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Narrows construction continues under cover Bridge builders rely on ...
The South Sound's wet, windy weather is forcing engineers to get creative in their efforts to wrap the giant suspension cables that support the new Tacoma Narrows bridge. The two cables, each more than a mile long and 20.5 inches in diameter, need to be coated with a gluey zinc-based paste, then tightly wrapped in 948 miles of fine wire to protect them from corrosion, and then covered with three coats of rubberized paint. But before the protective coatings can be applied, the surface of the cables must be dry, a condition that wouldn't occur naturally in these parts for months. Tacoma Narrows Constructors can't wait that long, and over the past two weeks, its engineers have been experimenting with a variety of tents, plastic wraps, heaters and compressed air blowers to dry the cables enough to proceed with wrapping.
Campers kicked out
Two WSU juniors sat warm inside a tent next to Beasley Coliseum as snow fell Tuesday afternoon. Chase Earling and Casey Vansickle rested on sleeping bags. Their small space heater hummed. An extension cord snaked out the zipper door past the entrance into the coliseum to a power outlet. A television and Xbox 360 were on the way. We were probably going to play that all night, Vansickle said. The two students were waiting out their shift among the eight friends who planned to camp outside Beasley for three days to get the best seats for the mens basketball game against UCLA on Thursday. They set camp at about 8 p.m. Monday, Vansickle said. They got their first warning at about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday. Then another at 3:15 p.m. A coliseum staff member walked out and shouted through the tent that they had to move or the police would order them away.
Lafayette County Health Dept. asks residents to monitor CO
DARLINGTON -- Nine people were taken to the hospital after becoming ill at a theater. A camper was found dead in his trailer. A couple were forced to leave their new home due to illness after only one month living there. Each of these cases was caused by carbon monoxide -- a colorless, odorless, tasteless and potentially lethal gas. Every year, hundreds of people in the United States are killed by carbon monoxide and thousands more become ill. Home and portable carbon monoxide detectors and regular furnace inspections could prevent many of these accidents. Carbon monoxide, or CO, is created when fuels such as gasoline, kerosene, wood, coal, oil, natural gas and charcoal, do not have enough oxygen to burn completely. When you breathe in CO, it replaces the oxygen in your blood.
Free films
"THE SPACE CHILDREN" Children of scientists are taken over by an alien presence and sabotage their parents' nuclear tests. 2 p.m. Sunday, Kemper Museum. "THE VIRGIN SUICIDES" Sofia Coppola made her directing debut with this look at a family rocked by the suicides of its three beautiful daughters. 6:30 p.m. Monday, Helzberg Auditorium, Kansas City Central Library. "INSIDE IRAQ: THE UNTOLD STORY" Mike Shiley faked press credentials to make this documentary about the war in Iraq. 7 p.m. Monday, Whitfield Conference Room, Avila University "KAMP KATRINA" Woman's backyard becomes a tent city for Katrina survivors. 7 p.m. Tuesday, All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church. "COMA" An operating room produces comatose patients. 7 p.m., Wednesday, Mabee Theater, Rockhurst University.
Risky business
Every day, hazardous material is moved through the Flathead Valley. And every day, the hazmat team is ready to bat cleanup. By JIM MANNThe Daily Inter Lake It doesn't roll into action often, but it's there, cached in the downtown Kalispell fire station and filled with a surprising amount of equipment for cleaning up hazardous materials.Most people aren't aware of the big red "hazmat" trailer and the heavy-duty truck that hauls it, just as most people don't ponder the sheer volume of hazardous materials moving through the Flathead Valley. But the truck and the trailer are ready, every day, just as hazardous materials are out there, every day.
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