A.M. Executive Briefing - Oct. 11
This Morning's Headlines:
ul>
Truckers Vote to Continue Protes
Despite an injunction against the protest, 98 percent of roughly 500 truck drivers in Quebec voted to keep their protest going. The protest, which has involved blocking traffic around the province, regards high fuel costs and the inability of independents to unionize. London (Ontario) Free Press (10/11/99) P. A6Trucker Lauded for 401 Heroics
After noticing a black Jeep swerving on Highway 401 in Ontario Sunday, Pyrofax International trucker Ron Brewer used his rig to hold up other cars and keep them out of the way of the Jeep for nearly an hour as he called police on his cellular phone. When an Ontario Provincial Police cruiser pulled up alongside Brewer's truck and hit the emergency lights, the Jeep went into the grass median and rolled over, causing grave injury to the Jeep's driver.
Because an investigation by the Special Investigations Unit is going on, the OPP would not say anything about Brewer's actions. London (Ontario) Free Press (10/11/99) P. A1; Beaubien, Roxanne
Truck Driver Called a Hero After Risky Rescue
Spokesman Steve McCausland of the Maine State Police said 24-year-old Nova Scotia trucker Clayton McDonald "is the hero in this event" after he put on gloves and pulled Lynn Wiley out of a flaming wreck on I-95. Wiley's Volkswagen Jetta went under McDonald's truck and was pulled along for about 300 yards after she reached for something inside the car, police say.McDonald is a two-year employee of JP MacInnis Trucking.
The highway was jammed up as the cleanup lasted for hours. Foster's Daily Democrat (Dover, N.H.) Online (10/10/99) ; Saunders, Jennifer L.
Trucking Company Owner Admits His Drivers Were on Road Too Long
Dave Kistler and Grandson Inc. owner David Kistler Delong, 30, could get up to 50 years in prison and be fined $2.5 million after pleading guilty Friday that he let drivers for the Lynn Township, Pa., trucking firm exceed maximum hours of service and advocated lying in logbooks about it.The trucking firm became the focus of authorities because its safety record was the worst in the state.
Seth Weber, a prosecutor, says Delong can continue to operate the company but could have bail taken away or altered sentencing if he breaks any more rules.
Weber says it is likely that federal charges for breaking hours of service rules will become more common.
After the original indictment of Delong, his mother, and a onetime dispatcher in March, the Federal Highway Administration said the company had to stop interstate trucking, but that was vacated in April by an administrative law judge.
Delong's mother and the company itself also entered guilty pleas Friday.Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.) Online (10/09/99) ; Devlin, Frank
Doubts About NationsWay Paychecks
While secured creditor Foothill Capital Corp. would give $18.2 million to finance the liquidation of NationsWay Transport in a proposal that will likely be filed in federal bankruptcy court, officials for the Teamsters union do not think the plan will work out.The plan earmarks $2 million toward paying employees owed money by the firm. NationsWay lawyer Don Gaffney says objections to the plan are probable, and court approval is not certain.
Teamsters Local 961 President Don Whetstine says NationsWay is already nearly liquidated after auctions and asks, "If somebody's declared bankruptcy, why would a bank loan them $18 million? The employees will get paid--if they can borrow the money?"
Gaffney says it is not certain how much money owed to the employees would be paid under the plan. There is still a lawsuit filed for the workers against five company officers; lawyer Evan Lipstein says that by Colorado law officers of a company in bankruptcy need to pay money owed to workers. Denver Rocky Mountain News (10/09/99) P. 1B; Williamson, Richard
© copyright 1999 INFORMATION, INC. Terms of Service
