June 14, 2012 Volume 2 • Issue 30 75 cents Send your news to gladstonenews@npgco.com
Gladstone’s happy to be blue Out with the old Antioch Crossing finishing phase one of demolition
Fire engine arrives with personal touch By Kathy Crawford
By Ryne Dittmer
Although red is the color most people associate with fire trucks, blue has become a brand for Gladstone’s emergency vehicles. Battalion Chief Curtis Norris said that familiarity is the reason the city’s new fire truck, which was on display following the Gladstone City Council meeting on June 11, is blue instead of red. He said people from all over recognize the “Gladstone blue” color. As people left a short City Council meeting, they gathered outside City Hall to get a closer look at the city’s brand new, state-of-the-art fire truck. “Oh, sweetness,” one woman said. Norris said he helped design the new fire truck, which promises to reduce the city’s carbon footprint with the aid of idle reduction technology. “Gas usage is reduced from six gallons an hour to one quart an hour,” he said. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, a combination of light trucks, medium-duty trucks, heavyduty vehicles and passenger cars consume more than 6 billion gallons of diesel fuel and gasoline each year without ever moving.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/city of Gladstone
Gladstone Mayor Carol Suter, from left, and City Council members Barry McCullough, Bill Garnos, Jean Moore and Brian Hill pose with the city’s new firetruck, the specifications for which were put together by Gladstone firefighters. The graphics on the vehicle also were created by local firefighter/EMT Chris Cox. The emblem on the door is the new fire/EMS shoulder patch. When the fire department is not responding to a fire and doesn’t need the pump or engine, a separate small engine runs the lights, battery and new light tower. “The majority of calls we go out on are not fires,” Norris said. Another addition is the larger open cab, which is equipped to help the firefighters cool down when it is hot and warm up in the cold. Norris, along with six other firefighters and captains, began brainstorming ideas in January 2011. They took into consideration needs, likes and dislikes. “And we corrected some
minor issues,” Norris said. The fire truck sports an LED light on top, which is capable of turning 360 degrees and bright enough to light up a baseball field, Norris said. The light, which cost $40,000, is one of the newest of its kind in the country. “It reduces the demand of electricity,” Norris said. He said the light will help while fighting fires, as well as assisting the police, with accidents and during emergency medical services. Norris said the city received five bids to build the fire truck and granted it to a local company that had been struggling. He said it was good to help a local business
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hit hard by the downturn in the economy to rebound by building the city’s new fire truck. The department received the fire truck Memorial Day, which was followed by training. “We put it in service about five days ago,” he said. “We were the second department in the country (to receive this newly designed fire truck).” Norris pointed out a finishing touch, which was a silver bell that sits on the passenger side at the front of the fire truck. The inscription states that the bell was presented to the citizens of Gladstone by the firefighters union, IAFF Local 3228.
The first phase of demolition is nearing completion at the former Antioch Shopping Center. Antioch Redevelopment Partners LLC, the group overseeing the renovation project, expects to complete the initial phase by Friday, June 15, as scheduled. “Phase one demolition has pretty much gone right on schedule,” said project manager David Horn. “Approximately 450,000 square feet of space has been demolished.” The demolished areas are located to the south of the Burlington Coat Factory building. A second phase of demolition will remove two buildings in front of the Burlington store so that it and a connector building will have frontage facing Antioch Road. “That will be the extent of the demolition for this project,” Horn said. In an environmentally cautious choice, all materials from the demolition process will be recycled or be processed on site to
use as fill material in the new development. “We hope to begin the major excavation work within the next 60 days and shortly following the excavation and regarding, we will be installing underground utilities,” Horn said. After utilities are put in place, construction on the first buildings is expected to begin in late fall or early 2013. Upon completion the project, developers expect to attract a minimum of 20 to 30 unique businesses to the site. “The bulk of the project is going to be focused on retail tenants including small shop spaces, fast food and casual dining,” Horn said. “We’re having very strong interest from both local and national potential tenants.” While Horn could not list specific businesses, phone stores, gift stores, sub sandwich shops and a fitness center have all been in contact with the developers. Additionally, the Burlington Coat Factory and Sears stores have expressed desire to stay. “We also have a DEMOLITION/Page A13
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