KENTUCKY -- Ford Motor Co. plans to launch an updated version of its F-Series Super Duty trucks this summer and has begun test-driving the new models in the Louisville area.

"We have somewhere between 80 and 100 out there now," said Ford spokesman Jon Harmon. "We've got some light camouflage on them, rubber bras and some netting."

Ford's Super Duty line, consisting of the F-250, F-350, F-450, F-550, F-650 and F-750 trucks, is one of the company's major profit centers. The Kentucky Truck Plant in eastern Jefferson County makes all but the F-650 and F-750, which are built in Mexico.

Analysts estimate that each truck generates more than $10,000 in profit for the automaker, and the Louisville plant produced more than 400,000 trucks and Excursion sport utility vehicles last year.

Though the trucks continue to sell well — in March, Ford sold more than 36,000 of them — industry watchers say the company needed to redesign the line to protect it from competition.

General Motors and Dodge have released heavy-duty trucks or new engines in recent years, as each tries to offer the highest power numbers. This has been most evident in torque, which determines towing capacity.

Dodge leads the torque battle with its 20041/2 Ram heavy-duty pickup. The truck's Cummins diesel engine, built in Columbus, Ind., produces 600 foot-pounds of torque. The diesel version of the Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra offers 590 foot-pounds, while the current diesel Super Duty produces 560 foot-pounds.

Given that game of one-upmanship and the fact that the Super Duty line has not received a major face-lift since 1998, industry watchers had been expecting a new model. But Ford has not recently shown the trucks at auto shows, causing some to speculate that an update would wait until next year for the 2006 model year.

"We have intentionally kept our powder dry on this, and we haven't been talking about it," Harmon said. By waiting, Ford was able to see the power figures of the new Dodge trucks and can try to outdo them with the new Super Duty models.

Mike Omotoso, an analyst for research and consulting firm Global Insight, said he expects Ford to go up to at least 610 foot-pounds of torque with the new model, something that could be achieved with minor changes to the engine.

Harmon would not comment on specific performance numbers, but he said Ford plans to retake the power leader status with the new truck.

"We're going to show leadership in all categories," Harmon said. "What we're focusing on more than anything else is towing capability."

In addition to improving the engine, Ford has redesigned the frame to let the truck pull heavier loads, Harmon said. He added that Ford would release final towing numbers next month. Ford also revamped the truck's interior, giving it more creature comforts.

Omotoso said those moves would help Ford maintain its industry-leading 45 percent share of the heavy-duty truck market. Gaining share will be difficult because of the competition from GM and Dodge and because both Toyota and Nissan are expected to launch diesel pickups by 2007, he said.

Ford also is competing with itself.

Last year, Ford began selling a new version of its F-150 pickup, the best-selling vehicle in North America. In designing the new F-150, Ford mimicked the mirrors and windows on the Super Duty to give the smaller truck a more rugged, commercial feel. The company also gave it a larger engine, giving it towing capabilities similar to that of some F-250s.

Omotoso said those design choices gave the F-150 the powerful look and feel of the heavier trucks but also convinced some truck buyers that the smaller, less profitable truck was the choice for them. Giving the heavier trucks a new look will help differentiate them in the marketplace, he said.

"Exterior styling is very important for that. These really have to stand out," Omotoso said. "These trucks are supposed to be for work, but people still want them to look nice and make a statement."

Harmon would not discuss details of the new exterior styling, but he said the truck takes its cues from the F-350 Tonka concept truck the company showed off at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in 2002. The bright yellow truck featured oversized wheel wells, large bumpers and a heavily sculpted hood to fit a large engine.

Production of the trucks begins in mid-July. Harmon said dealers should get them by August or September. (Robert Schoenberger - The Courier-Journal)

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TEXAS -- Towing companies in Houston are up-in-arms over Mayor Bill White's controversial "mobility plan" for Houston highways that will likely put many towing companies out of business.

The "mobility plan", is designed to make the city of Houston alot of money by selling over 1 million dollars worth of freeway tow zones to large towing companies, enforcing parking meters 24 hours a day -- seven days a week, and selling $1200 permits to delivery trucks for using loading zones.

The most controversial of the mayor's ridiculous proposals is splitting the freeway into 21 exclusive zones that would be bid on by towing companies at a minimum of $50,000 per zone.

The city's smaller companies, who rely on the freeway towing business,  are going to have no chance against the larger companies when it comes to paying cash for the right to tow from these zones.

The city claims the plan is "a great opportunity for the towing industry" but they clearly have no idea what the effect of this poorly thought out plan will be on local businesses that have been towing from these freeways for over 20 years.

If the city would have consulted the local towing association, perhaps they could have formulated a fair plan that serves everyone, but instead, they only consulted with some larger towing companies and have produced a plan that only works for large companies with alot of money to spend.

The mayor's plan also would strip away a motorists right to choose who tows their broken down car. They must let the company who holds the zone contract perform the tow.

This can be a major problem for autoclub members who are required to call an autoclub provider. This also means that an autoclub provider will no longer be able to tow autoclub members from the freeway unless they have won that zone.

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MONTANA -- On a recent winter day, a tattered BMW sat hoisted in one of the four stripping bays at Hanser's Automotive & Wrecker on South Billings Boulevard.

A couple of months earlier, a rollover had finished the car off. Too many miles and too little care rendered the compact sedan beyond redemption. Tread on the tires was nearly gone, and its seats were in shreds.

The engine and transmission were shot. Nothing on the ancient hulk could be salvaged.

In the unlikely event the owner had insurance, none of it was used to pay for the tow and disposal of the vehicle. Since it was recovered after a rollover, the tow could have cost as much as $300, Hanser's Automotive owner Ralph Hanser said.

Then Hanser's had to invest another $400 in paperwork and in the processes of draining the fluids, recycling them and stripping and cleaning the car in preparation for the crusher.

"So we've got $700 into a car with no value,'' he said.

That doesn't include the space the vehicle takes up on the lot while the title search and notification of owners and lien holders is in progress, he said.

Hanser's son Scott estimates that the company hauled in between 300 and 400 totally worthless abandoned vehicles in 2003. That year, Hanser's picked up about 74 percent of the discarded vehicles towed in Billings.

"It's a real drain on staff and facilities,'' he said.

Under a law passed by the Montana Legislature in 2001, towing companies are reimbursed $70 through the Montana Department of Environmental quality for hauling an abandoned vehicle at the request of the city or county, Darrell Stankey at DEQ said.

There may be a profit on a short tow of a vehicle parked conveniently on the street. But it probably won't cover the effort it takes to haul a vehicle up on blocks with its tires removed or one that has been ditched in the Yellowstone River or pushed off the Rimrocks.

Wrecking companies appreciate the $70, but most say towing abandoned vehicles is not a money-making proposition.

Even a new law that took effect Jan. 1 doesn't help much. Under that statute, law enforcement can release an abandoned vehicle worth less than $500 to the tow-truck company immediately. It becomes a junk vehicle and is eligible for salvage without notification to the vehicle owner or lien holder and without going through a sheriff's sale.

But salvage value is no windfall. Ralph Hanser said that only one in 20 of the abandoned vehicles that his company pulls in has parts that can be recycled.

"I just took two tractor-trailer loads of 13 cars for salvage,'' said Don Blyton, owner of Interstate Wrecker Service.

"I got $300. It doesn't hardly pay for the fuel to haul them down there. It cost us money. You can't send a $50,000 tow truck out and pay for the driver and pay for the fuel and make money.''

Many wrecker services in town are on law-enforcement rotations for calls. Owners who want to stay on the lists take the good with the bad, said Ken Kliner, manager of Action Towing. Kliner said he hauls on average a half-dozen abandoned vehicles a week.

"It's nothing I'm going to make money on,'' he said. (Lorna Thackeray - The Billings Gazette)

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MONTANA -- Early this month, the owner of a car demolished in a weekend crash informed employees at Hanser's Automotive & Wrecker that he wasn't going to pay the bill for the tow from the accident scene.

"I didn't call you, the police did and I'm not paying,'' the vehicle owner told employees.

He was another in a long line of uninsured motorists who will dump the cost of cleaning the mess and disposing of the vehicle on the wrecker company, Spenser Hanser said. Ultimately, those who have insurance or who own up to their bills will cover the cost.

"People wonder why their towing bills are so high,'' he said. "This is why.''

He estimates that at least 50 percent of the wrecked vehicles towed to the Hanser lot have no insurance. The owners usually walk away, and the tow truck company absorbs the cost.

"They come in, collect their things from the car and we never hear from them again,'' Hanser said. "You and I are paying for their stuff.''

The cost of a tow, if the owner actually paid, could range from $50 to more than $400, depending on the size of the vehicle, its condition and the circumstances of the wreck, said his father, Ralph Hanser.

If gasoline and oil spilled in the aftermath of the wreck, the towing company cleans up the mess, Spencer Hanser said. If there's insurance, it will cover the cost, he said. If not, the towing company eats it.

"It's just something we do,'' he said.

The spills have to be cleaned, he said, or the contaminants eventually end up untreated in the Yellowstone River.

A lot of the older cars that wreckers end up collecting from accident scenes are covered only by liability insurance, which won't take care of the cost of the tow or accident-scene cleanup, Spenser Hanser said.

He said he's also seeing an increase in what he calls "dumping.'' That's when the insurance company does pay the vehicle owner, but the owner doesn't settle up his bill with the towing company.

Don Blyton, owner of Interstate Wrecker Service, said occasionally it ends in legal disputes when owners want to retrieve their personal property but don't want to pay their bill. Sometimes, he said, a car worth $50 will have a stereo system worth $750.

The state and city say the property stays with the towing company until the bill is paid, he said, but some people disagree.

If there is any value left in the car, the towing company has to go through the process of a sheriff's sale. If no bid has been submitted 10 days after the sale, the vehicle can be released for salvage, Spencer Hanser said.

Usually there are no bids, and the vehicle can be readied for the crusher. Only rarely are any parts in these uninsured vehicles in good enough condition for recycling.

All that can be recovered is the sale of the scrap metal. Spencer Hanser said the sale price is based on weight. If scrap metal is going at $25 a ton, salvage value on a 1½-ton Ford Taurus, for instance, would be less than $40, he said. (Lorna Thackeray - The Billings Gazette)

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CALIFORNIA -- Tow truck driver Eddie Pfatenhauer of Newbury Park went with his instincts Tuesday as he scrambled down a 400-foot, brush-choked ravine to offer comforting words to a dying motorist.

Pfatenhauer, 41, who has no medical training, stayed at the side of Nancy McKinley, 63, of Thousand Oaks as she spent her last moments in the smashed remains of her compact car.

"I talked to her -- I told her help was on the way," Pfatenhauer said. "I figured if she could hear me, it would be comforting."

A few minutes later, McKinley's ragged breathing stopped, Pfatenhauer said. A paramedic arrived a short time later and pronounced her dead.

McKinley's car apparently plunged off winding two-lane Potrero Road in the fog sometime after 6 a.m. Tuesday as she commuted to her job at Naval Base Ventura County, California Highway Patrol Officer Steve Reid said.

Two witnesses saw the car leave the road near Long Grade, but the cause of the crash remains under investigation, Reid said.

Pfatenhauer said he had second thoughts about descending into the ravine when a motorist flagged him down. He couldn't see McKinley's car in the thick brush, and the slope was choked with poison oak.

"I decided to go down there anyway," he said. "If it was my mother down there, I'd want someone to do something." (Andrea Cavanaugh - L.A. Daily News)

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TEXAS -- Houston Mayor Bill White has proposed sweeping and controversial changes to Houston's towing laws. 

White's proposals include a permit system for towing from the freeway. The permit system is much like that of Santa Ana California's which was ruled illegal by a federal judge.

The city says the transportation department should be run like a business and proceeds would fund programs like the Incident Management Fund. This would explain why the permits could cost up to $1200.

The current ordinance requires a police officer to arrive at the scene and authorize the tow. Tow drivers can wait at the scene and participate in a drawing for the right to tow the vehicle.

Under the proposed ordinance which is based on New York's laws, towing companies would be awarded exclusive freeway zones. The companies would be required to respond to these zones in six (6) minutes, any time of the day or night, and would only be allowed to charge a mere $50 instead of the $115 that tow operators can currently charge.

Tow operators that are awarded the freeway zones would also have to be trained in incident management.

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NEW YORK -- Towing broken-down cars into and out of New York City used to be routine for R&D Auto Servicing in Scarsdale. That changed March 31.

That was the day undercover officers from the city's Department of Consumer Affairs pulled over R&D's tow truck just after it dropped off a car in the Bronx. Because the truck did not have a medallion from New York City, it was impounded.

"They towed the tow truck," said Robert Gilbert, owner of R&D.

Gilbert, a 15-year veteran of the towing business, had to post a $2,000 bond and pay $240 in towing charges to get his truck back. He is awaiting an administrative hearing to see whether he will be fined $1,000 for operating in the Bronx without a city medallion.

His experiences are not unique. Since the start of the year, several local tow trucks, including Gilbert's, have been seized by the city's Department of Consumer Affairs in a growing dispute over licensing. The conflict threatens to make it harder — and more costly — for suburban motorists to have their cars towed out of the city.

"The real losers in this are the consumers," said Peter O'Connell, a lawyer for the Empire State Towing and Recovery Association, a trade organization with several local members.

"Suppose you have a repair shop that you go to in Yonkers. And suppose you drive into the city and your car breaks down. You call your repair shop and say, 'That was a lousy job you did, come and get my car.' He says: 'I would, but I can't go into the city.' "

Tow operators and others allied with them argued that the city has arbitrarily abandoned reciprocity agreements with neighboring communities, including Yonkers and Mount Vernon, that allowed trucks licensed in Westchester to drop off or pick up cars in New York City.

City officials said they are simply enforcing a law enacted by the City Council during the early 1990s that requires tow trucks operating in the city to be licensed by the city's Department of Consumer Affairs.

"We didn't all of sudden start doing this," said Dina Improta, a spokeswoman for the Department of Consumer Affairs. "We have always licensed tow-truck companies."

Improta said all tow-truck licenses, which last for two years, expired Dec. 31 and Consumer Affairs has been strictly enforcing the law since the start of the year to ensure that tow-truck operators get new licenses. Forty-six trucks have been seized since Jan. 1, nine of those from operators based outside of New York City.

Westchester operators, however, said New York City licenses were previously not required to simply drop off or pick up a broken-down car in the city. They said they are being targeted by the city to boost collections of the $600-per-truck licensing fee and the $1,000-per-violation fine for driving without a medallion.

"The city of New York is looking for money," said Julie Gambardella of Gambardella and Sons Towing in Yonkers, which had one of its trucks seized by the city. "This is a big revenue producer for them."

Improta denied the city was seizing suburban tow trucks to raise money.

With assistance from towing groups, the Automobile Club of New York, the downstate affiliate of AAA, obtained a federal restraining order last week preventing the city from enforcing its licensing law on tow trucks already licensed in another municipality. The restraining order is good through the end of the month, although the city is arguing to have it lifted.

The group took action after four Westchester-based tow trucks acting under contract with AAA were seized by the city in the past few weeks.

"When they hit the New York City line, there were undercover agents of the Department of Consumer Affairs waiting for them," said Automobile Club spokesman Robert Sinclair Jr.

"What was particularly onerous is that we have had reciprocal license agreements in place for 10 or 20 years. All of a sudden, without notice, they decided to not honor them anymore."

State Sen. Nicholas Spano, R-Yonkers, who has been meeting with members of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's staff to negotiate a settlement, warned that the situation could ignite a border war of sorts.

"If the city of New York refuses to try and reach some accommodation, then we in Westchester have no choice but to respond in kind and impose our own restriction on New York City tow-truck operators," Spano said.

The city's actions have already made it more difficult to get cars towed out of the city, Sinclair said. In some cases, one tow operator will bring a car to the Westchester-Bronx border and then leave it there for another tow truck to take it into Westchester.

"I don't think there is a worse feeling than to be in a vehicle that has broken down and needs to be towed," Sinclair said. "And in a sense, it is now happening twice to motorists."

Ron Nuzzaro Jr., a partner of R&R Towing in Yonkers, said he now must hire a New York City tow firm to help him satisfy a contract he has with a Westchester-based ambulette company that operates in the city. Each tow costs him up to $600.

"I have a contract with (the ambulette company) and it is a pretty lucrative contract, so I am not going to tell them I can't get it done," Nuzzaro said.

Nuzzaro and other tow operators said New York City's actions could set a precedent that would eventually force them to obtain medallions for every municipality they drive through and make it too costly to stay in business. It would also make it more costly for people to have their cars towed.

"Everything gets passed along to the customer," Gambardella said. "But the customer also loses the right to use who they want to use." (Glenn Blain - The  Journal News)

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WASHINGTON -- A federal court has dealt a setback to a Kent-based towing company that contended it could ignore a state law barring private impounds unless they were authorized by the property owner.

In an order issued Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Franklin Burgess denied a preliminary injunction sought by West Coast Towing, which had argued that federal law preempts Washington's towing statute that prohibits so-called "patrol towing."

Under that practice, towing companies sign blanket authorizations with property owners to patrol apartment complexes, for example, to impound vehicles. Consumer advocates have opposed the practice, in part, because towing companies have a built-in financial interest to impound as many vehicles as possible.

Burgess concluded that Washington's law requiring a separate authorization for each private impound was not trumped by federal law, because the state law "tends to be a safety-related regulation" and therefore is exempt from federal preemption.

John Tillison, West Coast's owner, said he had not seen the order and wouldn't answer further questions.

His Tennessee-based attorney, Mike McGovern, said he had been traveling and hadn't seen the ruling either.

After the judge's conclusion was read to him, McGovern said his client probably would try to appeal directly to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals before Burgess enters a final ruling.

Tillison filed his federal lawsuit last fall when he set up shop in Washington state. In an earlier interview, he said he had been "in and out" of the towing business for 25 years, chiefly in California, where he has more than 100 employees and performs about 2,000 impounds a month with 60 trucks.

Tillison said he successfully challenged a California law similar to the Washington statute he's testing. But the California ruling is on appeal to the 9th Circuit.

About six weeks ago, Washington's Department of Licensing ordered the company to quit patrol towing.

Tillison said he would comply but contended it was financially devastating — a point he made in arguing for injunctive relief. He also contended the people whose vehicles he was towing were "trespassers and wrongdoers."

But in defending the state law, assistant state attorney general Diane McDaniel said such characterizations stretch the truth. "In ambiguous parking situations or where the parking rules of the property have specific applications and exceptions, requiring the property owner to make the towing decision prevents (the tow operator), who has an economic incentive to tow, from removing vehicles," McDaniel wrote.

Further, she argued that requiring authorization increases safety by the presence of an additional observer, "decreasing the likelihood of disputes and the potential for violence and/or destruction of property," she maintained.

Late yesterday, she said:

"We are pleased with the court's decision, and even though this decision is not the final determination of the case, we believe the state will ultimately prevail on the merits." (Peter Lewis - Seattle Times)

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CANADA -- Tow truck drivers are getting a lift, thanks to new legislation that requires highway drivers to slow down to 60 km/h when passing tow trucks.

"This is awesome," said tow truck driver Bernie Borgmann, who owns Dependable Towing in Regina, after hearing about the new legislation Thursday.

"You know, people will fly by you and miss your truck by inches. It's about time they slow down for us, it really is."

A law requiring motorists to slow down to 60 km/h when passing police, fire and ambulance vehicles stopped along provincial highways first came into effect four years ago, but the legislation didn't include tow trucks -- despite the fact that they are a fixture at most accident scenes and during blizzards and bad weather.

But under the new legislation, part of Wednesday's budget, motorists will face a $140 fine for passing a working tow truck at more than 60 km/h, plus $2 for every kilometre up to 30 km/h over the speed limit. After that, the fine rises to $4 per kilometre.

The legislation is expected to be dealt with in this session of the legislature, and could be proclaimed into law sometime in the fall.

SGI spokesperson Bernadette McIntyre said the insurance company has been consulting with tow truck organizations on the matter for months, and she's glad the government has moved the measures forward.

"This is pure traffic safety protection of people's lives," she said. "If you talk to highway workers or tow truck operators and law enforcement, it's amazing how dangerous it can be."

McIntyre said SGI will launch an awareness campaign to make sure people are aware of the new law when it comes into effect.

Sgt. Brent Schmidt said Regina police force will wait and see how the legislation reads before they figure out how they will enforce it.

"Overall it's a good thing. We're trying to protect people in environments that are not safe, and make the roads safe so we can all do our jobs without being injured," he said.

In a budget with little to cheer about, Borgmann says tow truck drivers have at least one thing to celebrate. (Jana G. Pruden - The Leader-Post)

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TENNESSEE -- Dual-Tech Inc., a manufacturer of tow truck lift equipment, has relocated from Central Florida to Grainger County Tennessee and plans to begin production in early April.

The company was operating in Lake Hamilton, Fla., but recently bought a 57,000-square-foot facility in Bean Station from Leggett & Platt Inc., a maker of mattresses that is no longer in business. Dual-Tech estimates its investment in Grainger County at more than $1 million.

Leggett & Platt had acquired Option Spring, a locally owned manufacturer of mattress springs, but the company closed in December and laid off 24 employees, said Deborah Cameron Rose, director of economic development for the Grainger County Industrial Development Board.

Joann Roberts, who owns Dual-Tech with her husband, Don Roberts, said the move from Florida placed the company closer to its distributors.

"We like the location here," she said. "It's better acclimated to our distributors and our distributor network. When my husband and I first started looking at moving the company, we first looked at Knoxville, but I wanted to be in the country.

"Knoxville is within 450 miles of 15 states. If you're 450 miles from Florida, you're either paddling your boat or you've made it to Atlanta."

Dual-Tech relocated eight employees and their families from Florida and is in the process of hiring 20 workers.

Roberts said Grainger County appeared to have a qualified job pool.

In addition, the company already is planning a 30,000-square-foot expansion and expects to add another 50 to 60 employees.

Don Roberts said he and his wife also considered Kentucky, Virginia and other Tennessee counties in deciding where to move.

"It's not an easy chore to relocate a company, but we have met such wonderful people since we have been here," Joann Roberts said.

Dual-Tech makes roll-off tow trucks and will produce both steel and aluminum product lines at the new plant. The company places tow lift equipment on the chassis of flatbed trucks used to carry vehicles.

The company said it has five patents for equipment it produces.

Cameron Rose believes the transportation sector jobs will help diversify Grainger County's economic base.

Grainger County Mayor Paul Merritt said the county was fortunate to attract a new company so quickly after the closure of Option Spring. He said the county welcomes the new company and the jobs it brings.

"We hope to continue development at this pace during the rest of 2004 and beyond," he said. (Rebecca Ferrar - The Knoxville News-Sentinel)

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VIRGINIA -- A tow-truck driver who tried to clean the debris from the roadway after a highway accident in Manteo was struck by two vehicles and killed Thursday. The two victims of the previous accident were still at the scene.

Joseph Raymond Turci, 50, of Manteo, had just finished hooking a damaged car to the wrecker parked on the eastbound shoulder of U.S. 64 at the Midway intersection in Manteo at about 9:15 p.m. when he stepped into the roadway with a push broom, said state Highway Patrol Trooper W.A. Joyner

Joyner said a 1999 Toyota passenger car driven by Mary Bowden, 53, of Nags Head, hit Turci first, knocking him down. He was then struck by a 2001 Ford Explorer pickup driven by Brad Vuyovich, 18, of Kitty Hawk. There were no passengers in either vehicle.

Turci, who was employed by Pugh’s Car Care Center in Manteo, was pronounced dead at the scene, the trooper said.

Speed or alcohol were not factors in the incident, Joyner said. No citations were issued.

Joyner had been at the scene investigating an accident that had occurred at 8:30 p.m. A 2000 Buick passenger car, driven by Stephen Markham of Elizabeth City had rear-ended a Ford Expedition, driven by Ara Lynn Tillett, 17, of Manteo, Joyner said.

Markham was transported by Dare MedFlight to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, the trooper said. (The Virginian-Pilot)

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MISSISSIPPI -- Neil Lee says his fellow tow truck drivers have been squabbling with the city of Jackson for more than a year.

"We've had no response from the council (or) the mayor. We have gotten no where with it," says Lee.

The boycott might affect you.

"Traffic is going to have a tremendous affect, if they can't clean the wrecks up," Lee says.

The boycotting wrecker services want increased pay. The head of the city's transportation ad hoc committee, Kenneth Stokes, says that may be difficult. Voters would have to approve the pay increase.

Boycotters also want no more canceled late night calls and their payments to be received in a timely manner, a problem the city has said it has corrected.

Perhaps the sorest point for boycotters is with the Jackson Police Department. They claim some officers don't follow the set rotation among companies.

"Officers are calling in wrecker services to a five car pileup, their should be five separate wreckers," says Lee.

Jackson Police Spokesman Robert Graham said an internal investigation is being conducted, but no one has approached Chief Moore regarding this issue. Lee refutes that claim.

"We have been given to the underchiefs and have addressed specific situations," Lee says.

Mayor Harvey Jonhson's office only said they haven't spoken to the towing association.

"I think the mayor's office, through the chief and officer Grant, they are trying to do something," says Stokes. "But I just don't want to call a meeting of my committee and we don't have any final determination of what's going on".

Lee hopes a compromise can be found.

"If we could all sit at a round table, it can be hashed out in a day," Lee says.

Stokes says he supports the tow truck companies and their cause. He says he's met with them several times.

Boycotting wrecker services are still answering private calls in Jackson.

Wednesday night the Jackson Towing Association will meet to try and get others to join the boycott. (J.P. Hervis - WLBT Channel 3)

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