Fort Worth Star-Telegram from Fort Worth, Texas • 41

Section Page 6 NORTHEAST Fort Worth Star-Telegram Thursday AM March 28 1991 Arlington bridge uses steel linked to deaths Grssmtlote were told was that it wouldn't cause any problems to anyone This certainly warrants looking into" Cor-Ten was designed to form a protective rustlike coating when exposed to the weather according to its developer US Steel Co Burying or submerging the material could weaken it The base of the 5000-pound light pole that fell at the Fort Worth Water Gardens killing two people last week was buried under 2 feet of dirt Officials cite the resulting corrosion and high winds as factors that caused the pole to snap and fall killing two Internal Revenue Service agents in town for a conference and injuring a third A fourth jumped aside and was slightly hurt Cass said he doesn't know how many structures in Arlington are made of Cor-Ten but he has asked all city department heads to make a count "Most of these will be bridges" Cass said "There are a few in the parks department I know about but I'm not really concerned with just compiling a list We need to go out and look at all of these" DallasFort Worth Airport has had similar problems with the steel The airport has spent more than $18 million to replace light standards that had extensive corrosion By Roy Maynard Fort Worth Sur-Tdtgram ARLINGTON Cor-Ten the steel used in the Fort Worth Water Gardens light standard that fell with fatal results has been found in a footbridge across from an Arlington elementary school and officials said yesterday that they intend to inspect every site where the material was used in construction "The installation is what we're concerned with" said Alan Cass the city's interim risk manager "We'll go out and inspect these structures to make sure they're not backfilled with dirt or water" Cass said he'll know within a week the number and condition of all city structures made with Cor-Ten The pedestrian bridge leading to Atherton Elementary from the Brandy Ridge addition in southeast Arlington is anchored well above the ground to concrete bases Still officials plan to inspect the bridge and others like it Parents say that from the start they've been concerned about the composition of the bridge which cost more than $81000 "It rusted immediately and we were never able to get too far in finding out what it's made of" said Heather Ashmore who has two children who use the bridge "All we 28-3-8 WLHElQ) and Ml rr ram- 16 LB t5U BAG TSOUTHWEST LAWN FERTILIZER Specially designed for southwest soils STARTiR FERTILISER Feeds your lawn with a quality controlled-released turf fertilizer containing I Polyon Gresttstlote 18-25-10 Temporary brace that fell blamed for power plant leak loJ i TU Lawn mi ARLINGTON (817)861-2906 I I 1 1 I TV I II fe 1 VvyY 1 BAG FJ! 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VSHI lwWVT Wilt 'MUNUHT By Barry Shlachter Fort Worth Star-Telegram The Comanche Peak nuclear power plant scheduled for a 42-day fuel-conserving closure next month has shut down three weeks early because a temporary metal brace fell and punctured 1 i nes that carry water to cool steam used in electricity generation an official said yesterday "It was a 3-foot temporary brace used during construction and for whatever reason the brace came loose from its position and struck and damaged three condenser tubes" TU Electric spokesman Jerry Lee said of the March 20 incident The damage allowed reservoir water to mix with purified steam triggering an alarm indicating sodi- um contamination in the system he said The damage prompted the plant to move up a planned April 1 5 closing to conserve fuel for peak summer months and to carry out routine maintenance Lee said Comanche Peak will go back on line May 3 and will have its first nuclear refueling Sept 1 5 he said The spokesman said the early closure and condenser repair would have minimal economic impact on the plant completed at a cost of $9 1 billion more than 10 times its originally estimated cost million Meanwhile the federal Environmental Protection Agency yesterday called off efforts to find a cluster of 20 barrels that a Grand Prairie weekend diver said he saw last Octo- mm MM II 16 LB BAG BONSAIDIVARF lUnrTYPE TALL 20 LB BAG BDICC UAVV1DV ACTED AODII 9 Wt rBMfvt lh right to limit qusnlltl 0rm Home Improvements Housing Lender berin the plant'scooling reservoir The only thing found was a 55-gallon trash bin that apparently rolled into the water from a nearby park area "We have decided we've gone far enough" said Roger Meacham an EPA spokesman in Dallas referring to several hours of fruitless searching by a professional diving crew Tuesday morning and afternoon "If we didn't find them they are not there" Travis Reed 19 said he telephoned the EPA after he and three friends saw the barrels all rusting but believed to be full during an Oct 28 scuba dive However the EPA's Dallas office said it has no record of the call As for the decision to end the search Reed said: "I'm upset about it because I'm sort of being called a liar But I'll have the last laugh when Idiscoverthemthebarrelsagain "And I'm not going to tell EPA or the Texas Water Commission or TU Electric" he added "I will call all the news stations and the Star-Telegram TU Electric spokesman Lee said that the company plans no further search but that recreational divers no doubt will be looking for the barrels because of all the news coverage "We are certainly interested" he said If there are trash drums or any other barrel we want to know about it Our people will be talking with them" Dennis DePue had been disguising himself as "Hank Queen" to Linda Blizzard since Halloween the night they met When the Unsolved Mysteries segment aired last Wednesday he too had been watching at the Grapevine home he and Blizzard shared When Blizzard returned home from work DePue was packing his bags He was rushing off he claimed to visit his sickly mother "After he left she discovered he was watching his own profile on Unsolved Mysteries Stack said A cross-country chase took DePue to the Louisiana-Mississippi border and after a shoot-out DePue took his life He was found in his van with his finger on the trigger of a 357-caliber Magnum and $16000 in his pocket Unsolved Mysteries which features unsolved police dramas from across the country last week drew 50 tips from viewers about the Michigan murder via an 800 telephone number authorities said TV show reports mystery it aired no longer unsolved 3AIUnUMI Arfl'jfTWl SUrlUAI 9Am Corporation Rate subject to change S) Equal I 1 -JEAm'Wwl -amJ giaai iiti-pJ renJ I jt- 1 fca rrajjjjjjj lU-j-ujjjj hj i Sr XLTj jj 1 i YV- LJjj ujjujj-jjjj1V -JIJJ 1 i4 ujjJjjjjj: i i jj jj 1 mtmmm 1JJJJJ I Jjl By Susie Steckner Fort Worth Star-Telegram A national television show thai last week profiled a grisly murder in Michigan last night aired an update about the violent death of the prime suspect who took his own life aftei viewing the first segment in Grapevine "Vengeance by his own hand finally caught up with him" said actor Robert Stack host of NBC's Unsolved Mysteries at the opening of last night's program Dennis DePue wanted in the slaying of his estranged wife Mari-lynn had eluded Michigan authorities for nearly a year Letters sent by him to family and friends during the last year were postmarked from Virginia Iowa and Oklahoma But DePue had vanished It wasn't until DePue was recognized on Unsolved Mysteries by Barbara Harris a longtime friend of DePue's live-in Grapevine girlfriend that Michigan authorities got the break they sought Grand Easter Egg Hunt! 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