Backhoe

A backhoe operator working near Annapolis Elementary School made a macabre discovery in the Colonial capital: a human skeleton in a small burial site that likely dates back to the 18th century. The construction crew was building a 120-foot-long retaining wall near the school on Green Street on Monday afternoon when the worker unearthed what appeared to be a human leg bone and other bone fragments. Police shut the site down and the medical examiner's office removed the remains, determining later that they were at least 50 years old. Anne Arundel County archaeologist Al Luckenbach said they're a lot older than that.

A backhoe lodged in a toll plaza lane on northbound Interstate 95 at the Fort McHenry Tunnel Thursday afternoon was removed shortly after it arrived, officials said. The backhoe, which was considered an oversized load, was dislodged from lane No. 3 at the toll plaza by removing a barrier, said Sgt. Jonathan Green, a spokesman for the Maryland Transportation Authority Police. Green said the driver had a permit to transport an oversized load but apparently violated its instructions in multiple ways.

An overturned pickup truck was one of six vehicles smashed together or tipped over at a Bel Air car dealership last week after someone gained access to a backhoe being used in nearby construction. A patrol officer noticed a truck on its side early Tuesday at Schaeffer & Strohminger Dodge during a routine patrol. Upon further investigation, the officer discovered five other 2006 Dodge pickups with damage, according to police. Employees said other equipment had been moved as well. "We found it to be completely bizarre," said Joe Jankowski, chief executive officer of Schaeffer & Strohminger.

I n recent weeks, we've had more than enough severe winter storms, as well as quality time with our families. As a result, some of us have developed the quirky behaviors of the long-snowbound. Let us examine the warning signs of this irrational state, a result of the progressive whiting-out of reality. The first things to go are your housecleaning and child-rearing standards. The disarray outdoors is mirrored indoors, and you might be prone to inappropriate outbursts. Just the other day, surveying our dreary kitchen landscape of damp snow pants strewn over chairs and slushy boots drying on muddy towels, I shouted: "Why can't you people just stay inside and spend more time surfing the Internet and texting your friends?"

A Bel Air, Harford County, man died of injuries late last night after being run over by a backhoe while doing repair work on the driveway of his home, said the state police at the Benson barrack.Police said the victim, Joseph M. Brooks, 63, of the 2100 block of Kalmia Drive, an employee of the Dixie construction company in Churchville, Harford County, and two friends were working on Mr. Brooks' dimly lighted driveway shortly after 10 p.m. when one of the men parked the company-owned Case backhoe on a slight down-grade on the nearly 400 foot curving driveway.

A 45-year-old Westminster man, who was pinned between the boom of a backhoe and a tow truck on Tuesday, was released from the Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore yesterday, a hospital spokeswoman said.Harry S. Yingling Jr., of the 300 block of Bachmans Valley Road, was flown to Shock Trauma by state police helicopter after the 4 p.m. accident.Troopers said Mr. Yingling sustained possible chest and internal injuries. The accident occurred after a hydraulic fluid line of the backhoe ruptured while the equipment was being loaded on a tow truck operated by Mr. Yingling in the 1800 block of Deer Park Road.

A District of Columbia man was pinned under a backhoe for almost two hours yesterday as search and rescue officials worked feverishly to extricate him from an 8-foot-deep trench, Anne Arundel County fire officials said. The 45-year-old man -- an employee of the District of Columbia Department of Public Works -- was digging the trench at the Oak Hill Detention Center near Laurel when his backhoe fell in and he was thrown out of the equipment. He was working on an underground steam pipe next to the cafeteria at the District's prison for juvenile offenders.

A backhoe lodged in a toll plaza lane on northbound Interstate 95 at the Fort McHenry Tunnel Thursday afternoon was removed shortly after it arrived, officials said. The backhoe, which was considered an oversized load, was dislodged from lane No. 3 at the toll plaza by removing a barrier, said Sgt. Jonathan Green, a spokesman for the Maryland Transportation Authority Police. Green said the driver had a permit to transport an oversized load but apparently violated its instructions in multiple ways.

Yesterday, as Baltimore's campaign to make its narrow side streets passable finally began in earnest, homely diggers and dozers became as important as the familiar snowplow.Three days after the first flakes fell, the drifts still were high in neighborhoods, with cars nestled inside them like slumbering bears. Enter the backhoe, a buglike, 2-ton contraption with a bucket in front to scoop the drifts away -- 4 cubic yards at a time -- and monstrous back wheels that can pack snow nearly to the pavement in one pass.

Manchester gets one bid, delays backhoe actionThe Manchester Town Council opened the only bid it received for its planned purchase of a backhoe at Wednesday night's council meeting but delayed a decision on the purchase in order to allow time for some comparison shopping.The Milton James Co. of Baltimore, bid $44,951 for a John Deere 310-D loader backhoe. The bid also offered the town an $8,500 trade-in, for a total bid package of $36,451.Town Manager Terry Short said the offer was within the $42,000 budgeted for the purpose.

A backhoe operator working near Annapolis Elementary School made a macabre discovery in the Colonial capital: a human skeleton in a small burial site that likely dates back to the 18th century. The construction crew was building a 120-foot-long retaining wall near the school on Green Street on Monday afternoon when the worker unearthed what appeared to be a human leg bone and other bone fragments. Police shut the site down and the medical examiner's office removed the remains, determining later that they were at least 50 years old. Anne Arundel County archaeologist Al Luckenbach said they're a lot older than that.

An overturned pickup truck was one of six vehicles smashed together or tipped over at a Bel Air car dealership last week after someone gained access to a backhoe being used in nearby construction. A patrol officer noticed a truck on its side early Tuesday at Schaeffer & Strohminger Dodge during a routine patrol. Upon further investigation, the officer discovered five other 2006 Dodge pickups with damage, according to police. Employees said other equipment had been moved as well. "We found it to be completely bizarre," said Joe Jankowski, chief executive officer of Schaeffer & Strohminger.

ANNAPOLIS - A decomposed body was found Saturday afternoon by a backhoe operator working in the first block of Old Mill Bottom Road in Arnold, just off U.S. 50, Anne Arundel County police said yesterday. The body, discovered about 2:30 p.m. near Shot Town Road, was taken to the state medical examiner's office in Baltimore. Police said the body has not been identified.

Calvert man, 48, killed when car crashes into backhoe A Calvert County man was killed when his car smashed into a backhoe in a construction zone on Route 4 in Lothian late Friday, Anne Arundel County police said. Police believe that Robert Franklin Farr Jr., 48, was speeding when he crashed his Chevrolet Corvette into the rear of the backhoe, which was traveling about 25 mph in the same lane as the Corvette. Farr was wearing his seat belt, police said. No one else was in the car. The operator of the backhoe, Jose Israel Iglesia, was not injured in the accident, police said.

PHILADELPHIA--Trowels in hand, the student archaeologists had settled down to the day's dig when Katie Gerbner, 18, spied a blue-trimmed vase and peered inside. "Guys, there's coins in here," Gerbner announced. "Katie," said their teacher, Matt Glendinning, "how many are there, and can you see anything on them?" "They're Roman," Gerbner said. Gerbner and her 15 Germantown Friends School classmates would say they are on an adventure that's the next best thing to a real archaeological dig. The students had embarked on a discovery mission that ultimately will span ancient Greece to the Middle Ages.

A District of Columbia man was pinned under a backhoe for almost two hours yesterday as search and rescue officials worked feverishly to extricate him from an 8-foot-deep trench, Anne Arundel County fire officials said. The 45-year-old man -- an employee of the District of Columbia Department of Public Works -- was digging the trench at the Oak Hill Detention Center near Laurel when his backhoe fell in and he was thrown out of the equipment. He was working on an underground steam pipe next to the cafeteria at the District's prison for juvenile offenders.

PoliceWestminster: A resident of Windsor Drive told police Tuesday that a bicycle was stolen from her home. Loss was estimated at $100.Westminster: An employee of Dixie Construction Co. told police Wednesday that someone broke out the window of a backhoe on a construction site at Carroll and Main streets. Damage is estimated at $400.Pub Date: 5/28/99

ANNAPOLIS - A decomposed body was found Saturday afternoon by a backhoe operator working in the first block of Old Mill Bottom Road in Arnold, just off U.S. 50, Anne Arundel County police said yesterday. The body, discovered about 2:30 p.m. near Shot Town Road, was taken to the state medical examiner's office in Baltimore. Police said the body has not been identified.

An unused, concrete pedestrian bridge was hit by a tractor-trailer and collapsed on the Baltimore Beltway in Arbutus at the height of yesterday's evening rush hour, killing one driver and injuring three other people traveling the crowded highway.Police said the accident on the inner loop occurred when a huge Caterpillar backhoe on the back of a flatbed truck struck the underside of the Maiden Choice footbridge, which spans Interstate 695 at Shelbourne Road.The backhoe's boom hit the bridge and appeared to lift it up before it came crashing down, a witness said.

PoliceWestminster: A resident of Windsor Drive told police Tuesday that a bicycle was stolen from her home. Loss was estimated at $100.Westminster: An employee of Dixie Construction Co. told police Wednesday that someone broke out the window of a backhoe on a construction site at Carroll and Main streets. Damage is estimated at $400.Pub Date: 5/28/99