Skylight Disaster Maims Three + Other Window Cleaning News

A window washer works with his shadow recently on the new Simmons law firm located in the former Jefferson Smurfit headquarters building in Alton. The building was gutted and completely rehabbed including the replacement of its hundreds of windows, making plenty of work for the window washer now that all of the panes are installed.

Firm fined after three men fall through skylights in same industrial unit in less than a month: A landlord was fined £5,000 after three workers fell through skylights at the same industrial unit on separate occasions – leaving one of them paralysed. The first man was a caretaker who fell through a window while cleaning it, breaking several ribs and suffering bruising. A second worker, at the Bizspace-owned industrial unit in Warrington, was sent up to the skylight to take photos of the scene – but fell through a different window. Luckily he landed feet first and was uninjured. Then a 62-year-old man who was sent to repair the skylights also tumbled out. He fell four metres and is now paralysed from the waist down.
Both Bizspace and Massey Roofing and Building Contractors, who employed the third man, pleaded guilty to putting workers’ lives at risk after the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted them. London-based Bizspace, which rents out business premises, was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay £9,000 costs at a court hearing. Anthony Massey, 67, from Bury and trading as Massey Roofing and Building Contractors, was given a conditional discharge because he has been declared bankrupt. It means he won’t be fined as long as he doesn’t re-offend within a year.
The first man fell on March 20, 2007, at Bizspace’s unit on Craven Court industrial estate in Warrington. The last fall was on April 10, 2007. A spokesman for Bizspace said: “The conviction of Bizspace only related to the falls of their two employees, not that of the specialist roofing contractor, which was clearly the most serious. “Judge Hales accepted neither employee was instructed by the company to go onto the roof and indeed, that there was no necessity for them to be there. This was reflected in the low level of fine.”

Local cleaning company handles unexpected situations: Socorro Janitorial Services handles about 110 commercial and residential jobs per week, and the company's vans and trucks are seen all over town and the surrounding area. Normally, the service's six employees clean homes, offices and restaurants, doing everything from window washing to floor care, with a little seasonal chimney sweeping and the occasional job clearing up construction sites.

Occasionally, however, they're called on to discretely perform a more sensitive service. Socorro police estimate they handle about 20 to 30 unattended deaths per year. Sometimes the deaths are quiet, and the deceased are discovered and removed right away. Sometimes, however, they're not. In some situations, expert handling of the aftermath of a messy death is called for, and that's where Socorro Janitorial comes in. "It's a sensitive subject," said Tony Tellez, the company's owner. "Depending on how severe it is, we're not licensed to do some kinds of things." For example, he said, some situations require more training and specialized handling. "We don't handle people or parts," he said. Typically, his company doesn't deal with the aftermath of violent crime, either. "The only ones we've dealt with are suicide or natural cause of death," Tellez said. "No homicides." Read more here..

The U.S. Secret Service first began investigating Todd Denson in 2006. The man later confessed he misappropriated nearly $80,000 from several residents of Cumberland County, where Denson used to live and own a window-washing business based in Westbrook. In order to attract investors, Denson fabricated stories about how he had made millions designing window-washing equipment or how he stood to inherit millions from his long-lost father. In most instances, Denson was able to document his alleged wealth. In one case, he played a phone message to a potential investor from an overseas bank that confirmed his wealth, witness testimony revealed. In another, Denson told Secret Service agents that he traveled overseas and physically saw the money. Three victims testified at his trial last year that Denson persuaded them to give him money with the promise that he would pay them back more than what they gave.

U.S. District Court Judge George Singal had hoped never to see Todd Denson again when the federal jurist in June 2007 sentenced the Stockton Springs man to 18 months in prison for mail and wire fraud. Denson, 50, was back before Singal on Friday to be sentenced for again soliciting money to send overseas in an international scam. A jury convicted him in September of 13 counts of wire fraud — the second time in four years that he was implicated in such a scheme. Denson spent 14 months in federal prison in 2007 and 2008 after he pleaded guilty to seven counts of mail and wire fraud in U.S. District Court in Portland. Singal on Friday sentenced Denson to 45 months — 30 months for the new wire fraud charges and 15 months for violating his supervised release on the previous case, which adds up to nearly four years in federal prison.

“I’m not sure the defendant today understands the harm he has done to other individuals,” the judge said Friday. “Mr. Denson, you are a person totally committed to your benefit.” The judge again sentenced Denson to serve three years of supervised release with strict conditions after he completes his prison term. One condition would prevent Denson from sending money out of the country. In addition, the judge ordered Denson to pay more than $26,000 in restitution on the current case and the $54,000 still owed from the earlier case. So far, Singal said, Denson has paid none of the restitution owed to the four victims he admitted scamming in 2006. Original blog story here.

Passing of David Trager: One of his daughters told of reading the judge's own eulogy of his father, who arrived in America as an immigrant from Europe knowing no English and hardly any other people. He eventually found work as a window washer. The immigrant window-washer's son made his way to Columbia and then Harvard Law School and then the federal bench, finding time along the way to make a lot of friends and admirers, if the huge and racially diverse crowd on a snowy morning at the funeral was any indication. I didn't, alas, know Judge Trager very well (his wife wrote for me at the New York Sun a bit), and the context in which I did know him was not his courtroom. But I always appreciated the encouragement he provided. For me, the remembrances of him this morning illuminated both the social mobility and the commitment to modest, impartial rule of law that are such important parts of both why people like the judge's father want to come to America in the first place, and why their descendants are proud to make it their home.

Mam's agony as son's killer jailed for death crash: One moment of madness cost him his life and left his family with a lifetime of heartache. Tragic teenager Conor Barton had never been interested in motorbikes before a pal persuaded him to become a pillion passenger on a 100mph death-ride. His heartbroken mam (pictured)  believes in that split-second decision, her treasured boy caved in to peer pressure from his older friend and climbed on the stolen machine without a helmet. It was a decision that would end up with him losing his young life as he was catapulted to his death. Today as joyrider Ryan Luscombe begins a four-year, eight-month jail sentence for causing the smash, Conor’s mam Heather Jukes has spoken of the agony of losing her only son. And the devastated 39-year-old has urged other youngsters to think before making the same fatal decision Conor did.

And one evening in August 2009, Luscombe called at the house where the teen lived with his grandmother, Joyce, asking him to come out. The window cleaner later persuaded his pal to join him on a joyride on a Suzuki 1100 he had helped steal from a customer. With Conor riding pillion without a helmet, Luscombe sped down a stretch of the A1 near the Team Valley, Gateshead, that was partially closed as repair work was carried out. Riding at “breakneck speed” southbound towards the roadworks where cones were filing traffic into a single lane, he sped past one lorry at an estimated 100mph and weaved from side to side trying to pass another, Newcastle Crown Court heard. And when he ignored the clear “Road Closed” signs, planning to use the slip road to jump slow-moving traffic, disaster struck. Conor was catapulted to his death when the bike careered into a parked dumper truck.

Maid American Style Opens New Office in Manassas & Offers Cleaning Packages Designed for Pregnant Woman & New Mothers. The excitement of a new baby is awesome and a blessing to all, however trying to maintain the house, kids, and work can be quite exhausting! Not to mention getting use to the newborns schedule during the first 3 months of life. It is for this reason that Maid American Style has established residential cleaning packages to assist pregnant women and new mothers with the daunting tasks of house cleaning chores.

Maid American Style is a Virginia based residential house cleaning and commercial office cleaning company that has expanded their coverage area to include residents and business customers in Washington, D.C., Adams Morgan, DuPont Circle, Georgetown, Annandale, Reston, Fairfax, Alexandria, Bristow, Arlington, Fort Belvoir, McLean, Vienna, Alexandria, Burke, Manassas, Woodbridge and the entire Washington, D.C. metro area. The company just announced the opening of their corporate office in Manassas, Virginia on January 10, 2010. The company offers green cleaning services and uses certified green cleaning products which are safe for everyone including infants and pets.

At least twice more over the festive period, birds clattered into windows. Only glancing blows, such that the birds survived and flew on, but it raised the question of whether this happens more in winter than in other seasons. And is it more likely with larger birds? The two other fatal instances that I can recall, one from last winter, the other from the 1980s, involved a thrush and a sparrowhawk.

“It’s certainly a problem we have experienced at Waterston House,” said Kathryn Cox of the Scottish Ornithologists’ Club. (Waterston House in Aberlady is the SOC head office.) “The green garden is reflected in the large windows, making the glass effectively invisible to birds. It seems to be less of a problem at the back of the building where there is a pond and less greenery. I have also experienced it at home where I have French doors and a window on opposite walls, and the birds seem to think they can fly through the building rather than over it.”

As to how best prevent such incidents, Cox offered several ideas. “We have reduced the problem greatly at Waterston House by moving our feeders away from the windows, not cleaning the windows so often in summer (so they’re not so reflective), and we have also put up lots of bird silhouette stickers to try and make them aware that there is a solid surface there. Despite this, we still had a swallow stun itself in the summer, but it recovered and flew away.

FALSE ALARM: An Avon officer was flagged down by a juvenile on May 13, who said that there was a man wearing a mask inside the First Federal Savings of Lorain Bank. Police waited outside for the suspect to emerge. However, when he came out, it was discovered the man was cleaning the bank and was wearing a ski mask because of his asthma.

Guy Greco, the Fastest Squeegee & Dustmasks

A window washer at the 63 Building in Yeouido wears a mask and a towel to protect his lungs from the yellow dust that hits Korea every year. The yellow dust originates in the Gobi Desert, which covers Mongolia and parts of northern China. South Korea regularly plants trees in these areas to slow the dust’s drift into South Korean skies.

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Stefan is UK's Fastest Window Cleaner: SPEEDY window cleaner Stefan Tinkler (pictured right) outshone all his rivals when he cleaned up in a national competition. Mr Tinkler (37), whose business is based in Woodston, Peterborough, has just won the title of UK's Fastest Window Cleaner after a tough battle against 60 other window cleaners from across the country. The city man, who has been putting the shine on windows at hundreds of homes and businesses across Peterborough for 25 years, has won the title for the second year running. During a tough contest at the NEC, in Birmingham, Mr Tinkler cleaned up three panes of glass measuring 45ins by 45ins in a stunning time of 15 seconds and so knocking two seconds of his winning time last year. And Mr Tinkler, who runs Allclear Without a Smear and has even built his own training window to practise for competitions, says the secret of his success is to use two hands. He said: "The trick is to apply the wash with one hand and then quickly take it off with the 'blade' with the other hand." He added: "It give me a good buzz to win the title again. "And I always mention it when I am out calling for new business." And it was a double celebration for Mr Tinkler's firm, as his business partner, Peter Rootham (pictured left), came second in the contest. But Mr Tinkler is not content with simply being UK champion, as he is aiming to break the world record. In 2008, he was disappointed when an international event, due to be held in Amsterdam, was cancelled. This year, he has his sights set on attempting to break the world's best time at a Window Federation show in Blackpool in October. "It gives me six months to practise on my practice windows," said Mr Tinkler.
The current world record is held by Terry "Turbo" Burrows, who set his impressive time of 9.24 seconds in England in 2005. Time penalties are deducted for any water marks left on the glass, and contestants are limited to a maximum squeegee size of 12ins. Mr Tinkler, who cleans the windows of 400 homes and businesses in Peterborough, says he has washed windows all over the city, since he started at the tender age of 13 helping his grandad on his round. You may remember Stefan from previous blogs.
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Rising to the challenge after a life-changing fall: Levittown - Coming home is a happy, albeit challenging, phase for a Hilltown man who was paralyzed following a 28-foot plunge from a ladder. Guy Greco returned home about a month and a half ago, but in many ways it's like he entered a new world. The Hilltown man survived a 28-foot fall late last year, but the accident left him permanently paralyzed from the chest down. Greco crushed several vertebrae and severed his spinal cord after tumbling from an extension ladder where he was power washing a window. He spent months in hospitals and rehabilitation centers, where doctors fused several of his vertebrae and inserted titanium rods into his back for stability. Physical therapists taught him how to maneuver in a wheelchair and worked with him to strengthen his arm and shoulder muscles.
On Jan. 28, the former UPS driver was released from Magee Rehabilitation in Center City Philadelphia. "You're going into the unknown," Greco said of his homecoming. He must relearn the most basic of tasks: getting out of bed in the morning, getting dressed, going to the bathroom, taking a shower. He goes to outpatient therapy three times a week to help him improve his balance, conditioning and strength. "Things that took you five minutes before, take you 40 minutes," said Greco, adding that his daily routine is comparable to "a work day." "You really take for granted a lot of stuff, just normal, everyday stuff," he said. Before the accident, "I was pretty handy around the house. It's very frustrating." His goal, however, is to regain his independence, a goal that he and his family see as difficult, but attainable. "I know him. I know he's going to drive. I know he'll get himself some kind of job," said his wife, Sue. "He's not one to sit and be waited on." But the past few weeks have been more about making the transition from hospital to home.
"At the hospital, if you need something, there's always someone there," Guy said. Though his wife and three daughters are around to help in the mornings and evenings, during the day he is on his own. At night, he has to set an alarm to go off at regular intervals and shift his body to keep from getting bedsores. He also has to be careful not to fall when he's getting into or out of his chair. That happened once at Magee, and Guy was rushed back to the hospital to make sure the titanium rods in his back hadn't been bent. There are a lot of things to worry about, not the least of which are the medical bills that will continue to pile up. The Grecos have a $1 million lifetime cap on their health insurance, but says Guy: "We hit that cap pretty fast."
One thing they didn't have to worry about was where Guy would sleep when he came home.
A $30,000 renovation transformed the Grecos' living room into a bedroom and handicapped-accessible bathroom for Guy. Contractors also have been installing a wheelchair ramp and path leading from their front door. The Grecos will be paying a portion of those costs, but much of the work was donated by the builders."This whole thing is a godsend," Sue said.
And the community support that started after Guy was flown to Temple University Hospital last year has not yet abated. People call every day asking how they can help, the Grecos said. Others have left warm messages of encouragement on the guestbook of a Web site set up for Guy. Friends still bring the family dinner twice a week. Fundraisers are still being planned and organized. "It gives you a good feeling," Sue said. "That's what helped us get through a lot of it, friends and family." Recent decisions on a national scale have also brought the family hope: President Obama lifted restrictions on stem cell research last week. "I'm looking forward to all the stem cell research that's going to happen," Guy said. Theresa Hegel can be reached on the web & at 215-538-6381 or thegel@phillyBurbs.com.
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