed when SUV slams into wall

A leaning retaining wall in downtown Oswego will be replaced as a result of action taken Tuesday night by the village board.

Board members voted unanimously to award a contract totaling $11,500 to Forest View Landscaping to take down and reset the block retaining wall that that overlooks the busy intersection of Washington and Madison streets in the village's downtown.

Forest View submitted the lowest of two bids receive by the village for the project. Bids were opened June 18.

In a memo to the board Jerry Weaver, the village's superintendent of public works, described the cost to repair the wall as an "unanticipated expense."

Weaver also noted there is no money in his department's budget to pay for the project. He added he will work with Mark Horton, the village's finance director, to locate funding to pay for the project.

When questioned by board members, Weaver said Forest View will provide the village with a two year warrantee on its work.

Approve funding for village hall sign lights

In other business Tuesday evening:

_Board members voiced support for awarding a contract totaling $1,411 illuminate the words 'Oswego Village Hall' that were installed on the east side wall of Village Hall, overlooking the Ill. Route 31-U.S. Route 34 intersection.

MCL submitted the lower of two price quotes obtained for the project by the village.

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Oswego OKs repairs for downtown retaining wall

BENNINGTON - A retaining wall along the Roaring Branch river was damaged last year during Tropical Storm Irene and must be repaired, according to a town official.

Daniel Monks, the town's development director and zoning administrator, said the "flood wall" near the intersection of County and North Branch streets was compromised by the raging water caused by the storm's heavy rains.

"That flood wall, during the Irene event had two big sink holes," he said.

The power of the river apparently eroded land beneath the wall, causing the sink holes to develop. Town highway crews worked quickly during the storm to fill them to ensure the integrity of the wall. Subsequent inspections by the town's engineer, Roy Schiff, have led town officials to seek a permanent repair to shore up the wall, Monks said.

"He looked at it with some structural engineers from his firm, and without digging huge holes or doing too much exploration, they felt pretty confident that there was some undermining of the structure, just given the way that the sink holes formed. They developed a recommended plan for repair where you would drill holes into the base of the retaining wall and pump concrete into it. Basically, it would fill the void underneath it," Monks said.

The repair project is estimated at about $30,000, according to Monks. It does not need to be completed immediately, though, he said.

"They also said, 'Hey, that's not going to fall over tomorrow. If you have another

The town has been moving forward with planning a repair next spring. In the meantime, they have sought assistance from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which constructed the wall. Monk said the corps is likely to repair and pay for the fix. Engineers with the corps are planning a site visit next week, he said.

"We have written indication that they plan to and hope to," he said. "It may not be the exact thing, but it would be similar (to the town's plan.)" Monks said the town has been informed that a repair project Monk said the corps is likely to repair and pay for the fix. Engineers with the corps are planning a site visit next week, he said.

could be completed before winter. "I do have hope and relative confidence that they're going to perform the repair," he said.

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Wall damaged by Roaring Branch must be repaired

A Lyttelton couple forced out of their home by a dangerous retaining wall more than a year ago are blaming repair delays on "gross negligence" from city rebuild officials.

Robert and Nicola Pearcy have not lived in their Cunningham Tce home since a Christchurch City Council-owned retaining wall gave way in June last year.

The property was zoned green in December, but a section 124 notice prohibiting entry could not be removed because repairs had not been completed.

The couple battled for months to have repairs started despite being told in July last year the work was high priority.

Nicola Pearcy said Fulton Hogan was set to begin repairs three months ago, but the council's "incompetent and slow handling" of easements had prevented the construction.

"Numerous" calls to the council, Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team, Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority and Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee's office proved "futile".

"The continuing message to us is that we have patience. We have had to move our three-year-old [son] three times in the last year," Pearcy said.

"Our house is structurally sound on green-zone land and we have no patience left."

The house was now deteriorating and no effort had been made to protect it from the wall, which was now on a "precarious" lean.

Her anxiety increased last week when she received a message stating the section 124 notice would be removed without the work being completed.

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Council blamed for long-delayed repairs

A Lyttelton couple forced out of their home by a dangerous retaining wall more than a year ago are blaming repair delays on "gross negligence" from city rebuild officials.

Robert and Nicola Pearcy have not lived in their Cunningham Tce home since a Christchurch City Council-owned retaining wall gave way in June last year.

The property was zoned green in December, but a section 124 notice prohibiting entry could not be removed because repairs had not been completed.

The couple battled for months to have repairs started despite being told in July last year the work was high priority.

Nicola Pearcy said Fulton Hogan was set to begin repairs three months ago, but the council's "incompetent and slow handling" of easements had prevented the construction.

"Numerous" calls to the council, Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team, Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority and Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee's office proved "futile".

"The continuing message to us is that we have patience. We have had to move our three-year-old [son] three times in the last year," Pearcy said.

"Our house is structurally sound on green-zone land and we have no patience left."

The house was now deteriorating and no effort had been made to protect it from the wall, which was now on a "precarious" lean.

Her anxiety increased last week when she received a message stating the section 124 notice would be removed without the work being completed.

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Council blamed for repair delays

A scheduled dam inspection Tuesday gave the Regional District of Central Kootenay officials a lucky break when they happened to discover a damaged retaining wall seeping water from a mine tailings pond.

Undetected, it could have spilled toxins into the Salmo River.

It was just part of a regular inspection that happens monthly, said Bill Macpherson of the regional districts emergency operations centre.

They go and look at it, and make sure that its as it should be.

These monthly checkups are voluntary on the part of the regional district, which owns the former HB Mine property and uses it for its central landfill area.

The district is only required to submit an HB dam site inspection report once a year, wrote Jake Jacobs, a Ministry of Energy and Mines spokesman, in an e-mail to The Globe and Mail. Additionally, water-quality test results must be sent to the Ministry of Environment every month, he wrote.

An independent geotechnician conducts the dams more thorough annual inspection, Mr. Macpherson said, and an environmental technologist has been inspecting the site monthly since 2009 while obtaining the required water samples.

If the retaining wall damage had not been detected and the rain continued for two or three more days, the problem could have been much worse, he said.

You quite conceivably could have had complete failure of that structure, he said.

In 2010, a breached dam caused a mudslide in Oliver and devastated orchards, vineyards and some houses. In response, the government launched an investigation. The final report noted mine tailings dams, such as this one, were not monitored by the provinces Dam Safety Program. The author recommended these dams should have licensing and standards approaches consistent with those of structures monitored by the Ministry of Environment.

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Lucky break saves dam in Kootenays from failure and toxic Salmo spill

Car dangles from retaining wall in Yonkers Car dangles from retaining wall in Yonkers

Updated: Friday, July 6 2012 9:27 AM EDT2012-07-06 13:27:11 GMT

A car nearly went overa retaining wall in Yonkers Friday morning. One person was rescued from the vehicle as it dangled fromArgyle Terrace at about 7:30 a.m.

A car nearly went overa retaining wall in Yonkers Friday morning. One person was rescued from the vehicle as it dangled fromArgyle Terrace at about 7:30 a.m. SkyFOXHD was over the scene as a tow truck tried to move the dangling car onto the ground.

Updated: Thursday, July 5 2012 4:47 PM EDT2012-07-05 20:47:17 GMT

An upstate woman was arrested on Wednesday on an animal cruelty charge after authorities found dead and malnourished animals in her home, according to New York State Police.

An upstate woman was arrested on Wednesday on an animal cruelty charge after authorities found dead and malnourished animals in her home, according to New York State Police.

The warnings about the Internet problem have been splashed across Facebook and Google. Internet service providers have sent notices, and the FBI set up a special website.

Despite repeated alerts, tens of thousands of Americans may still lose their Internet service Monday unless they do a quick check of their computers for malware that could have taken over their machines more than a year ago.

Updated: Wednesday, July 4 2012 3:32 PM EDT2012-07-04 19:32:21 GMT

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Car dangles from retaining wall in Yonkers