Sinkholes Rare in Bergen County
A FORKLIFT OPERATOR ESCAPED WITH minor injuries Monday when the forklift he was riding suddenly dropped into a sinkhole in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Danny Rodriguez was working inside a warehouse that stores non-perishable food products when,around 12:30 pm, the 40-ft. diameter hole opened up, dropping him about 8 feet to the initial bottom of the hole. He was able to get himself out of the hole before the fire department arrived, and was transported to the hospital with back pains.
The Record reports in more detail:
Witnesses described the hole as being 30 to 40 feet wide and six to 10 feet deep. It was filled with a dark, oily liquid that authorities later said was cooking oil and soy sauce that was being stored in the warehouse and fell into the hole when the floor gave way.
Rodriguez managed to get out without serious injury, authorities said.
"Fortunately for the operator, the forklift went straight down and didn’t tip to the side because then he could have really been hurt," said borough Police Chief Larry Minda.
Sarah Entena, the administrator for AM Express Freight, said Rodriguez has worked for the Carlstadt-based company for about 30 years — "He’s the best forklift driver we have," she said. "The forklift protected him" from drowning or serious physical harm, she added. "And thank God for that."
The warehouse is part of a nine-building attached complex and the local code inspector sealed off the warehouse along with the occupancies on each side until the building's owner is able to make corrective action to make it safe.
Later in the afternoon the incident was revised from "sinkhole" to "floor collapse" when it was determined that the floor collapsed into a sealed-off, and unknown to current occupants, basement.
View News12's informative video report HERE.
Hat tip: Mark D.
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Ready For The Weekend, Amigo?
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Some people have fallen into the advertising trap that was set out about 40 years ago that wants us to think that May 5 is also known as Cinco de Mayo, a make-believe holiday from Mexico. It's harmless fun, but in this era of the soundbite and failed public education systems there are many who think it's for real. So this morning I will reprise the Morning Lineup from four years ago, May 5, 2009. Learn and enjoy (like we do every day at Firegeezer):
Did you ever wonder where all this Cinco de Mayo stuff came from? Out of nowhere we’re being potty-trained into thinking that today is some major Mexican holiday and all the once-a-year Irish are now encouraged to become Mexican for a day of celebration. But a cursory check into the cultural history of Mexico discloses that May 5 isn’t a holiday there. Not just that, but most of them don’t even know what you’re talking about if you were to ask.
In fact, Cinco de Mayo is a regional celebration followed in the state of Puebla where the Battle of Puebla took place on May 5, 1862. A French invasion force had entered Mexico for the purpose of collecting a large debt that the Mexican government was trying to renege on and when they were met by a greatly-outnumbered Mexican army, a battle ensued in which the Mexicans routed the superior French forces. That event is the seed of the "holiday."
Fast-forward to the 1960′s and some problem-solving committee meetings at the Coors Brewery in Colorado. Coors had two large obstacles facing them. One was a major push by American Hispanic groups to boycott their products because of some well-publicised hiring-discrimination activities. Their secondary challenge was a sizeable drop-off in beer sales every May as the nation’s colleges finished up their Spring semesters and the partying students headed back home.
So the grand idea was formed: Create a reason to celebrate something Mexican that calls for beer-drinking. Some simple research discovered this lost holiday and the big publicity machine went into action. And the rest, as they say, is modern advertising history. But by the 1980′s it still hadn’t caught on outside of the college campii where it was targeted and the Mexicans were still as puzzled as ever about "what’s the big deal?"
As sure as the sun comes up in the East, more breweries jumped on the phony holiday bandwagon and more than most, the Mexican breweries invaded America looking for their share of the "holiday" prize. That led to some of the most outrageous ethnic exploitation seen in over 40 years. Coors started it’s "Sabemos como celebrar!" (We know how to celebrate!) campaign and Mexico brewery Tecate launched its "Let’s party!" program. The one that went over the top though, was Corona’s campaign parading a "party parrot" wearing a sombrero, sunglasses and a serape while holding a bottle of Corona in each claw and squawking, "Drinko for Cinco!"
In 1997 a consortium of Hispanic cultural groups got together and started to turn the make-believe holiday into something more positive along the lines of the Pulaski Day and St. Patrick’s Day ethnic celebrations and now we are seeing more positive promotions that allow the Hispanic members of the population a chance to display and celebrate their heritage. Myself, I’ll help out by opening a bottle of Dos Equis today.
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