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I'm sure all you hard core supporters of the "profit over life attitude" have been sent complimentary tickets. Enjoy the show!!! Snow to address GOP fund-raiser Jun 03, 2003 Treasury Secretary John W. Snow will return home to address the annual fund-raising gala of the Republican Party of Virginia on June 13. Snow, the former chairman of Richmond-based CSX Corp., was appointed Treasury secretary earlier this year. He retains a home in Richmond. The dinner and reception will be at the Science Museum of Virginia. Admission prices range from $75 for an individual up to $10,000 for major sponsors. Joseph C. Farrell, retired chairman of the Pittston Co., will be chairman of the gala. Attorney General Jerry W. Kilgore, Speaker of the House William J. Howell, R-Stafford, and Sen.Walter A. Stosch, R-Henrico, will be co-hosts. Suit filed in death at railroad crossing Widow of victim blames crossing design for accident PASADENA -- The widow of a man killed when his car was hit by a train has filed a lawsuit against Union Pacific Railroad, claiming that the company's poorly designed railroad crossing caused her husband's death. Margarita Mussenden of San Marino had been married to Henry Mussenden for almost 50 years when he was killed by the train at about 10 a.m. April 17, 2002. The accident happened at the railroad crossing on Mission Road, just north of Junipero Serra Drive, in San Gabriel. Henry Mussenden, 75, had been running errands in his older, diesel-powered Mercedes, when he turned onto Mission Road in front of the tracks as a train approached, said Rick Gaxiola, attorney for the plaintiff. Because the railroad crossing's design, Mussenden's Mercedes became trapped the tracks were in front of the car, and the crossing arm was lowered behind it, Gaxiola said. The tracks cross Mission Road at an angle, so Mussenden might have had room to avoid the train, Gaxiola said. People who witnessed the incident told the lawyer that they've seen other vehicles trapped in the same way Mussenden's was, Gaxiola said. "There was enough space for a vehicle to be beyond the crossing arm, but short of the track,' he said. A witness said that Mussenden may have become disoriented when the train approached, Gaxiola said, but he couldn't back up because of the crossing arm. "I believe he thought he was on the tracks and tried to get out of the way,' Gaxiola said. "(The witness) heard the car's motor rev, but it being an older Mercedes diesel, it didn't have time to get off the tracks and, in essence, ended up right in front of the train.' The train's engineer, Gil Pectol also is named in the lawsuit, but will be dropped if it is found he was not negligent, Gaxiola said. "It's our contention that this particular crossing ... was known to be negligently designed,' Gaxiola said. "The crossing arm didn't come down at appropriate angles.' The intersection has been redesigned since the accident, he said. John Bromley, director of public affairs for Union Pacific Railroad, said he can't talk about the railroad crossing or the Mussenden case because of the lawsuit. Bromley said the company will "vigorously defend the suit.' -- Marshall Allen can be reached at (626) 578-6300, Ext. 4461, or by e-mail at marshall.allen@sgvn.com. CSX seeking fees to keep railroad crossings open Tuesday, June 03, 2003 By Kevin Castle Times-News FEATURED AD -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2003 Passat GL [ view full ad ] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GATE CITY - CSX Transportation has sent letters to some Scott County landowners saying private railroad crossings on or near their property can remain open - for a price. Documents obtained by the Times-News Monday state that the company is requiring landowners to apply for private road crossing agreements in some instances that would require the owner to pay an annual license fee. The fee, which is listed as $150, would be paid along with an annualized replacement cost or charge, which would be based upon one-tenth of the estimated cost of the crossing installation, the letter states. Danny Davidson received an almost identical letter by certified mail last week with the same stipulations. "I have no intentions of signing anything or sending them any money. It's more or less extortion, if you ask me,'' said Davidson, who owns a farm in the Waycross community that is divided by a CSX railway. The fees and other related charges stem from a campaign launched by CSX last month to identify all private rail crossing in 22 states. Some Scott County residents have contacted county government leaders and state legislators seeking assistance because if the crossings are closed, which CSX has indicated could happen, the residents would be landlocked. Other requirements in the company's private road crossing agreement include: •Maintenance of the crossings' approaches, drainage and sight clearance by the property owner. •A requirement for the owner to purchase liability insurance to cover the crossing for the life of the agreement with CSX. •A future crossing signalization clause, requiring automatic traffic control devices "at the entire expense of applicant,'' including maintenance, if the need develops or if required by a governmental agency or by CSX. The letter to Davidson and others concludes by stating failure to respond will be considered "a negative response" and "handling for barricading and removal of the crossing will proceed.'' CSX representative Gary Cease, who was interviewed last week by the Times-News, could not be reached for comment Monday. Cease said last week that the crossing closures were being done for a number of reasons, including defraying maintenance costs and closing "unused" crossings. Scott County Attorney Dean Foster called CSX's method of identifying private crossings and the original deeds to those plots "a process turned on its head by CSX.'' Foster has written a formal request to the railroad seeking a compromise in the crossing controversy. "Most of these right of ways were obtained by the predecessor railroad to CSX in the county in the 1880s and early 1900s, and in some of the deeds I have read from that time the railroad obligates itself to erect necessary crossings and even cattle guards,'' says Foster in his letter to CSX property service official Windle Bowman. "However, rather than do its own research on its individual right of ways with its division of legal counsel or locally retained attorneys, CSX has turned the process on its head by shifting the burden to individual property owners to do the legal research and carry the proof under threat of closing the crossing," the letter states. Foster continues by questioning whether this was a wise legal process for CSX to use. "I suggest that it is perceived as an unnecessary strong-armed tactic and certainly does not help community and public relations. "I would appreciate it if (Windle Bowman) or someone with CSX would contact me at your earliest convenience to determine if we might find a better way to resolve this issue,'' Foster concludes in his letter. Foster said Monday that the State Corporation Commission has requested more information on the situation regarding the proposed closure moves by CSX. - Kevin Castle
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