OSHA investigates 'Ax Men'

In 11 years as a logger, Stump Branch Logging owner Melvin Lardy of Banks has never seen an Occupational Health and Safety Administration inspector.

So, when one suddenly showed up after the airing of "Ax Men," the History Channel's television series featuring Stump Branch and three other Northwest Oregon logging companies, he was a little suspicious.

Since the series first aired in March, OSHA inspectors have also paid visits to the logging operations of Astoria's J.M. Browning Logging and Pihl Logging of Vernonia - two other companies featured on the national reality TV show. So far, inspectors have steered clear of a fourth company, Gustafson Logging of Astoria.

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Ice Road Truckers television series jackknifed

The producers of the popular TV show “Ice Road Truckers” are going to have to find a different ice road to shoot their series on. The Canadian Broadcasting Channel reports that The History Channel is looking at other options, including shooting on some of the ice roads between Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk in the Northwest Territories.

In the series, truckers drove the “ice road” to Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories to deliver supplies to a diamond mine. The CBC reported that the mining company, part of a joint venture of mining companies that build the ice road, has pulled out of the production. Officials from the mine told CBC that the series makes driving a truck on the ice road look a lot riskier than it actually is.

Meanwhile, NBC has signed a deal with the producers to bring a similar program to that broadcast network as part of a three-series package deal.

“Ice Road Truckers” debuted on the History Channel cable television network in the summer of 2007. It quickly became the most popular program for the network.