Aluminum

There was little doubt that the Chester County Commissioners would obey a federal court order to hide the Ten Commandments plaque on the courthouse wall here. The only question was how they'd do it. The commissioners have decided to go with aluminum. A $400 aluminum and fabric covering will be placed over the controversial plaque on the facade of the courthouse on Monday to comply with the judge's order, county officials said yesterday. And protesters can be expected to witness the installation.

David P. Reynolds, 96, a metals manufacturing executive who helped put aluminum foil and aluminum beverage cans into the American kitchen, died Monday in Richmond, Va. Mr. Reynolds was the last member of his family to lead Reynolds Metals, which was founded in 1919 by his father, Richard Sr., and grew to become the nation's second-largest aluminum manufacturer behind Alcoa. Reynolds was sold to Alcoa in 2000, five years after Mr. Reynolds stepped down from its board. He joined the family business as a salesman out of college in 1937 and began trying to persuade the major St. Louis breweries to affix aluminum labels to their beer bottles.

Two men pleaded guilty last week in Bucks County Court to charges stemming from unrelated thefts of aluminum sheets from a Bristol Township sign company. David Rusnock, 34, of Country Manor Apartments, Middletown, had his sentencing deferred by President Judge Isaac S. Garb after he pleaded guilty to charges of stealing an estimated $8,000 worth of aluminum from the Cutler Sign Co., according to court records. Rusnock was spotted at a Trenton recycling company Aug. 5 by a Philadelphia Electric Co. employee investigating copper and aluminum thefts from PE. A court affidavit said the investigator stopped Rusnock after watching him sell the aluminum to V & S Recycling Co. Rusnock was later arrested by Trenton Police.

Police are investigating a kidnapping, sort of, in Eastwick. When last seen, the victim was wearing a Phillies cap, an open-collar shirt and jeans. But don't call in the FBI just yet, since the man was the life-size aluminum figure seated in the midst of the sculpture across from the Korman townhouse development at 84th and Crane Streets. The sculpture, called Eastwick Farm Park, is a collection of painted aluminum farm animals - life-size cows, sheep and dogs - and three benches.

Question: We have a house at the Shore, with a second-story deck supported by pressure-treated wood. It was built after they banned the old arsenic pressure-treated wood. We had the wood capped with aluminum. After 18 months, the chemicals in the wood seemed to eat through the aluminum, which had to be replaced. The builder put Tyvek between the wood and the aluminum capping, but the same thing happened. Is there any way to avoid this problem? Answer: It's pretty obvious that your builder missed something in the directions for the new pressure-treated lumber.

For nearly 40 years, it's been one of the Jersey Shore's oddities: the boardwalk without boards. Ventnor experimented with aluminum planks along a two-block section in 1972 as a way to hold down costs. The aluminum stood up better to the elements than wood did. But the idea never caught on with residents or visitors. Many slipped on the metal as they walked, jogged, or rode bikes, especially after rain or fog. No more. Ventnor is returning to an old-fashioned, all-wooden boardwalk and saying good riddance to the aluminum section.

The spanking new aluminum screen door had just been installed, and as it turned out, Joshua Lofton might as well have hung a sign on it saying, "Take me, I'm yours. " The door was ripped off its hinges at the home on 28th Street near Titan in South Philadelphia the morning after it had been put up. The theft angered Lofton, but it didn't shock him, or his neighbors. Rising thefts of storm doors and windows from houses in the crack-devastated area recently earned a separate log in police burglary complaint files.

SEA ISLE CITY, N.J. - Not much about how ocean lifeguards protect swimmers has changed since the late 19th century when the country's first beach patrol was born on the Jersey Shore. For Sea Isle City patrol captain Renny Steele, it's been 40 seasons of watching with a keen eye, then jumping into action - and training others to do the same. There's the basic equipment: the ubiquitous lifesaving boat and missile-shaped floats called rescue "cans. " But for the amount of time it's in use, the prosaic guard stand - the power center of any swimming beach - is his patrol's most important tool.

With the death of Ronald Reagan Saturday, many questions have arisen about Alzheimer's disease. Althea Zanecosky is a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. Scientists do not yet fully understand what causes Alzheimer's disease. Age is the most important known risk factor for Alzheimer's (the number of people with the disease doubles every five years beyond age 65). Family history is another risk factor; scientists believe that genetics may be involved in Alzheimer's cases.

1926: Cleveland, Ohio, puts the first aluminum streetcars into service. 1927: Ford unveils the first Model A. 1952: The first human birth seen on live TV is broadcast on NBC's March of Medicine. 1982: Retired dentist Barney Clark, 61, is the first patient to receive an artificial heart. Clark survives for three months.

David P. Reynolds, 96, a metals manufacturing executive who helped put aluminum foil and aluminum beverage cans into the American kitchen, died Monday in Richmond, Va. Mr. Reynolds was the last member of his family to lead Reynolds Metals, which was founded in 1919 by his father, Richard Sr., and grew to become the nation's second-largest aluminum manufacturer behind Alcoa. Reynolds was sold to Alcoa in 2000, five years after Mr. Reynolds stepped down from its board. He joined the family business as a salesman out of college in 1937 and began trying to persuade the major St. Louis breweries to affix aluminum labels to their beer bottles.

Last week, a toxic red sludge poured into three Hungarian villages, killing nine people, threatening the Danube River, and bursting the dam around a well-kept secret: The production of aluminum - vast quantities of which are used in cars, aircraft, packaging, weaponry, and more - is highly poisonous to living creatures. The devastation caused by the aluminum industry is usually invisible, however, because it's wreaked on some of the most remote corners of the Earth. In an unusually frank 1951 report, industry analyst Dewey Anderson observed that the social and environmental costs of aluminum production were such that "the U.S. cannot any longer afford to make aluminum if it can be obtained in large enough quantities and on favorable price terms from other sources.

They lug stereos and lay sod, fry eggs, and drill through aluminum. Some dance atop dugouts, tongue dangling like a breathless retriever's, to hide their inner anguish from the T-shirted masses. In the coolest of job markets, they hold Philadelphia's hottest gigs - and, at least until Labor Day hits, many will gladly trade them in for a cold drink and an air-conditioned office. Since June 1, temperatures have exceeded 90 degrees on 41 days - and counting, if Tuesday's forecast is any indication.

The Snack Caddy is like having your own portable snack bar wherever you plant yourself. The big nylon tote bag, with 17 pockets on the outside and four shock-corded lightweight aluminum legs to keep it upright, sets up and collapses in seconds. Large and small pouches can hold chips, nap- kins, condiments, utensils, drinks, magazines, toys - you name it. A cup holder in the center of the caddy is a stable place for a bottle of wine or a can of your favorite beverage. Double cloth handles make for easy toting when open.

SEA ISLE CITY, N.J. - Not much about how ocean lifeguards protect swimmers has changed since the late 19th century, when the country's first beach patrol was born on the Jersey Shore. For Sea Isle City patrol captain Renny Steele, it has been 40 seasons of watching with a keen eye, then jumping into action - and training others to do the same. There's the basic equipment: the ubiquitous lifesaving boat and missile-shaped floats called rescue "cans. " But for the amount of time it's in use, the prosaic guard stand - the power center of any swimming beach - is his patrol's most important tool.

SEA ISLE CITY, N.J. - Not much about how ocean lifeguards protect swimmers has changed since the late 19th century when the country's first beach patrol was born on the Jersey Shore. For Sea Isle City patrol captain Renny Steele, it's been 40 seasons of watching with a keen eye, then jumping into action - and training others to do the same. There's the basic equipment: the ubiquitous lifesaving boat and missile-shaped floats called rescue "cans. " But for the amount of time it's in use, the prosaic guard stand - the power center of any swimming beach - is his patrol's most important tool.

Question: The 40-year-old white aluminum siding on my house is starting to peel off, showing gray underneath. Is there a special paint that can be applied to cover it? Answer: I went to my best source of painting information, the Web site of the Paint Quality Institute in Spring House, Montgomery County, and found, as usual, all the information you need. So, reader Marie Downey and others, here's a link so you can consume the institute's information at your leisure, or when the weather warms enough for exterior painting: http://go.

For nearly 40 years, it's been one of the Jersey Shore's oddities: the boardwalk without boards. Ventnor experimented with aluminum planks along a two-block section in 1972 as a way to hold down costs. The aluminum stood up better to the elements than wood did. But the idea never caught on with residents or visitors. Many slipped on the metal as they walked, jogged, or rode bikes, especially after rain or fog. No more. Ventnor is returning to an old-fashioned, all-wooden boardwalk and saying good riddance to the aluminum section.

Question: My daughter moved into a house that has aluminum siding. The siding is in good condition, but it is ugly - it's white and chalky-looking and faded, if white can look faded. A handyman/painter has told her it could be painted. My son says it can be painted, but would not be a very successful project - after a short period of time the paint would flake and the siding would look worse than it does now. He says power washing is not the way to go, either. Can this siding be painted and, if so, what is the proper way to ensure a good job?

Question: We have a house at the Shore, with a second-story deck supported by pressure-treated wood. It was built after they banned the old arsenic pressure-treated wood. We had the wood capped with aluminum. After 18 months, the chemicals in the wood seemed to eat through the aluminum, which had to be replaced. The builder put Tyvek between the wood and the aluminum capping, but the same thing happened. Is there any way to avoid this problem? Answer: It's pretty obvious that your builder missed something in the directions for the new pressure-treated lumber.