Gunmen Wound Alabama Yard Manager

A midday holdup by two mrsked gunmen at United Plywood and Lumber Inc., Birmingham, Al., left onc employee woundcd and scveral others terrified.

Gregory Bates, 39, company nranager, was treated at University Hospital in Birmingham fa a gunshot wound to the face, but reported back to work Jan. 10, two weeks after the Dec. 27 rcbbery.

The holdup was the second in less than a week at the firm. Earlier in the day, company officials had met with experts about upgrading security after the previous heist.

The incident occurred around 12:15 p.m. when two men, both wearing white masks and white gloves, entered the main office.'"They came in shooting," said employee Blaine Bgoth, who was seated at the switchboard. "They were shouting obscenities."

The men dragged one female ernployee up a flight of steps to the safe, demanding she open it. After she refused, the robben opened fire and the woman dropped to the floor, shaken, but unhurt. The two assailants fled.

Soon thereafter, the police arrived and evacuated the building, believing one of the robbers might be inside. After using police dogs to search the premises, authorities confirmed that the robbers had escaped and allowed the employees back inside.

The holdup was brief. '1They were stumbling over each other to get out of here," recalled employee Kim Williams. "Never in my whole life have I been robbed. My heart was just pounding."

Duing the Dec. 2l rotrbery the assailants allegedly escaped with a large sun of cash, causing police to warn employecs that the men might rleturn.

'I guess they thought it wrs an easy target," BoCh said. Batcs, who wasn't around when the first incident occurr€d, told several employees that he was sorry he had missed the robbery. He was told that it was just as well because the gunrnen might have gotten agitated when confronrcd by a man.

On Jan.5, police arested one of the suspects, J.D. Rush, 24, of Birmingham, and charged him with three counts of robbery, two from the United Plywood incidents, and the other for a car dealership holdup that occurred three hours after the second episode.

Reportedly, Rush and his accomplice were overheard bragging about their exploits, leading a tipster to notify police.

Rush is being held without bail in the Jefferson County Jail where he faces additional charges of attempted murder and discharging a firearm.

Authorities said he does not have any apparent connection to either company.

Blazes GutWarehouses

Investigators continue looking for the causes of recent fires at building material warehouses that caused millions of dollars in damage.

A Dec. 14 fire ripped ttuough r netd buiHing d Forwortlr-Galbrsitll

Lumber's Van Alstyne, Tx., yard. As flames spread thnoughout the warehouse, the structur€ ballooned and collapsed into a heap of smoldering debris, destroying the inventory insi&.

The blaze, the second at the yard over the last few years, was extinguished within two hours, even though tlre nearest fire hydrant was more than a quarter of a mile away. Three fire departments used tank tucks to bring in about 3,0(X) gallons of water, which was dumped into a holding pond and then collected by pump trucks.

Tlvo weeks prior, a fire at The Lumber Yard, Inc., Farmville, Va., ravaged a warehouse, including all of the trucks, forklifts and materials inside.

The store and yard were spared in the blaze, which was contained in the warehouse.

Owner/manager Dave Martin reported that arson is suspected.

Plywood Worker lnfured

An l8-year-old worker at Salisbury Lumber& Supply Co., Salibury N.C., caught his hand between the two rollers inside a plywood laminating machine.

Rescue worken pried the rollen apart and freed the man, who was airlifted to a hospital and is expected to recoverfrom the Dec. l0 injuries.

OVER 70,000 trade professionals attended the International Builders Show [photos below]: (1) Duane McDougall, Marvin Brown, Eddie McMillan. (2) Jack Merry, Dave Rogoway. (3) Bill Wachtler, Darren Hanis. (4)Jim Carroll, KelliO'Shea, Melissa Morinelli, JoelAdamson. (5) Melissa Monell, Misty Mounger. (6) Leslie Newkirk, Brenda King. (7) Eric Gee, Richard Kleiner, Richard Wallace, Ewell Smith. (8) Christian Gunther, Marty Fajerman, Pat Massux, George Strakes. (9) Doug Budell, Jerry Love. (10)Eric Hansen, Craig Forbes. (11) Monis Carey, James Carey. (12) Rob Guzikowski, Bruce Lewis, Mike Moran, Norm Hall. (13) Al Blanchard, Marge Jones. (14) Jeremy Mitvo, Kent Newberry, Pat Aldred, Susan Chibers. (15) Henry Eadie, Lisa Carson.

DALLAS CONVENTION Center, Dallas, Tx., was the site ol the National Association of Home Builders' Jan. 14-17 International Builders Show [photos on next page]: (1) Huck DeVenzio, Pam Mitchell. (2)Jace Ray, Rodney Hardison. (3) Bill Burleson, Krista McKennah, DanielWoods. (4) David Cieslik, Joan Spanyer, Kevin Kratch, (5) Nicole Bigham, Ed Shapiro, Jennifer Kulisiewicz. (6) Bill Toupey, Tom Marshall, Tom Shuford. (7) Millicent Davis, Rafe Hagel, Kami Camsford. (8) Marty Hawkins, David Hebbard. (9) Tom Kraeutler, Mary Banetta. (10) Mark Hageman, singer lrlene Mandrell, Jim Precht. (11) Katie Shea, Mark Gagnon. The over 1,000 exhibits spanned more than 1 million sq. ft. across 100+ product categories.