Avoiloble fromf,* A new choice in treated wood

For decks, playgroundt and baclqyard projects, ask for \A/olmanized' Natural Seleci* wood 1"ff,6.

. Unique preseruative - necycled copper and organic fungicide

. Same natural app@rance and longevity as traditional treated lumber

. Ten'year intemational history; world's most successfu I altemative to traditiona I treatment

. From the developers of reliable Wolmanized'wood and the producer of DuraPine'OutdooP products

. KDAT available

Buttotttt c PRo.oucrs Drcpsr

Serving 16 Southern states

PUBLISHER Alan Oakes (ajoakes@aol.com)

PUBLISHER EMERITUS David Cutler EDITOR David Koenig (dkoenig@ ioc.net)

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Robert Fay (rfay@ioc.net)

AD SALES MANAGER Chuck Casey (chuck@ioc.net)

ADMINISTRATION DIRECTOR/ SECRETARY Marie Oakes (mfpoakes@aol.com)

CIRCULATION HeatherKelly (heather@ ioc.net)

How to Advertise

Contact our advertising otfices for rates:

U.S.A.: Chuck Casey, 4500 Campus Drive, Suite 480, Newport Beach, Ca. 92660-1872. Phone (949) 852-1990 Fax 949-852-0231

PAC TRIM@ profiles have been expressb/ designed to compliment,the* ditional and versatile home styles of today. By combininE several of our standard .Rro{iles, -yau .T also create

$ _unique$puptom designs sure to please fte most discriminatint decorator.'Wglffiacomplete ilne : :.4,.:4.:aa:r developed for the home builder as well as architeitsl'efi-d.i to learn more about combination styles and i

-800-4-P CTRIM tm.com

How to sell more newspape;s and magazines

Thank you for your telephone calls, letters and e-mails supporting my August editorial, "Congratulations to the Environmentalists." I appreciate your feedback. Many of your sentiments agreed that it is increasingly difficult to get the truth told and that it appears that it is the extreme positions that are the ones that get all the publicity in the national media.

Little did I know that one month later this would become extremely clear when a report on CCA by the Florida Physicians Arsenic Workgroup appointed by the Florida Department of Health concluded that "the amount of arsenic that could be absorbed from playground soil and CCA treated wood is not significant compared to natural sources and will not result in detectable arsenic intake." It concluded also "that parents can be assured that children can safely play on recreational equipment made of preserved wood."

Now after all the brouhaha these past few years, one would assume that our wonderful national press and other mainstream media would have jumped on this story. Bah humbug! The story could barely be found in the press. Yet what we see all over the place a few weeks later is a report by the Environmental Working Group conveniently released just after the Florida study, and conducted by 45 volunteers, that of course suggests otherwise. This study apparently outlines no scientific protocols, but still it gets all the press. But, why should we expect otherwise? Even an equal play of both reports would have been acceptable, but the mainstream media has taken the position that it shapes our views of life to meet theirs.

In particular, I take great exception to an article in the September 16 issue of U.S. News & World Reporr titled "Arsenic and Barbecue." This was based entirely on the l" Yellow Pine Boords'C','D', #2 l " Yellow Pine Boords (Potterns)

Environmental Working Group study, and was about as flammable a piece of journalism as there can be. There appear to be some factual errors, but even less forgivable fhere was no corresponding alternative point of view despite the Florida report and others being available. The author was directed to contacts with contradictory information, but chose not to include any other opinion.

Anyone who reads the news knows that our mainstream national media has a liberal bias, and it truly is about shock value and selling product. In an age of communication, the power of the press and TV media in recent years has expanded exponentially to the number of news servers that are now available. So called "experts" can be found to contradict just about any position that one can take, and even the sanest argument can be made to sound crazy. I am sorry to say that gone are the days when one could read hard hitting, but fair and balanced journalism. Sensationalism sells magazines and newspapers.

I believe I have the ability to make up my own mind on every issue, provided I can be supplied with a fair balance of the facts. Unfortunately, there are too many with a brainwashing mentality trying to make my mind up for me. They know they can be successful by appealing to the lowest common denominator, which is where our news and programming have headed in recent years. When you are told that black is white, you tend to believe it if you hear it again and again. This is what our industry faces over and over.

While it could be said that Building Products Digest ll'as a bias towards this industry, we have always taken the position that while we will never try to embarrass anyone, our magazines will continue to report fairly and accurately both good and bad the news as it happens. Not how we would like it to be. Others take note.

2x4 thru 2x12 #1, #2. #3 S4S Yellow Pine lu, 2u, 4u, 6" Yellow Pine Wolmonized l " Ponderoso Pine Boords 'C', 'D', #2, #3

2" Doug Fn #2 & Better, Ulility

2u Spruce Pine Fir #2 & Better, Utility

Lloyd Wheeler, David Jackson, Steve Jackson, Jeff Jackson,

Yellow Pine CDX & Sturdifloor

Yellow Pine BC Sonded

Yellow Pine Premium & Decorotive Sidings

Woferboords

Fir Sonded & Fir Sidings

Hordwood Plywoods

Treoted Plywoods Avoiloble

32OO Troup Hwy., Ste. 242,Tyter,TX.75701 . (9O3) 595-2102 . (8OO) 333-8418

Huber OK's Ok. OSB Plant

Huber Engineered Woods, Charlotte, N.C., will break ground this fall on a new OSB plant in Broken Bow, ok.

The $130 million plant will produce 600 million sq. ft. of panels annually, and is expected to open in 2004.

"We selected Broken Bow because of its sustainable wood supply, great transportation and services infrastructure, market access and a very skilled labor pool," said Huber's v.p.-business development John Bozeman.

Broken Bow and its vicinity contain vast tracts of southern pine.

Fire Slams Mississippi Yard

More than 30 firefighters were called in last month to fight a blaze at Hernando Lumber Co., Hernando, Ms., that fire officials suspect was arson.

The Sept. 6 fire consumed a 60-ft. by 160-ft. storage shed that housed lumber, plywood, and insulation board.

Company manager Paul Wakefield said two trucks were also destroyed, bringing total losses close to $s00,000.

In the wake of the fire, Hernando Lumber Co. immediately replenished their inventory, cleaned up the debris and then reopened Sept. 16.

The official cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Westlake Hardware ln Tulsa

Kansas-based Westlake Hardware has opened its first store in the Tulsa, Ok., market and by month's end will also have its first Broken Arrow. Ok.. store.

Westlake opened its 29,000-sq. ft. Tulsa outlet in a vacant grocery store building on Sept. 5.

"This is a new market for us." said Westlake spokeswoman Linda Smith. "We've heard lots of positive things about Tulsa."

The hardware store carries paint. tools, electrical and plumbing supplies, in addition to a complete line of hardware.

On Oct. 24 Westlake will open its Broken Arrow store in another vacant grocery store. "We usually renovate older buildings-that works well for us," said Smith.

Founded in 1903, Westlake Hardware is Ace Hardware Corp.'s largest dealer-owner in the country, operating

74 stores in Oklahoma. Texas. Arkansas, and five other Midwestern states.

Depot Integrates Divisions

Home Depot, Atlanta, Ga., plans to consolidate two of its nine administrative offices into one new division that will oversee stores in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern U.S. along with all Caribbean locations.

The new Eastern Division, to be based in Atlanta, will be made up of the New Jersey-based Mid-Atlantic division and the Southeast division in Atlanta.

Tom Taylor, who has been president of the Southeast division since January, will be chief of the new division. Former Mid-Atlantic president John Wicks will join the merchandising group in Atlanta.

The Eastern division will coordinate more than 450 stores and over 90,000 employees.

Depot has yet to determine if any layoffs will be necessary.

Using completdy lcroyoted, 3fole-of. ' lhe.orf €quipnent ond focililies, we honulocfure widrhs 2x4-2rl? cnd ledgrhs 8'.25'without finge{oinfs; All lumber is TP grode narked ond kilil dried fo l9% moislure contenl. tired sbipments ore no problem, '

So, $e nexl time you nied lumber, cqll on the corrpony inlenl on helping you 3ucceed. Cqll on Southern Lumber.'

A LTHOUGH already-built strucla.tures are unaffected by the coming phase-out of CCA treated wood for residential uses, the EPA suggests refinishing-not ripping out-for homeowners who are worried about chemical exposure. Surface coating decks, picnic tables, play equipment and other treated structures may provide an added precaution against leaching.

The EPA cautions that while available data are very limited, some studies suggest that applying cerrain penetrating coatings (such as oil-based, semi-transparent stains) on a regular basis (once per year or every other year depending upon wear and weathering) may reduce the migration of wood preservative chemicals from CCA treated wood.

Unfortunately, the efficacy of coatings or sealers in preventing leaching has undergone little evaluation. In the most cited study, last year, researchers at the Forest Products Laboratory evaluated the ability of three common coatings to lessen leaching from CCA-