Print Worker Risks Life, Saves Trucker –Cagle
Bits an Pieces
Sometimes, we only need to look around us to see examples of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Case in point is Michael Widmark, a third-shift worker at Taylor, MI-based Printwell Inc., whose commute home early one morning meant the difference between life and death for a Canadian neighbor.
Widmark's journey home on June 8 was interrupted by the incredible sight of one tractor trailer slamming into a flatbed truck that had been parked along the side of Interstate 94 in Van Buren Township. The flatbed, which had two large coils of steel, caused the truck driven by 27-year-old Mark Thibert of Windsor, Ontario, to jackknife, roll over and catch fire, The Detroit News reported.
So imagine Widmark's reaction when he saw Thibert running across the freeway, fully engulfed with flames shooting three feet above his head. Widmark hastily parked his Ford Ranger and ran onto the scene. There, he found Thibert, on the median, still aflame. Widmark tackled Thibert into the grass and used t-shirts, as well as the ground, to help put out the fire.
"It was the worst thing I've ever seen in my life," Widmark told the newspaper.
Explosions continued, blasting debris throughout the area (some of which broke the headlights on his Ranger). The flames were fueled by Thibert's cargo: he had been hauling Crown Royal whiskey.
Widmark remained with Thibert until the victim could be transported to the Trauma Burn Center at University Hospital in Ann Arbor, MI. Thibert suffered third-degree burns over 90 percent of his body and will require multiple skin grafts over the coming months, a relative told the Windsor Star.
Fortunately for Widmark, his injuries were minor. But the sights and sounds from that evening are bound to stay with him for a long time.
ALTERNATIVE PROBLEMS: Stop us if you've heard this one...a printer was criticized recently for refusing to produce a job that conflicted with his moral beliefs, causing some to wonder whether the decision was borne out of homophobia.
Access Print Media, of Kent, WA, fell under scrutiny after it refused to print flyers promoting Mike Reis' new gay bar, named Diesel. Shortly after Reis contacted Access Print Media, he received an e-mail from the printer that said it would not print the materials because they promoted "the kind of lifestyle that goes against our morals..."
The owners of Access Print Media quickly disassociated themselves from the e-mail, saying an employee sent it without their authorization and that it doesn't represent their position. They told KCPQ-TV in Seattle that their objection stemmed from the flyer's use of profane language in describing the drinks and the bartenders, and that they do not object to printing materials for a gay bar.
"I am a family man," the owner, referred to only as Delaney, was quoted as saying by KCPQ. "Had this been a piece of artwork that was classy and that had, say, a martini glass or something like that with no profanity, and even if I knew very well that it was a gay bar that was opening, I would have no problem whatsoever submitting the quote and printing the material."
Accurate or not, Access Print Media is now fighting the perception that it discriminates against homosexuals. It's a no-win situation, at best, over what probably amounted to a couple hundred dollar job.
KITTY CHALET: Our friends at Cascades, the producers of packaging products that are composed mainly of recycled fibers, have rolled out a line of pet homes for small animals and birds that are made from recycled cardboard. The small animal solutions include a cardboard cat chalet and teepee, ideal for not just Whiskers, but lapdogs, ferrets and domestic rabbits, too. The cardboard birdhouse can accommodate a variety of birds ranging from the blue tit to the downy woodpecker and the nuthatch.
Who thinks up these bird names? Admit it, you giggled for about a minute.
Pet homes are available for sale at Cascades' online boutique— boutique.cascades.com. The cat products are $24 each, with the birdhouse at $17, plus shipping.
FUNNY MONEY: Worried that perhaps counterfeiters are snapping up high-end presses at liquidation auctions, governments worldwide are finding a new battle ground to prevent ersatz paper money from being produced.
Canada recently joined more than 30 nations around the globe in introducing plastic money as a way to prevent counterfeiters.
Bank of Canada will begin issuing the currency made of polymers, instead of traditional cotton paper, starting with the $100 bill in November. New $50 and $20 bills are slated for release in 2012, with the $10 and $5 notes to come the following year.
According to CNN, security and verification features include raised ink in the numerals and the featured portrait, color-shifting images embedded in the large window and a number hidden in the maple leaf window. The new bills will be the same size and colors as their paper counterparts, but thinner and lighter. PI
—Erik Cagle
