| Copper drawing sinners to local churches
ANDERSON COUNTY Copper thieves have left no doubt that security is needed at institutions that open their doors open to sinners. In about two months, thieves have targeted three Anderson County churches, causing about $20,000 in damage from the theft of copper. Between 8 p.m. Sunday and 7 p.m. Thursday, thieves stripped copper from two central air conditioning and heating units behind the Seventh Day Adventist Church on Osborne Avenue in Anderson. The loss is estimated at $12,000, according to the Anderson City Police incident report. About Jan. 19, thieves coordinated their arrival with that of a wintry mix to steal copper from a heating and cooling system at Thompson United Methodist Church on West Market Street, according to the Anderson police. The Lennox system is valued at $3,600, according to the incident report.
German company to open new plant in Syracuse suburb
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Gov. Eliot Spitzer says a German company that makes compressors for industrial air conditioning and refrigeration equipment will open a new manufacturing facility in suburban Syracuse.
The governor says the Bitzer Scroll plant will employ nearly 300 people in high-end engineering and manufacturing jobs. The plant will open in a former General Motors factory in the town of Salina.
Bitzer officials promise to invest $30 million into the new facility over the next five years.
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Manufacturing company moving into old GM plant (video)
The old General Motors plant in the Town of Salina is about to have some new life breathed into it. BITZER Scroll, an independent air conditioning and refrigeration company, will be moving into the plant. The move is expected to create around 300 engineering and manufacturing jobs. BITZER Scroll will use a 1.4 million dollar grant from the Empire State Development Corporation to invest in the plant. The company says it will invest 30 million dollars over the next five years. In a press release Governor Spitzer says that BITZER Scroll could have located anywhere in the world, but "the company chose Syracuse and Central New York because we demonstrated the value of our workforce and our knowledge-based resources. " He goes on to say that BITZER Scroll will be the cornerstone of upstate economic revitalization.
Copper thefts continue in Valley
On the rooftop of a strip mall near Hollenbeck Street and the 10 Freeway, burglars stripped six air conditioners of their copper coils in recent weeks. Then they returned to pull apart three more air conditioning units. Although the thieves may have made about $900 for two nights' work, businesses like World Gym, Dental Fun Zone and several others were left sweltering - and facing an estimated $100,000 in damage, said one expert called in by the West Covina police. "We have a rash of copper thefts - and not just in our city," said Cpl. Rudy Lopez. Thefts of copper, aluminum and other metals have increased in recent years as the materials' value has soared, but their worth to the burglars is still far less than the damage done to the victims, authorities said. The nighttime game lights are dead at Little League fields in Montclair and Hacienda Heights because of copper stolen in the past two weeks.
AC on cold morning leads to Estates grow-house bust
An air conditioner that was in use on an unusually cold morning helped lead investigators to a suspected marijuana grow house operation in Golden Gate Estates. Delfin H. Puentes, 39, of Fort Myers, was arrested Thursday and charged with marijuana trafficking -- more than 25 pounds -- and possession of narcotic paraphernalia. Reports say Puentes operated a marijuana grow house at 1781 8th Ave. N.E. Earlier this month a deputy on patrol noticed that an air conditioning unit was in use at the house on a cold morning. As the deputy approached the residence, he could smell the odor of growing marijuana. The house appeared to be vacant at the time. Around 10 a.m. Thursday, a blue Nissan Pathfinder driven by Puentes left the house, traveling 51 mph on Eighth Avenue Northeast, where the posted speed is 35 mph.
Officer Barely Dodges Pole through Car Window Tragedy
A chase ended with a pole smashed right through the windshield of a Edgewood ISD patrol car. The school district police officer was after two men who stole an air-conditioning unit. The Edgwood ISD officer saw the two people stealing the air conditioner. She chased after them into the street, where the two men separated and one ran right in front of her police car. She then swerved to avoid the suspect and instead smashed into a chain link fence. A post from the fence crashed through the windshield. Luckily no one was in the passenger seat of the patrol car, because the fence post went completely through the windshield and into the passenger seat of the police car. The two thieves got away with the air conditioning unit they stole from the abandoned Edgewood Elementary School.
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