Sunday, December 11, 2016

Is this one of those situations that R.T. considers as minutiae? UPDATED 3X

Construction worker shocked outside Mt. Lebanon High School  Do we deserve the truth or will this construction worker's electrocution be covered up too?
Begin forwarded message:

From: "Mr. Brian R. McFeeley, Principal-Mt. Lebanon HS" <noreply@mtlsd.net>
Subject: Mt. Lebanon High School CLOSED on Monday, December 12
Date: December 11, 2016 at 4:54:51 PM EST
To:
Reply-To: "Mr. Brian R. McFeeley, Principal-Mt. Lebanon HS" <noreply@mtlsd.net>

Dear Parents and Students:

Mt. Lebanon High School will be CLOSED for all students and staff on Monday, December 12, due to a power outage. Please note that all other district schools will be OPEN as normal.

A decision regarding the status of afterschool activities for Monday, December 12, will be made during the day on Monday. Please check the district website and your email for updates regarding afterschool activities.

Sincerely,

Brian R. McFeeley

Principal 
Comment from Appellate court says Mt. Lebanon deer cull participants can remain private:
Rand Tobias 1 day ago, Post-Gazette
Ms. Gillen,
You have many admirable qualities. You are relentless! You are passionate! If I ran a nonprofit I would hire you in an instant. And although you may want to highlight your civic minded altruism to the readers here, I would encourage you to take a dispassionate look at your own words over the past several years on your blog. Your tone is divisive, you encourage name calling, and I would argue that you while you call a lot of attention to yourself and your causes, you effect little change. And I believe this is because much of what you and your readers contribute to the public conversation is mean spirited. As far as the pg not covering the minutiae of Mt. Lebanon civic life, we are not the center of the universe. Please, reflect on your part in the divisiveness you are highlighting. It isn't healthy. You could do a tremendous amount of good if you redirected more of your energies to a worthier cause than the real time critiques of small town leaders who, whether you believe it are not, are not part of some big cabal to torture animals. Sometimes the universe tells us we are on the wrong track; Hopefully this court decision provides you with similar insight. Best regards and happy holidays!

Sorry, still learning what is to be covered up and to which worthier causes I am to redirect my energies, Rand Tobias.

Update December 12, 2016 8:07 AM Electrical accident injures worker, cancels Monday classes at Mt. Lebanon High

Update December 12, 2016 6:20 PM 

From: "Mr. Brian R. McFeeley - Principal, Mt. Lebanon HS" <noreply@mtlsd.net>
Subject: Update: High School in Session on Tuesday, December 13
Date: December 12, 2016 at 3:54:52 PM EST
To: 
Reply-To: "Mr. Brian R. McFeeley - Principal, Mt. Lebanon HS" <noreply@mtlsd.net>

Dear Parents and Students:

Power has been restored to Mt. Lebanon High School. The high school will be in session on Tuesday, December 13, at the regularly scheduled time.

All evening activities scheduled for this evening, December 12, will take place as scheduled.

Related to the power outage yesterday, a construction worker was injured while working on the site. Although we do not have any official word yet, we do not believe his injuries were life threatening. We wish the injured worker a speedy recovery.

Sincerely,

Brian R. McFeeley

Principal

Update December 12, 2016 10:47 PM Construction worker burned in electrical accident at Mt. Lebanon High School

17 comments:

Unknown said...

That's a strange juxtaposition.

If the universe sometimes tells us we are on the wrong track, what does the construction worker's electrocution at the high school tell us?

Anonymous said...

They say that 23,000 volts of electricity goes through the line that was hit. By comparison, the electric chair is 2000 volts. What happened to call before you dig?

Lebo Citizens said...

I hope the construction worker is OK. I also wonder why there was a construction crew at the high school on a Sunday morning. That is against Mt. Lebanon's building code.
"§301 All public and private exterior construction demolition and grading work shall be
performed between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday,
unless the Permittee obtains written consent from the Manager or his/her agent to do the
work at an earlier or later hour. Such permission shall be granted only in the case of an
Emergency or in the event the work authorized by the permit is to be performed in trafficcongested
areas."
Elaine

Anonymous said...

I had the same thought, Elaine. They were there working on Saturday, too, but I guess that's Ok according to code.

I have to say that I think it is wrong that they did not share the fact that a construction worker was seriously injured. Whether people are religious or not, it would be respectful to keep the construction worker, his/her colleagues, and the first responders in our thoughts (and prayers for many). It seems callous to me that they are calling this an "incident".

http://blog.mtlsd.org/ViewPost.asp?I=32221&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

Anonymous said...

Workplace accidents are a horrible thing. As an engineer I was involved in two serious events. Those of us who work these jobs and manage them try our hardest to make sure no one gets hurt. I always ended my morning crew brief with the words “stay safe” and safety was always the primary consideration for any job. Accidents happen and those who work these jobs understand this and do everything in their power, every day, to try to make sure everyone goes home healthy at the end of the day. I pray for this worker and his family.

Addressing a couple of these comments, it’s most likely that the high school site is still considered a complex project according to the One Call regulations as I recall them as contractors are still working on the project. As a result not every excavation is subject to an individual One Call as long as the site has been previously marked and there is no belief that the markings have been removed or are incorrect. I can not speak for what procedures the contractor has in place to monitor the markings. A point for the OSHA investigation which I'm sure will occur.

As for the Sunday construction and the building code, while I don’t know if the contractor had permission for the Sunday work but I would consider the high school site a “traffic congested area” so it’s quite possible the work was permitted. Another question to ask is does the contractor have a standing permit for Sunday work as a part of the project or was permission granted. A valid question that should be answered by the district or contractor.

This is not to imply that the district is perfect. No one is. I’m sure we can all agree on that. But let’s not jump to the conclusion that a One Call was never done or that the timing of the work was unauthorized. This accident will be investigated by independent parties including OSHA and the insurance companies. Let them do their work. Since there is enough trouble trying to separate fact from fiction in our current political environment let’s not add to it. Let's wait for the investigative parties to do their work.

Lebo Citizens said...

I wonder if Mt. Lebanon will bring in generators, as they did in 2013 - twice. I haven't been able to get the date of the first occurrence yet. There was a second power failure on July 26, 2013 when there was a break in the main electrical power line during construction.
Generators at the high school...again UPDATED 2x

Then president Elaine Cappucci wrote, "During excavation on Horsman Drive a power line which was not indicated on the plans or by the PA One Call system was hit. Nobody was hurt and power has been restored."

I remember hearing that the contractors were frustrated that the power lines were not where they were supposed to be. I am betting this is what happened again.

Any word on the injured worker? This is just horrible.
Elaine



Lebo Citizens said...

I found it. August 13, 2012. High School Renovation Continues despite Power Outage
"The electrical line didn't appear on drawings and maps, but it was something crews had been looking for."
Mt. Lebanon was reimbursed by our insurance company. Insurer to reimburse Mt. Lebanon after contractor hit electrical line
Insurer to reimburse Mt. Lebanon after contractor hit electrical line
Elaine

Unknown said...

To be clear, I also wish the best for the injured worker.

But the idea that 'when bad things happen, you should take it as a cue from the universe to change course' is what people say to be condescending when things go their way--and it is the last thing people think about what things don't go their way.

Anonymous said...

Will the email from Principal McFeeley, which mentions the worker and his current conditions, be mentioned on this blog?

Lebo Citizens said...

4:57 PM, I don't have any children in the school district. If an email has been issued, would you mind forwarding a copy to me? I will share it here. Thanks.
Elaine

Anonymous said...

Dear Parents and Students:

Power has been restored to Mt. Lebanon High School. The high school will be in session on Tuesday, December 13, at the regularly scheduled time.

All evening activities scheduled for this evening, December 12, will take place as scheduled.

Related to the power outage yesterday, a construction worker was injured while working on the site. Although we do not have any official word yet, we do not believe his injuries were life threatening. We wish the injured worker a speedy recovery.

Sincerely,

Brian R. McFeeley

Principal

Lebo Citizens said...

Someone was nice enough to share the email from the high school principal. I posted it in my 6:20 PM update.
Also, thank you, 5:42 PM.
Elaine

Anonymous said...

An arc flash incident is extremely serious: http://www.lni.wa.gov/safety/research/files/arcflashhazardreport.pdf

The American Society of Safety Engineers says... "Schools have a unique relationship with those who build them. The work environment is one where workers often are from the community; they are fathers, mothers, uncles or brothers of the school’s students and faculty. All project stakeholders must be aware that an injury to any worker on a school site affects the community deeply".

Anonymous said...

Please keep my husband in your prayers.

Lebo Citizens said...

Definitely. I am so sorry that this happened to him.
Elaine

Anonymous said...

I am very sorry to hear about this unfortunate incident. I had no idea that a person was injured.

Could it be that the recurring problems are a result of the electrical extension cord that the high school runs and connects to the municipal building?

Lena

Anonymous said...

Wonder how the construction worker is doing....