OSH Emptying 9 More Stores as Lowe's Moves ln

Close-out sales have bcgun at nine rnore Orchard Supply Hardware stores not among the 72 locations being acquired by Lowe's.

Great American Group has been hired t,r cmpt) ouI remrining inventory in Burbank, Canoga Park, El Cerrito. Lodi, Merced, Santa Ana, Santa Clarita, Torrance and Yuba City, Ca.

Stores in Citrus Heights. Fairfield. Huntin-eton Beach. Lone Trce. Long Bcach. Micltown Los Angeles, New- ark and Vacavillc. Ca.. began liquidating in late June and closed Aug. 3l

Days earlier, the bankruptcy court approved the sale of the majority of OSH's assets to Lowe's for roughly $20-5 million in cash. plr.rs the assumption of payables owed to OSH vendors.

The deal was expected to close by the end of August, at which time Richard D. Maltsbarger was to become prcsident of Orchard. replacing Matrk Bakcr.

DEALER Briefs

South Regal Lumber Yard, Spokane, Wa. will close by early next year after 64 years and consolidate with sister comoanv West Plains Building Supply, Spokane.

Berkeley Ace Hardware, Berkeley, Ca., must find a temporary new home by the spring, when construction begins nearby on a new apartment complex-the city's largest.

Windows, Doors & More cofounder Ken Hall has begun transitioning ownership of the Seattle, Wa.based company to Rick Locke.

Hall will continue with the 20-yearold business in an advisory role during the transition and serve in sales thereafter.

GEO. M. HUFF LUMBER COMPANY;

o premier distributor of wholesole building products; hos leomed with Roseburg Engineered Wood Products in the Soulhern Colifornio morkel. Huff Lumber offers ihe complele line of Roseburg EWP coupled with full technicol copobilities including toke-off, conversion, plocemeni drowings ond engineering services. EWP moteriols ore ovoiloble in mill direct bulk shipmenls, locol units ond cut piece lob pockoges.

ROSEBURG FRAMING SYSTEM@

The Roseburg Froming System@ consists of: RFPI@ Joists used in floor ond roof construclion; Rigidlom@ LVL which is used for heoders, beoms, studs ond columns; ond RigidRimo Rimboord. All of the components ore engineered to the industry's highesi stondords to help controciors build solid. duroble, ond befter performing froming syslems compored io ordinorv dimension lumoer.

RFPI@-.foisf

RigidLom@ LVI Studs

RigidLom@ lVL Columns

RigidRim@ Rimboord

HUFF LUMBER COMPANY

Santa Fe Springs, California 800-347-4833

South Puqet Sound Habitat for Humani'ty opened a larger, 23,000-sq. ft. replacement store in west Olympia Wa., Sept. 10.

Twenty-five independently owned Ace HardwSIO stores in Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming raised more than $10 000 for local charities in the co-op's fifth annual "Grill Your Ace Off' grilling competition and fundraiser.

Anniversaries: Timber Products Go., Springfield, Or., 95th Sunset Mouldinq, Live oak, ca., 6sth... Junctiot True Value

Hardware, W. Seattle, Wa., 60th Alpine Lumber, Englewood, co., 50th ,..

Weyco Sues Over LP's LSL

Weyerhaeuser Co. has filed suit cliiiming LP Buildin-e Products' new SolidGuard line of zinc-borate-treated laminated strand lumbcr violates the trademark held for its own StrandGuard zinc-borate-treated LSL.

According to Weyerhacuser since StrandGuard is currently the only treated LSL structural product that starts with the sound and Ietter 'S' and ends with 'Guard,' LP presumably intended to trade on the l0-year-old product's good name.

Weyco is seeking a temporary reslraining order. a permunenl injunction against LP usin-e the SolidGuard name. destruction of all SolidGuard marketing materials, plus damages and attornevs fees.

Omak Mill Nearly Ready to Restart

Wood Resources LLC, Shelton, Wa., is completing restoration of the former Colville Indian Plywood & Veneer mill in Omak, Wa., and will operate the facility under a new subsidiary, Omak Wood Products LLC.

Forty workers are currently working on the plant, which closed in 2009. Before the end of the year, the facility will employ as many as 100 employees producing softwood veneer. Douglas fir plywood production will begin in mid2014. At full production, Omak will employ as many as 200.

Wood Resources, which also operates Olympic Panel Products, Shelton, has no plans to restart the Colville Indian Precision Pine sawmill in Omak. which also closed in 2009.

Judge Drops Lawsuit Against SPI

A judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for monetary damages against Sierra Pacific Industries, Anderson, Ca., and other defendants regarding Sept. 2007 fire that started on private land and spread to the Plumas National Forest and other private holdings.

"This is a significant victory for SPI and the other defendants in the case," said spokesman Mark Pawlicki. "We knew all along that the evidence did not support the state's claim that our contractor started the fire."

SPI alleged that the govemment's fire investigators in this case conducted a faulty investigation and were not able to identify the true origin of the fire. During recent depositions, Cal Fire's own expert on wildland fire investigations

Tru5t Not Rust

said during recent depositions that it was "more probable than not" that the Moonlight investigators engaged in acts of deception while testifying about a primary aspect of their investigation.

"Although Cal Fire employees are highly regarded for their professionalism and integrity, unfortunately, the Moonlight investigations did not live up to that standard," said Pawlicki.

The government's investigators in the Moonlight Fire had alleged that SPI's logger started the fire by striking a rock with a bulldozer, causing a spark to ignite woody material. Further, the state alleged that the logger failed to obey the law, which requires a series of procedures to be followed during logging operations. Judge Nichols ruled that the state did not have evidence to support these claims.

Last year, a federal court ruled that SPI could be liable for damages in this case even if its operators did not start the fire. The decision prompted to settle, agreeing to pay $55 million in damages and transfer 22,500 acres of timberland to the federal government.

Willamette Valley Forest Products, Beaverton, Or., has been launched-by Mike Atkerson, ex-Sherwood Lumber, specializing in concrete form specialty sales.

Swanson Group's dimension lumber mill at Glend.ale, Or., recently installed a Transverse High Grader from USNR.

Pleasant Lumber, Monte Vista, Co., suffered an Aug. 22 mill fire caused by electrical and mechanical problems.

California Cascade Industries is now distributing Fortress Versai residential fencing throughout California from its DCs in Sacramento and Fontana, Ca.

Weyerhaeuser has added a shift at its Trus Joist plant in Boise, ld., to increase production of TJI Joists coated with Flak Jacket protection.

CPG International will unite its TimberTech and AZEK brands under a single organization, CPG Building Products. Sales teams from both brands will be combined.

ProVia unveiled an online Visualizer that altows consumers and dealers to preview products integrated into photos of their own homes.

GAF is now offering Deck-Armor and Tiger Paw custom logo programs, allowing lumberyards and contractors to have their logos co-branded on to the roof deck protection products.

APA-The Engineered Wood Association, Tacoma, Wa., relaunched www.performancewalls.org, a free resource for building safe, durable and code-compliant walls.

To learn more or to become a stocking dealer, caf f 800-676-7777 or visit grip-rite.com.

Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association has added a certified products directory to its website.

Wynndell Lumber Sales, wynndel, B.C., this month celebrates its 100th anniversary-reportedly making it the oldest familv-owned sawmill in British Columbia.