Nebraska

Former sand and gravel producer William Gerhold Sr. was among business pioneers honored at the Columbus Area Hall of Fame Banquet. The Columbus Telegram reports that Gerhold was the owner and CEO of Gerhold Co. for 51 years. He and his brother formed a partnership in 1921 and built a business that mined sand and gravel, developed concrete products, built roads and streets, and sewer and water construction. The two brothers are credited with being innovators by developing a new way of processing sand and gravel using centrifugal force. They were also among the first business owners in the state to replace horse-drawn wagons with Model T Ford trucks.

New Hampshire

The Hinsdale Planning Board is expected to approve a temporary town permit that will allow excavating at a Meetinghouse Road gravel pit after the operator completes some short-term requirements. According to the Brattleboro Reformer, once the operator —Dynamic Landscaping, LLC — completes the requirements, the town code enforcement inspector will visit the site to ensure guidelines were properly followed. Among the conditions were the spreading of loam on approximately 3 acres per reclamation specifications, using loam in a 150-foot area near the top of the ramp in one portion of the pit, and erecting of temporary fencing or barricades along a temporary slope on the eastern wall of the pit.

Oregon

The Turner City Council approved development of the former 169-acre River Bend Sand & Gravel site to become a 512-unit housing project built around a 70-acre lake, the Statesman Journal reports. In the mid-90s, Jay Compton proposed development of a gravel pit at the site. The proposal attracted three years of protest, which lasted until the site was added to Marion County’s list of significant aggregate resources in 2000. At that time, the housing project proposal was part of the required reclamation plan. The council amended the proposal to allow the project to be built in 15 years rather than the originally proposed 10 years.

Tennessee

Vulcan Materials Co. was named Citizen of the Year by Clarksville, a community recently named one of the best mid-sized cities in which to launch a new business by CNN Money. Business Clarksville reported that the company was one of several recognized by Mayor John Piper. It noted that the Vulcan operation “has been a part of the Clarksville business landscape for several decades” and donated money for the Clarksville Greenway and the expansion of the Riverwalk. John Badget accepted the award on the company’s behalf.

Virginia

Walker Sand and Stone received approval on its request to rezone a portion of its land from agricultural to trade so that material could be stored there. According to The Free Lance-Star, county supervisors praised operation owners Lewis, Dorothy, and John Walker for running a clean sand and gravel operation. “They’ve done what they said they would do,” said Supervisor Cedell Brooks. “They proved to be good neighbors and good business owners in the community.”

Washington

As CalPortland advances its proposal to expand its 335-acre Dupont sand and gravel operation by 177 acres, it is working on a new phase of studies, fact-finding, and public review with the other parties involved in its 1994 agreement designed to protect Sequalitchew Creek Canyon. The Olympian reports that CalPortland wants to build a 4,000-foot channel that would flow into the water-starved creek, allowing it to again support salmon. To do so, it would have to pull water from the upper reaches of the creek and create a cut in the creek canyon to connect the man-made tributary to the stream. “Our goal is to achieve a sustainable balance between environment and industry,” Pete Stoltz, a CalPortland permit manager and biologist, told the newspaper.

Wisconsin

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources received approval from the state’s Natural Resources Board to hold public hearings on the addition of 15 new substances to the state’s groundwater quality standards, including all forms of dinitrotoluene (DNT), which is used in the manufacture of explosives. Environment News Service reports that the proposed standard is 0.05 parts per billion. If approved by the legislature, the state could set a national precedent for DNT regulation.