Hendersonville Times-News
An investigation is still in the works to examine the Jan. 13 incident that killed one man and injured four others in a retaining wall collapse at the Hajoca parking lot in Hendersonville.
This type of investigation can last anywhere from a few weeks to six months, according to Jennifer Haigwood, director of Communications and Policy Development for the N.C. Department of Labor.
On the day of the incident, Henderson County Attorney Russ Burrell confirmed that the county did not receive an application, or issue a permit, for the project.
As a general rule, both new construction and repair of retaining walls over 4 feet in height require an engineered design, and a permit granted by the County Inspections Department based on the design. The wall that collapsed was estimated to be 10 to 12 feet tall.
Labor Department Adopts Parental Leave Policy
The N.C. Department of Labor will implement Executive Order No. 95, Providing Paid Leave to Eligible State Employees, effective Feb. 1, 2021. The executive order is applicable to state employees that qualify for paid parental leave based on the need to care for and bond with a newborn, newly adopted, foster or otherwise legally placed child.
The order grants an employee who gives birth four consecutive weeks for recuperation and recovery and an additional four weeks of intermittent leave for parental bonding. In addition, NCDOL will also offer eligible employees who are non-birth parents four weeks of intermittent paid parental leave for bonding. Qualifying employees will receive 100% of their regular pay while on leave.
Image: Adobe Stock
[Editor’s note: This report was prepared by the staff of the N.C. Budget & Tax Center click here to download a PDF version.]
It’s a new year, but the pandemic and its many harms to the people and communities across our state continue to deepen. Families are struggling to put food on the table and stay up-to-date on bills and rent. Landlords and neighborhood businesses are struggling as well. The ability of neighborhoods, communities, and the economy to begin recovering will stall.
A month ago, many of the federal and state supportive policies and investments expired. The short-term, small-scale nature of the response in the latest federal aid package makes it urgent for North Carolina legislators to prioritize a stopgap spending measure now that they have returned to Raleigh.
UPDATE: Man killed in wall collapse at Hajoca identified
UPDATE: A man who died Wednesday morning after a retaining wall collapsed on a construction crew at the Hajoca parking lot in Hendersonville has been identified.
The individual who succumbed to his injuries at the scene has been identified as 37-year-old Marcelino Godofredo Rendon Hernandez, according to city of Hendersonville Communications Manager Allison Justus.
Hernandez was one of a five-man masonry crew with Robert Crawford Masonry working on the wall when it collapsed.
When first responders arrived, they found at least four of the men trapped under the wall. One crew member, who escaped on his own with minor injuries, told emergency personnel there were four crew members working with him.
The city of Hendersonville identified the worker who was killed Wednesday in a retaining wall collapse as 37-year-old Marcelino Godofredo Rendon Hernandez.
Emergency services personnel were dispatched to the wall collapse with entrapment in the Hajoca parking lot at 1027 Spartanburg Highway at 9:30 a.m. When first responders arrived, they encountered a retaining wall that had fallen and trapped construction crew members underneath.
First responders determined there were five contracted masonry crew members with Robert Crawford Masonry in the area of the wall collapse. One crew member, who escaped the collapse with minor injuries, relayed information that four additional crew members were working with him. Emergency services personnel conducted rescue efforts to extricate three men, followed by recovery efforts to retrieve the man who died when the wall collapsed.