OT: HD employee killed by pallet thief

"[RICHMOND, TX] For nearly three weeks, Donald Thomas, a Home Depot employee, fought for his life at a Houston hospital after being run over by someone trying to steal pallets..."

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I guess that's why HD tells employees not to bother crooks...

'Course this being Texas, if HD allowed its employees to carry guns, the worker could have just shot the thief instead of throwing himself under the van.
Reply to
HeyBub
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It's much cheaper for an employer to cover losses from theft than to pay worker's compensation or death benefits to someone trying to be a hero...

Reply to
Bob

The use of the word 'hero' in that sentence almost sounds perjorative. I don't think he was trying to be a 'hero' as much as someone just trying to do the right thing.

Reply to
Dave Bugg

And he may have been just standing there when; ran over.

Pallets around here can retrieve $17.00.

Reply to
Oren

It never occurred to me pallets were valuable. You can always find a bunch of them in construction dumpsters around "block" time or "roof tile" time or "paver" time and they will hold them out for you if you ask. They don't like paying to have the dumpster guy haul them away. Pallets fill up a dumpster in a hurry.

Reply to
gfretwell

I've got pallets here that nobody will take back. I guess I'll just break them up and put a piece at a time in the trash bin.

Perce

Reply to
Percival P. Cassidy

Value varies. Some pallets are odd sized and have no value at all. Others are say, 48 x 40, 4 way entry and meet specifications used in certain industries and are easily sold and do have good value.

I need the 48 x 40 for one customer and I buy reconditioned for $5 each. At the same time, we get in material from China on containers and get 36 pallets at a time and no one wants them due to the odd size. 43 x 37.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

Perhaps things have changed, but my father was an amateur woodworker, and he usually started with a pallet. They were made of very good hardwood, albeit rough cut, and if you found a piece that was clean, you could work it into a very good piece of wood. I still have a nice desk we (he, with me reluctantly helping) made. It would be hard to find and afford equivalent wood today, at least where HD has driven out the old lumbar yards. Perhaps

Reply to
Not

Not all pallets are worth money. In my area many end up in the dumpster. Some people; that can burn wood, salvage them for fire wood. A local on Craigslist will sometimes offer $0.50 for them..I notice he is picky about them. I suppose he resells the better quality pallets.

I bought some roofing tiles a couple of years ago and had them delivered. I was charged a $17.00 'core charge' for the pallet. That was refundable when the pallet was returned.

Reply to
Oren

Most pallets are made from hardwood, albeit the lesser grades, but there are always some good boards to be found. If you look on the woodworking page of my web site you'll see a doll sized oak desk I made for my wife.

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Reclaiming pallet wood takes a little time, the size is restricted, but it has cost benefits also. I've heard of people getting some rather exotic wood from imported goods on pallets or in crates too.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

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