Cheney Has Scrape with Garage Door

© 2000 Door & Access Systems
Publish Date: Fall 2000
Author: Tom Wadsworth
Pages 48-50

CLIPPINGS
Garage Doors and Openers in the Media

Clippings are brief synopses of recent news articles in the consumer media. They help us see how the world sees us.


Cheney Has Scrape with Garage Door

Dick Cheney’s big day started with an unpleasant encounter with a garage door. According to this AP report, on Sunday, July 23, Cheney and his daughter hopped into his black Mercedes in his McLean, Va., garage to begin his trip to Dallas to be with George W. Bush. At the time, Cheney was the likely GOP vice presidential nominee, and reporters and photographers had camped outside his home.

But, as the AP reported, Cheney backed his Mercedes into his slowly opening garage door. As the car crunched into the door, the group of reporters and photographers reportedly let out an audible groan.

The AP said Cheney pulled the car back in the garage, then he and his daughter manually lifted the garage door and then closed it. Later, an Isuzu Trooper was driven up to the Cheney home, and Cheney and his wife, Lynne, loaded it with about 10 bags and suitcases. Cheney did not comment on his altercation with the garage door.


The Smart Burglar

In this lengthy article, Finley describes how burglars gain entry to homes. A security consultant, quoted in the story, describes a woman who drives her Mercedes to the mall to meet her friends. Getting out of the car, she puts her keys in her purse and throws her purse in the trunk. Two burglars nearby are watching.

After she leaves, they break into her trunk, get her purse and her keys and start her car.
Finding her address in the purse, they drive to her house and let themselves in with the garage door remote control. They load up the car and drive off.

According to the consultant’s statistics, 60 percent of U.S. burglaries are residential, with the largest incidence during the summer months. Most break-ins, he says, occur during daylight, when people are gone. In 27 percent of the cases, the burglar walks in an unlocked door or climbs in an unsecured window.


Garage Door Screen Patented

If you spend time in your garage, Michael Ruffner has the perfect concept for you: a garage door screen that rolls up inside your garage.

The Herald says Ruffner came up with the idea last October. His door dealership, Town & Country Garage Door of East Dundee, Ill., is now making and installing the product. The cost to purchase a screen for a 2-car garage was reported at about $1,000.

The screen is pulley operated and is said to seal all the way around the garage. Ruffner said the concept is perfect for the person who works on cars in the garage and must stop working when it gets dark and the mosquitoes come out. The article said some clients believed the screen would be perfect for when their wives force them to have cigar-smoking card parties out in the garage.

He has been selling the concept at home shows and was represented in Las Vegas at Expo 2000. His concept is now on the Web at www.ruffindustries.com.


Policeman Discourages Garage Door Windows

In this question-and-answer column, Tulsa Police Officer Andy Phillips responds to a question about preventing break-ins through garage doors.

Officer Phillips responds, "In 26 percent of burglaries committed, suspects enter through garage doors. This includes side doors and overhead doors." He warns about sectional doors with windows. "Burglars can reach through and disengage an overhead door opener."

As an additional security measure, Phillips encourages rolling code transmitters for garage door openers.


Bird Likes Garage Door Opener

This spring, a mourning dove built a nest on top of a garage door powerhead inside Eric Lucas’ garage in Lancaster. Instead of removing the nest, the article says the Lucas family has "gone all out to accommodate the bird family." Since it's a two-bay garage, the Lucases have elected to use the other bay, to avoid disturbing the birds.

The story indicates the doves have been equally patient. Reportedly, four-year-old Lizzie Lucas routinely climbs a stepladder to check on the nest. Having seen two young doves, the Lucases may need to expand their garage by next spring.


Garage Door Hit by Molotov Cocktail

The Chronicle reports that police and fire officials are investigating a suspected Molotov cocktail attack on a Noe Valley home. A fire official said the garage door caught fire after being struck around 2:30 a.m.

The article says a witness reported that a bottle filled with a flammable liquid was thrown from a passing car. The fire caused $10,000 damage but no injuries. The owner of the home said it was the second attack in six months and "he doesn't have any idea why it happened."


Lock Your Car at Home

In the Detroit suburb of Troy, homeowners scared off burglars in two break-ins. One homeowner woke up around 3:30 a.m. to hear a burglar in his kitchen, making himself a sandwich. The thief escaped, but it was later learned that he had entered using a remote garage door opener from an unlocked car parked in the driveway.

At 2:00 a.m. that same morning, a neighbor said he woke up and grabbed an arm reaching through his bedroom window. The intruder broke loose and fled, but the homeowner found numerous garden power tools stacked outside his garage.