Just a reminder that tomorrow, Tuesday, October 14th, is the FCC Tower Safety and Injury protection workshop. This will be the roundtable for climber safety regulations for future and current climbers. This will set the safety standards for the tower climbing industry going forward. My post is here.
The information I posted is copied here –“Update: The FCC and Department of Labor are teaming up for the Tower Climber Safety and Injury workshop. Read about it here. It will be on the internet live, go here on October 14th at 9:30AM ET. I am really looking forward to this because the standards are being set. I want to get to DC so I can witness history first hand. This will be the day that climbing standards will be well-defined in the US. The agenda is here. I am curious how many actual climbers will be helping out and how many will offer their advice. Some big names in the industry will be there, like Gette Hester, Wally Reardon, Dave Anthony, Art Pregler, and Craig Lekutis. NATE will have Todd Schlekeway representing them. It should be a big day but the real test will be to see what will happen afterwards. Will rigging standards be set, will there be more than 100% tie off promotions? Will there be real standards set that will be enforceable? I know all the chances I took back when I climbed, now the standard regulations will be set. Remember that what happens here will determine how many lives will be saved in the future. This will shape the industry for the better, I hope. With safety, climber’s values will go up, so will billable hours, so will the number of people who live! This may have the ability to make the industry as safe as it can possibly be. I hope they make progress!”
Listen to the podcast for more information! Search on iTunes for Wade4wireless and write a review now!
Soon I will release my training for the SOW and more, to build your library of basic knowledge so you can advance in your job and the industry! So feel free to buy one of my books and maybe they will help you learn something that you didn’t know or teach someone who needs to know.
From Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, a 59-year-old man, James G. Linstedt, from Eau Claire died Tuesday when he fell from a 100 foot tower. He was apparently about 80 foot in the air. The tower is in Chippewa County near Eagle Point. The fall happened at a former a Sheriff’s home, Ron Anderson was his name.
Chippewa County Sheriff Jim Kowalczyk said that James was doing maintenance work on the tower.
Apparently James was good at doing HAM radio work. He worked on HAM Towers for the past decade. However, even though he was wearing the safety harness and had all of the safety gear, he was not using any of them to remain 100% tied off. Like many people who have done this for a long time it appears he just got complacent.
OK, listen to the podcast because Gette covers so much in this time. I had to break it into 2 podcasts. Just listen to both to hear Gette give her view of the industry and her passion. If you have ever been on a tower forum or on Facebook’s tower groups then you know Gette, she is taking care of the climbers the best way she knows how.
Gette talks about her mission in life, the Hubble Foundation, which is there to support tower climbers that need help. Not only the fallen climber’s families, but the climbers that may need help to see their families or maybe the families need someone to talk to or maybe the children of the fallen need scholarship money. Gette is doing all of this with the help of her husband. Thank GOD we have people like this that are driven to help beyond what any normal person would or could do. Gette has a book that explains why that passion burns so deep in her. You see, she lost her husband to a horrific tower collapse years ago. This was something that changed her life in so many ways. I won’t get into it but if you want to know exactly what happen then get her book, Godwink: On the Wings of Butterfliesfor an explicit description. It’s too painful to talk about here.
We also discuss the training that is offered today and how the industry has boomed. This is good for work but the carriers going out to the lowest bidder and the explosion of work has led to many fatalities due to companies taking shortcuts and inexperienced people trying to do the work. OSHA just doesn’t have the manpower to support this effort because they generally look at the tower climbing industry as a small industry.
Something that I bring up is how little the carriers have given to this cause. I think that Verizon Wireless, AT&T Wireless, Sprint, and T-Mobile could spare a few dollars to support the families who lost a someone to a horrific accident while building their systems out. Maybe building one of the new LTE systems, the 3G systems, or even the backhaul. Recently a young man was lost working for a carrier. While they were very helpful at the time, what about the devastation that is left behind when a wage earner in a family is suddenly gone? You have an emotional loss and a financial loss at the same time. A lost love is something that will not be replaced and can destroy families instantly. Thank GOD for Gette who works so hard to reach out to these families to comfort them and pull them back together. I just think the carriers could help the Hubble Foundation by giving a few dollars to this tax-deductible charity that cares to deeply for the people who build the wireless systems.
Hubble Foundation http://www.hubblefoundation.org/ and go to the donate section where you can donate a tax-deductible donation or buy something from the store. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/HubbleFoundation for more support. They have tickets left for the car giveaway that you need to get in on, so go to the Hubble Foundation website and get some tickets to win a Mustang!
Godwink: On the Wings of Butterflies
The cover has Mike V’s hand on it with a butterfly. Pretty cool photo.
PA Wireless Association, http://www.pa-wireless.org/ is a group that really helped Gette out with the fundraising aspect. Then the following groups pitched in;
The Climber’s Protection Prayer While Psalm 91 applies to all of us, I believe that this Psalm is especially poignant for climbers and their families. Often times, the families feel like they have no control over their loved ones in the industry.
This is simply not true. Your greatest defense and protection of your loved one is through Prayer!
My Refuge and My Fortress Psalm 91
1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to the Lord, My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.
3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his opinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
5 You will not fear the terror of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.
7 a thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked.
9 Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place
the Most High, who is my refuge
10 no evil shall be allowed to befall you,
no plague come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
12 On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the adder;
the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.
14 Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name.
15 When he calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.
or
or
