P.M. Executive Briefing - May 26
This Afternoon's Headlines:
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KLLM Board Accepts Liles' New Buyout Offer
KLLM Transport Services, the nation's fifth-largest refrigerated carrier, has approved a bid by Chairman Jack Liles and WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebbers to buy the company.In a Friday press release, Liles and Ebbers said that their High Road Acquisition Corp. has entered into an agreement with KLLM's board to buy all outstanding shares for $8.05 each, a deal worth about $33 million. The two investors had withdrawn a previous bid of $8.25 a share after an investor backed out earlier in the week.
Illinois CDL Bribes Not Extorted, Witness Says
A witness in the trial of a trucking-school instructor who has been linked to the Illinois bribes-for-licenses scandal said employees of the licensing site in Melrose Park had not shaken him down for payoffs.Janusz Krzyzak said he willfully participated in the scheme by passing along bribes to get passing marks on written exams taken by defendant Alex McLeczynsky's students. McLeczynsky's attorneys have argued that McLeczynsky himself was victimized by a vast state-government extortion scheme.
Krzyzak spent 10 months in prison after pleading guilty to his part in the scheme in 1998. His sentence was reduced and he avoided being deported to Poland because he cooperated with investigators by tape-recording conversations with McLeczynsky and "bag lady" Carmen Fajdich. Chicago Tribune (05/26/00) P. 7, Metro Southwest Section; O'Connor, Matt
Reward Offered in Minnesota Trucker Stabbing
Blaine, Minn.-based S.A.V. Trucking has set a reward for information related to the stabbing of driver Dennis Nelson, who underwent six hours of surgery after being repeatedly stabbed when he was sleeping in the rest stop at Lake Bergen, Minn. The 60-year-old man had been driving trucks for more than four decades.The trucking firm is offering $5,000 for information that leads to an arrest. Minneapolis Star Tribune (05/24/00) P. 7B; Collins, Terry
Mack Trucks to Cut Jobs at Maryland Plant
Mack Trucks is planning layoffs of roughly 60 out of its 1,400 workers at the Hagerstown, Md., powertrain plant. According to company spokesman John Mies, the layoffs are a result of reduced demand and not Volvo's proposed purchase acquisition of Mack parent Renault VI. Associated Press (05/26/00)Pa. Judge Orders Truck Returned to Canadian Driver in Fatal Crash
A judge ordered Wednesday that Canadian trucker Gulvinder S. Sandhu's truck, which has been in a Pennsylvania State Police impound lot since it was involved in a fatal September crash, be returned to Sandhu as of Friday.Sandhu was cleared of serious charges including vehicular homicide in March when the judge decided that prosecutors had not proven the trucker was exceedingthe speed limit, but he has been fined $1,500 for a pair of traffic infractions. Federal investigators are still looking into whether the trucker's logbook entries were accurate, said a county prosecutor. Associated Press (05/26/00)
Gov. Hull: Arizona Doing Its Part for Highway Safety, Drivers Must Help
Among the measures Arizona is considering to improve traffic safety is the possibility of converting unused Arizona Department of Transportation maintenance yards into commercial-vehicle rest areas.In addition, Gov. Jane Hull recently exhorted motorists to drive slower, use seat belts, and obey red lights to help improve highway safety. More median barriers and rumble strips, as well as wider highway-edge stripes, will be added along urban freeways, and the state is also working to increase traffic enforcement and improve the design of roadways. Associated Press (05/26/00); Davenport, Paul
Summer Road Building Season in Oregon Affects Most Major Highways
The Oregon Transportation Department says work is scheduled over the summer on most major highways in the state, although the work will focus on maintenance rather than new road building due to funding issues.State voters turned down the fuel-tax change that would have increased gasoline taxes by 5 cents a gallon, which was fought by the AAA because of the way the measure would have changed truck taxes. However, the department's Tom Lulay says congestion and other "major investments" will eventually have to be addressed – particularly the state-owned highway bridges that have aged beyond five decades.
The state will be working on rebuilding the Interstate 5-Highway 217 intersection near Portland, widening I-5 in Salem, rerouting Oregon 238 in Medford, and finishing a new bridge over the Crooked River Gorge. Current information is available at . Associated Press (05/26/00); Beggs, Charles E.
Compiled by Transport Topics staff and INFORMATION, INC. © 2000
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