Harford roadmaster injured by tree

BY PAT FARNELLI

Harford Township Roadmaster Eric Allen suffered a serious leg injury while clearing trees after the recent rainstorm and strong winds on July 31, said supervisors during their meeting Tuesday, Aug. 14.

Allen, along with several township crew members, was cutting and clearing away damaged trees from roadsides, and one “kicked back and planted him into the bank,” according to Supervisor Garry Foltz.

Allen’s left leg was pinned beneath the tree, and both bones were broken. Fortunately, other members of the road team were nearby and were able to call an ambulance.

His leg was surgically repaired with pins, supervisors said, but he will be required to take some time off while it mends and he undergoes physical therapy.

Harford took a beating in the storm, which was classified as a “straight line” rather than a tornado. Stevens Road was “blasted,” with wires down and power out. The old magistrate’s office was hit by a large tree, and its porch was demolished.

Damage to Stevens Road was particularly severe, especially the 300 feet before the flats, where hundreds of trees were knocked down or broken, Foltz said. The Matthews house probably received the most damage in the township.

Jim Phelps, brother of supervisor Doug Phelps, was promoted to full-time employee. Supervisors Garry Foltz and Sue Furney voted in favor of Phelps working full time for the township. Supervisor Phelps abstained from voting.

Foltz praised Jim Phelps for the positive effect he has had on the township’s road projects, saying that his work for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has served him well.

Phelps worked for PennDOT for more than 22 years.

The supervisors contracted with engineer David Klepadlo for  improvements to the municipal sewer plant, including a new control panel, waste gate valves, blower units, and miscellaneous other improvements, all of which are necessary for continued operation.

Since then, Klepadlo submitted several bills to be paid: one for $2,000 and another for $13,387. Foltz objected to paying the entire second bill up front, before any work has been completed.

“Some of this should be retained until service has been rendered,” Foltz said. “It’s normal business procedure.”

“He does not have any money out of his pocket for materials, we are providing those,” Foltz said. “This bill would have us paying him for he total project and overseeing when the job hasn’t started yet.”

Furney disagreed, saying that  Klepadlo has done work for the township for more than 20 years.

“I’m sure he will oversee the project, because his name will be stamped on it,” she said.

Foltz made a motion to pay $10,000 up front and hold the balance. The motion to pay the bill list was approved with the revision to pay $10,000 instead of $13,387 to Klepadlo,  with the remainder to be paid when the project is completed.

Foltz and Phelps voted yes, and Furney no. The motion passed.

Several of the new E-1 pumps recently purchased for the sewer plant have been installed, and three or four are at Greenfield’s,    to be refurbished, if possible.

The supervisors were anxious to ensure that the available pumps could handle the increased workload of Harford Fair week.

The supervisors may order additional pumps after the sewer loan comes in. Phelps said that since there are sewer customer bills outstanding, he did not recommend ordering new pumps at this time.

Bids were opened for R4 stone and for calcium for dust control on the roads. The low bidder for the R4 stone was Eastern Industries of Clifford at $11.50 per ton delivered to site, or $11.90 per ton delivered as directed. SuitKote Corporation of Hallstead had the low bid for calcium at $1.15 per gallon, which the supervisors noted was lower than previous years estimates.

Several representatives of Bluestone Gathering  attended the meeting to discuss the natural gas pipelines that will soon be being constructed through part of the township. Maps and other documents were shared with the supervisors. The gathering lines will connect Southwestern Energy wells to the Bluestone pipeline.

Tree clearing will begin in the next week, said Karin Weaver of Bluestone.

The supervisors also discussed the Williams pipeline proposed for Stockinger Road, as well as a section of the Constitution pipeline proposed for Houlihan Road. No permits have been received yet from the Williams projects, supervisors said.

The tumble-down barn that has frequently been mentioned at township meetings has been razed, and only a concrete slab remains that is unlikely to crumble into the road.

Foltz said that he wants to know why the township has not been receiving the grindings resulting from the I-81 repairs. Out of hundreds of loads of milled highway material, the township has only received about eight truckloads, he said.

“We will take every ounce we can get,” Foltz said. “That would help now with dust control on high traffic roads.”

The Harford Township building will be closed for the week of the fair.

Supervisors meet on the second Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m.